Legal Counsel at Tony Blair Institute for Global Change

Nov 27, 2024

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Legal Counsel at Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (Africa)

Location: Nairobi
Job Type: Full-time

About Legal Counsel at Tony Blair Institute for Global Change

At the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, we work with political leaders around the world to drive change.

We help governments turn bold ideas into reality so they can deliver for their people. We do it by advising on strategy, policy and delivery, unlocking the power of technology across all three.

And by sharing what we learn on the ground, so everyone can benefit. We do it to build more open, inclusive and prosperous countries for people everywhere.

We are a global team of over 800 changemakers, operating in more than 40 countries, across five continents.

We are political strategists, policy experts, delivery practitioners, technology specialists and more. We speak more than 45 languages. We are working on over 100 projects, tackling some of the world’s biggest challenges. We’re all here at TBI to make a difference.

In a world of ever more complex challenges, we believe diversity of background and perspective is a strength. We pride ourselves on a culture that values and nurtures difference.

We are dedicated to unlocking potential, not only for the countries we work in but also for each of our team members. No matter where you’re from or who you are, if you’re passionate about the transformative power of progressive politics, we invite you to build a better future with us.

Role Summary of the Legal Counsel at Tony Blair Institute for Global Change

As TBI grows, we are evolving our global operating model to best support the delivery of our mission, establishing empowered regional hubs to run our operational functions across Legal, Finance, Security, Digital Operations and People.

These hubs are in Singapore (Asia), Nairobi (Africa), Abu Dhabi (Middle East and Eastern Europe), and London (Western Europe), and Washington DC (Americas).

Reporting to the Director of Operations, Africa, the Legal Counsel, Africa will be based in Nairobi and will provide day-to-day legal support and advice to teams across 18 countries in Africa.

The successful candidate will need a highly commercial and entrepreneurial approach to providing practical, risk-based, and well-informed legal advice, collaboratively working with leaders in the region and the Institute’s General Counsel, Director of Legal and wider global Legal team, based in London.

The global Legal team in London will provide this role with administrative and junior legal support.

The role will require a hands-on and problem-solving approach, together with providing steady-state operations to facilitate the successful delivery of all our client-facing work in the region, in a fast-paced and innovative environment.

The Institute’s key, group-wide regulatory and compliance matters will be managed by the General Counsel and Director of Legal, but the successful candidate will be required to support and assist with these matters in Africa.

The role will have a matrixed reporting line to the General Counsel and will be supported by junior colleagues in our London legal team.

The successful candidate will be a skilled lawyer who is equipped to work independently across a wide variety of legal areas in a fast-paced environment.

Key Responsibilities of the Legal Counsel at Tony Blair Institute for Global Change

Responsibilities will include:

Provide a timely, responsive and practical approach to the delivery of legal advice to the Africa region and its stakeholders
Collaborate with the Institute’s global Legal team in London and with counterpart Legal Counsel in other regions
Identify, assess, and inform regional leadership of any internal and external legal matters that may impact operations at an organizational level, recommending interim or permanent solutions wherever possible and applicable.
Manage relevant external counsel and professional advisors, including in different legal jurisdictions across the region.
Lead or collaborate with others on special projects and other operational assignments as directed by regional leadership
Manage ongoing corporate compliance responsibilities in the Africa portfolio in accordance with global policies and standards.
Ensure the implementation of global policies and standards for operational functions across the region (and any relevant local variations), particularly those related to legal and regulatory risk.
Support the Institute’s due diligence process, reviewing (or where necessary, conducting) counterparty due diligence, and drafting, reviewing, and negotiating various contracts with donors, counterparties, and key partners.
Provide legal guidance in government procurement and tender processes, ensuring compliance with relevant laws and regulations.
Support leaders in the region and across the organization to establish TBI’s presence in new countries, including the legal aspects of end-to-end program activation (and, where relevant, closure), such as formation, structuring and operationalisation of the Institute’s foreign branches and subsidiaries and immigration and visa matters.
Support the design and delivery of legal training and onboarding for new programs/staff within the region, operationalizing new country programs in accordance with all global/local policies and standards to facilitate the successful delivery for our teams from the outset.
As part of the global Legal team, support in the design and implementation of global legal processes and ways of working, risk management reviews and legal services delivery projects from time-to-time.

Requirements for the Legal Counsel at Tony Blair Institute for Global Change

We are looking for an outstanding lawyer with a proven track record of delivery in the public and private sectors.

All candidates will be required to have relevant experience working across multiple national or sub-national geographies in the region and working on multiple projects simultaneously.

Above all, we are looking for individuals with high levels of enthusiasm, resilience, adaptability and a can-do attitude.

Candidates must be able to demonstrate the following:

Qualified lawyer in country of work (minimum 8 years PQE) ideally with international experience gained in private practice and/or in-house.
Strong understanding of current legislation, regulations, and legal frameworks relevant to the region and the work of the Institutem
Ability to recognise legal and regulatory risks and implement risk management strategies.
Must be able to take ownership and manage their own workflow with minimal input from management, set their own goals and plan how to achieve them.
Dynamic, confident candidate who can articulate legal advice and analysis verbally and by written presentation.
Outstanding leadership skills and proven experience in influencing, coaching and delivering change through others, including demonstrated experience collaborating with and providing advice to senior leaders and stakeholders.
Highly commercial and entrepreneurial, with experience in navigating growth and ambiguous environments and managing up and across a hierarchy.
Excellent drafting skills with a creative, proactive and highly organised approach, and excited by the opportunity to build something new.
Willingness to facilitate the legal training and qualification of junior team members
A personal passion for social impact and government bringing demonstrable expertise in public policy or administration, international development or another similar field.
Business fluency in English required, with French and/or Portuguese preferred.
Willingness to travel across the Africa region, sometimes at short notice.