ABOUT CELLULANT

Cellulant is a pioneering B2B payments technology company based in Africa that powers payment processing for thousands of businesses.
Through a single, simple connection, our payment platform - Tingg - enables businesses to disburse funds and manage their offline or online collections while allowing their customers to pay via mobile money, local and international cards or direct bank payments.
With local acquiring in over 30 markets and supporting 300+ payment methods, Cellulant processes over 240 million transactions annually for market leaders in various sectors such as Airlines, Telecoms, E-commerce, Ride-Hailing, Retail and Remittances.

OUR STORY

Since our founding in 2003, Cellulant has evolved from a digital content provider into a leading payments platform with a presence in 35 African countries. For more than 20 years, we've built a robust network that integrates multiple payment methods, addressing the unique challenges of Africa’s diverse payment landscape.

We began selling ringtones as a digital content business and quickly realised the need for a more streamlined way to manage payments. This realisation led us to develop a platform that initially allowed customers to check their bank balances and eventually evolved into a comprehensive payment solution. Our journey has seen us partner with more than 1000 businesses, including some of the largest banks and mobile money providers on the continent.

Throughout the years, we've continuously adapted and grown, leveraging our experiences to simplify payments for businesses and consumers alike. Today, Cellulant powers online and offline payment processing allowing businesses to collect payments, send payouts, and accelerate business growth. We’re the payment fabric that makes interoperability possible and stitches Africa together for the global economy.

OUR VISION:

To enable seamless payments across Africa for businesses, banks and consumers.

Read more about us and our leadership team .

JOB TITLE:

Senior Manager: Legal

Location:

It's agnostic with a strong preference for Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Dubai - UAE or Egypt.

Reports to:

Group Chief Risk & Compliance Officer.

Key Relationships and Stakeholders:

Business, Product, Technology, Regulators, External Legal Counsel, Company Secretaries, and other counterparties.

JOB DESCRIPTION:

As the Senior Manager: Legal at Cellulant, you will play a pivotal role in our management team. This position is instrumental in bolstering a culture of strict compliance, by continuously updating our Risk Compliance Officer (GCRCO), executive board, and other management tiers on all relevant existing and emerging legislation and regulations, ensuring their relevance and applicability to Cellulant.

A significant facet of this role encompasses supervising legal operations within Cellulant. This will involve delegating duties to a proficient team of legal experts and other personnel to assure adherence to laws and regulations in daily operations.

As the Senior Manager: Legal, you will serve as the key advisor to our board of directors, CEO, and Cellulant's executive team on all legal concerns. Your expert advice will shape a comprehensive and efficient legal framework, thereby enabling Cellulant to conduct business seamlessly and lawfully in all markets in which we operate.

CORE RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Provide expert advice on various laws, regulations, and standards applicable in different jurisdictions, including international directives impacting the business.
• Assist in interpreting laws and regulations to facilitate the design of compliant business strategies.
• Implement crucial legal and compliance processes, including the drafting, negotiation, and review of commercial and other agreements.
• Prepare and safeguard the business interests in commercial contracts, courts of law, and other dispute resolution platforms when necessary.
• Educate Cellulant's staff and leadership on legal implications, regulatory requirements, and the potential risks of non-compliance.
• Help the business comprehend risks and opportunities presented by new and forthcoming laws and regulations.
• Supervise the delivery of legal services and resources to achieve corporate objectives, strategies, and priorities.
• Maintain effective corporate relations with relevant local, state, federal, regional, and international bodies, ensuring Cellulant remains current with the ever-changing regulatory landscape.
• Oversee Group Board Governance operations, including board meetings and Annual General Meetings (AGMs).
• Provide secretarial services for Executive Committee meetings as scheduled.
• Provide ad-hoc legal advice to the business on diverse matters, such as employment issues.
• Supervise the management of relations with external legal counsel and monitor all ongoing cases and disputes before courts and tribunals.
• Manage budgetary considerations for the Legal team.
• Oversee the Legal function ensuring a smooth operation.

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE:

• A substantial amount of legal and leadership experience with a minimum of 10 years of experience practising law with 5 of those years spent in a management or leadership role.
• Possess a bachelor’s degree.
• MUST be a practising lawyer.
• Experience working in a FinTech, insurance or financial institution.
• Cross border Africa experience and having worked in both the Francophile and Anglophile cultures and markets will be a bonus.
• Administration of the corporate secretariat.
• Corporate governance, risk and control.
• Managing stakeholder relations.

SKILLS:

• Broad legal knowledge and expertise.
• Leadership and management skills.
• Good interpersonal relations and communication skills.
• Ability to identify and analyse complex issues/problems in management areas, recommend and implement solutions
• Strong Business/Commercial acumen.
• Ability to manage office functions economically and efficiently.
• Can evaluate and weigh all legal aspects and/or situations, and provide sound solutions to protect the business's legal rights.
• The ability to evaluate options and provide sound practical solutions.
• Displays excellent supervisory and leadership skills.
• Awareness of market forces, politics and economics and their relation to changing laws and regulations.
• The ability to provide practical commercial legal advice to stakeholders and non-legal personnel.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to liaise with those at all levels.
• Ability to delegate legal tasks to team members and the confidence to provide senior management with legal recommendations.
• Public speaking skills and the ability to present and defend legal argument.
• The ability to manage risk effectively.
• Negotiation skills.
• An integral and discretionary approach.

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES:

• Integrity.
• Crisis management.
• Ethics and compliance.
• Good Judgement.
• Fluency in English (written and spoken) and French at business level, will be an added advantage.
• The ability to listen, learn and be open-minded.
• Passionate about well-done teamwork.
• Able to influence.
• Honest and responsible.
• Advanced sense of leadership and team spirit.
• Positive interpersonal relationships.