Head Of Legal And Corporate Services At Kenya Mortgage Refinance Company (Kmrc)

Purpose of the Job
Responsible for providing strategic leadership in the Legal and Corporate Secretarial role including providing legal counsel to the Executive and the Board, developing and implementing legal strategies that align with company objectives, overseeing perfection of securities, managing legal and regulatory risks, contract management, ensuring compliance with applicable laws, regulations and corporate governance standards and providing company secretarial services including managing board meetings and related responsibilities.
Duties and Responsibilities
The duties and responsibilities are as follows:
Managerial Roles and Responsibilities:
Provide corporation secretarial services to the Board of Directors and coordinate the business of the Board.
Oversee the companys corporate governance framework, ensuring adherence to local, regional, and international corporate governance standards, and that best practices are implemented.
Provide strategic legal advice and guidance to the CEO, executive leadership, and Board of Directors on a wide range of matters aligned to the business model.
Advise the Board and senior management on governance structures, corporate responsibilities, risk management, and regulatory compliance.
Ensure effective and efficient management of contract administration, legislative drafting, and compliance with legal and regulatory legislation.
Ensure efficient and proper perfection of securities and maintenance of collaterals.
Ensure vetting of legal reports pertaining to properties to be taken as collateral and advice on issues related to stamp duties; registration of documents etc as part of due diligence of the property related documents.
Lead the negotiation and structuring of complex transactions, contracts, and agreements.
Provide strategic legal support for business development and expansion initiatives and develop legal strategies to support business transformation.
Align the legal strategy with the overall business objectives, ensuring that the company's legal risks are managed effectively while supporting growth and expansion.
Develop and maintain relationships with key stakeholders, including shareholders, investors, legal and regulatory bodies, and other business partners.
Oversee the management of legal disputes, litigation, and arbitration, ensuring appropriate action is taken to protect the companys interests.
Identify and assess legal and regulatory risks across the companys operations and develop strategies to mitigate them.
Ensure the companys internal legal and governance documentation are kept up-to-date, accurate, and compliant with applicable laws and regulations.
Coordinate and facilitate the induction and training of Board members.
Oversee the procurement of legal services providers and their effective management to ensure delivery of quality legal services.
Undertake legal research on best practices on matters relating to KMRC core business and propose appropriate determinations, decisions or recommendations thereon.
Undertake continuous and periodic review of executed contracts to ensure effective contract management and safe custody of contracts and agreements and track their validity.
Lead, mentor, coach and manage a high-performing legal and corporate secretarial team, fostering a culture of integrity, collaboration, excellence, and continuous development.
Stay abreast of emerging legal trends and regulatory changes that could impact the business, ensuring the company remains compliant and competitive.

Operational Roles and Responsibilities:
Undertake all conveyancing activities in relation to KMRC refinancing operations.
Review progress of outstanding litigation and liaising with and managing external lawyers.
Monitor the execution of Board Resolutions.
Maintain records of contracts, leases, loan agreements and the covenants therein.
Represent the KMRCs in legal proceedings, including amicus briefs.
Represent KMRC in resolution of complaints through mediation, negotiation, reconciliation and prepare periodic reports on legal disputes and remedial action taken by the KMRC.
Provide timely information on renewals or termination of contracts/agreements.
Draw up contracts, lease documents, loan agreements and other legal documents.
Liaise with relevant departments to ensure that where legal risks have been identified, appropriate courses of action have been taken.
Provide and interpret legal information, conduct training and disseminate appropriate legal requirements to staff.
Coordinate follow-up of all court cases facing the Company and attend hearings where necessary, follow up on judgements and costs on behalf of the Company.
Follow up with HODs on where action needs to be undertaken on matters arising from board meetings.
Ensure that all physical and electronic records including confidential and sensitive Company documents are safely kept and a record of the same always retained.
Compile board reports/board pack and power point presentations for board meetings; and
Coordinate board meetings, take minutes and ensure timely reporting on board deliverables and matters arising.
Perform any other duties as may be assigned from time to time.

Key Result Areas:
The jobholders accountability areas are outlined as follows:
Submission of accurate, timely and relevant reporting on legal activities
Compliance with statutory obligations
Management of contractual risks
Successful implementation of quality control standards for services offered by the department
Continuous improvement of services through efficient working
Enforcement of relevant guidelines, rules and regulations
Efficient coordination of meetings as may be assigned
Efficient management of filing and document retrieval system
Ensure customer satisfaction for the consumers of the services offered by the department.

Knowledge and Skills Required:
The jobholder must possess:
Bachelors Degree in Law (LLB) from a recognized Institution.
Masters Degree in any of the following disciplines: Law, Business Administration, Public Administration, Banking and Finance or equivalent qualifications from a recognized Institution.
A Postgraduate Diploma in Legal studies from the Council of Legal Education in Kenya.
A Certified Public Secretary CPS (K) certification and a member of the Institute of Certified Public Secretaries of Kenya (ICPSK) in good standing.
Membership to the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) with a valid practicing cetificate.
An advocate of the High Court of Kenya.
A minimum of ten (10) years demonstrated professional experience in legal practice and board secretarial services with five (5) years at senior managerial level and/or corporate board secretarial function.
Should have thorough knowledge of the financial sector in security perfection and review of commercial transactions as well as knowledge of regulatory requirements.
Experience in general company secretarial duties.
Exposure to general banking operations.
Experience in dealing with different stakeholders and diversified viewpoints, and ability to look at issues from multiple dimensions.
Must have ability to plan, organize, implement and evaluate assigned goals.
Must demonstrate ability to handle multiple and conflicting priorities, and work under strict deadlines.
Should have strong analytical and be result oriented.
Must have high standards of integrity and ethical practice.
Must be capable of functioning effectively both as a team player and a team leader.
Should have problem solving and decision-making abilities.
Should be an effective communicator with the ability to handle both internal and external communication.
Should have effective people management and conflict resolution skills.
Must have knowledge in use of MS office packages.