Job Description

• The Legal Officer is responsible for executing day-to-day legal operations, ensuring robust contract management, and supporting corporate governance protocols.
• This role drafts and reviews commercial agreements, handles regulatory compliance matters, manages external litigation files, and acts as a key operational anchor for the Company Secretariat.

Key Responsibilities
Company Secretariat & Governance Support:

• Assist the Company Secretary in preparing agendas, assembling board packs, and verifying documentation for Board and Committee meetings.
• Attend designated internal or subsidiary management committee meetings to take minutes and draft formal resolutions
• Track the implementation of action points and directives arising from Board and management meetings.

Contract Management and Drafting:

• Draft, review, and negotiate standard and semi complex commercial contracts, lease agreements, nondisclosure agreements NDAs, and service level agreements SLAs.
• Review developer project documents and joint venture proposals to identify legal risks and ensure alignment with institutional templates.
• Standardize internal contract templates across departments to accelerate business operations.

Regulatory Compliance and Perfection Titles:

• Coordinate the perfection of titles, registration of charges, and documentation of land assets across various state registries.
• Draft and file statutory returns with corporate regulators e.g., Corporate Affairs Commission within specified timelines.
• Evaluate internal departmental operations against local statutory codes to prevent compliance breaches.

Litigation Management and External Counsel Oversight:

• Maintain the institutional litigation register, tracking updates, hearing dates, and outcomes for all active matters.
• Collate case materials, evidence, and briefs required by external counsels representing the organization.
• Conduct initial reviews of external counsel billings and fee notes against agreed engagement terms.

Key Competencies:

• Strong proficiency in drafting precise, legally binding commercial agreements and corporate documents.
• Practical knowledge of Nigerian corporate law, real estate law, and the operational procedures of landregistries and regulatory bodies.
• Excellent skill in summarizing complex corporatediscussions into concise, professional minutes.
• Ability to resolve contractual deadlocks and minorexternal disputes constructively.

Requirements

• Bachelor of Laws LLB and Call to the Bar BL aremandatory.
• 7–9 years of progressive post-call experience in atop-tier commercial law firm or an in-house legaldepartment within financial services or real estate.
• Professional membership in the Nigerian Bar Association NBA. Progress toward ICSANcertification is a distinct advantage.

What Success Looks Like;

• Protect FHFL's legal and regulatory interests by ensuring all contracts, corporate actions, and legaldocumentation are accurate, compliant, and aligned with applicable laws and the Company's strategicobjectives.
• Strengthen FHFL's governance and operational effectiveness by providing timely legal support,maintaining robust corporate governance processes, and ensuring statutory obligations are met withoutexceptions.
• Minimize legal and compliance risks by proactively identifying legal exposures, effectively managinglitigation and external counsel, and ensuring the timely perfection of titles and regulatory filings.