Senior Legal Advisor

About the role and cluster

The Credit, Banking & Rewards (CBR) cluster is a key growth area within Sanlam. This role offers the opportunity to play a meaningful part in supporting the cluster's strategic objectives and ongoing development.

About the Role

We are looking for a qualified and experienced legal professional to provide practical legal advice and support across a broad range of commercial, regulatory, and compliance matters. The role offers the opportunity to work closely with key stakeholders, manage legal risk, and contribute to sound business decision-making within a dynamic financial services environment.

If you have a strong understanding of the South African financial services regulatory landscape, proven contract management experience, and a pragmatic approach to legal problem-solving, we invite you to apply.

What will you do?

This includes, but is not limited to:

• Draft, review, and negotiate contracts, ensuring alignment with business objectives and legal requirements.
• Manage a variety of moderately complex legal projects, providing practical solutions and strategic support.
• Conduct legal reviews of marketing materials and documentation to ensure compliance with applicable laws and internal policies.
• Examine legal documentation and recommend appropriate courses of action.
• Coordinate legal matters requiring the engagement of external legal counsel, managing these relationships to achieve effective outcomes.
• Undertake thorough legal research and prepare well-reasoned legal opinions.
• Monitor and disseminate regulatory updates relevant to the business, supporting proactive compliance.
• Serve as the liaison between Real Futures and internal or external stakeholders on legal matters, fostering constructive relationships.
• Ensure active participation in regulatory projects and task teams hosted by the Sanlam Group, representing the company’s interests effectively at these forums.
• Provide timely assistance with ad hoc legal queries across the organisation.
• Oversee contract management processes, including drafting, tracking, and renewals.
• Maintain robust legal records, monitoring outcomes, documenting breaches, and tracking courses of action to ensure organisational accountability.

Qualification and Experience

• LLB
• Higher qualification within the legal field will be an advantage.
• At least 5 years’ experience in a similar capacity within the financial services sector.

Knowledge

• In-depth understanding of the financial regulatory environment and its impact on the business, with a particular focus on South African legislation and compliance frameworks.
• Strong knowledge of the South African financial services industry, including its key role players, market dynamics, and evolving regulatory landscape.
• Solid grounding in contract law principles, with practical experience in applying these to draft, negotiate, and interpret a wide range of commercial agreements

What will make you succesful in this role

• Self-starter and ability to work independently
• Creative problem solver and Pragmatic
• Analysis and Analytical ability
• Excellent communication and presentation skills
• Display ethics and a high degree of professionalism and integrity

Personal Attributes

Build a successful career with us

We’re all about building strong, lasting relationships with our employees. We know that you have hopes for your future – your career, your personal development and of achieving great things. We pride ourselves in helping  our employees to realise their worth. Through its five business clusters – Sanlam Fintech, Sanlam Life and Savings, Sanlam Investment Group, Sanlam Allianz, Santam, as well as MiWay and the Group Office – the group provides many opportunities for growth and development.

Core Competencies

Turnaround time

The shortlisting process will only start once the application due date has been reached. The time taken to complete this process will depend on how far you progress and the availability of managers. 

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