General Counsel – Head of Legal & Compliance

Reporting to: CEO

Role Description:
Serve as the principal legal advisor, overseeing legal matters, providing strategic guidance and ensuring compliance with laws and regulations. Collaborate with leadership, Shareholders and the Board of Directors to uphold corporate governance principles, fostering transparency, accountability, and ethical decision-making Provide strategic legal advice on corporate and commercial transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, and joint ventures, to support business objectives while mitigating risks. Influence and drive change at all levels of the organisation by embracing best practices and operational efficiency, enabling the team to deliver the highest quality legal services aligned with the company’s growth goals.

Responsibilities

Advise the shareholders, Board of Directors and executive leadership on corporate governance best practices, including governance frameworks, shareholder rights, and compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
Ensure adherence to corporate governance principles, fostering transparency, accountability, and ethical decision-making throughout the organization.
Support the Board of Directors in establishing and maintaining governance policies, charters, and frameworks to align with regulatory standards and organizational goals.
Provide strategic legal insights to leadership and actively influence corporate decision-making, particularly during high-impact transactions such as mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, and other strategic initiatives.
Align legal strategies with organizational growth objectives, ensuring risk mitigation and compliance with regulatory frameworks.
Adhere to OHSE legislations, standards and the Organization Policy’s & Procedures
Partner with Executive Office and Leadership team to develop and implement the overall legal strategy, ensuring alignment with business goals and the regulatory landscape.
Spearhead negotiations for company agreements during acquisitions, joint ventures, co-venturing, ensuring company’s interest is protected.
Ensure centralization of legal templates, policies, processes, and related information. Review and approve contracts, memorandum of understanding (MoU's), letters from legal standpoint ensuring the organization's position is protected. Define the legal structure of projects and oversee drafting of agreements and contracts.
Define and develop new processes, systems and procedures for improved efficiency in legal documentation and direct the development of standard legal documents and templates where applicable.
Provide comprehensive guidance for ongoing legal cases and proceedings by preparing necessary documents, performing case research, and coordinating with relevant stakeholders to safeguard the organization’s legal interests while ensuring compliance with judicial procedures.
Identify risks within the legal framework and advise on risk mitigation strategies. Establish guidelines and policies to secure/facilitate on going compliance for risk mitigation.
Evaluate legal impact of key decisions in the event of ambiguities or contradictions, regulations or case facts.
Monitor changes in laws and regulations that may impact contractual obligations and business practices.
Coordinate with external legal experts on disputes or legal proceedings. Advise Senior Management on the implications and ensure full compliance with current laws.
Ensure the information regarding essential and statutory laws and procedures is provided to all the stakeholders and is being followed as per required standards.
Manage the outsourcing of legal work within agreed guidelines, manage relationships external legal firms and ensure quality and cost effectiveness.
Ensure high level of secrecy and privacy for all the legal data. Oversee the accuracy and organization of legal records of all the contractual documents and related correspondence. Prepare reports and update the CEO and the executive team.

Qualifications

Bachelor degree in a Law
Admitted to practice law in in the United Arab Emirates or another jurisdiction.
Arabic Legal drafting skills

Experience

At least 15 Years of relevant experience in international law firms or in a corporate legal department of a professional organization
Deep expertise in structuring and negotiating high-value transactions across variety of sectors, with a proven ability to manage large-scale due diligence processes, identify key risks, and ensure compliance with international regulatory frameworks. .
Proven leadership skills with a track record of building and managing effective legal teams.
Exceptional problem-solving and risk management abilities to assess and mitigate complex legal and commercial risks, offer strategic advice at the C-suite level, and manage legal matters with a focus on delivering practical, cost-effective solutions.
Experience advising on multi-jurisdictional issues, navigating corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and compliance matters, with strong communication skills to effectively engage with both internal and external stakeholders.
Demonstrated success in driving organizational change and implementing new processes, systems, or frameworks that significantly improved legal operations or business outcomes.