Stellenbosch University Legal Services Division Legal Advisor (Ref. RD/103/0421) Legal Services provides support to Stellenbosch University (SU) on an institutional as well functional level. The support services encompass three main areas of responsibility, namely legal advice, and support (including legal risk management), legal compliance and student discipline. The function reports to the Registrar. Duties: The Legal Advisor is appointed to assist the office of the Senior Director: Legal Services and to achieve this goal, the following duties are included: General legal advice and support to the University management and staff: · Dealing with enquiries that are directed to the office of the Senior Director: Legal Services; · Within a reasonable time, providing written and/or verbal feedback on enquiries received; · Serving on various task teams to provide guidance on the impact and legal implications that may be relevant to the specific matter discussed by the task team; · Acting in the best interest of SU after considering all the interest at stake, opinions and evidence. Drafting and vetting of legal documents: · Vetting of SU policies, regulations, management documents, rules and provided guidance on the impact of the document; · Providing commentary when it is requested or when necessary and making the necessary corrections to the document to ensure that the SU¿s interest are protected; · Ensuring that legal and other documents are aligned with legislation, SU guidelines and rules. Providing legal opinions: · Providing a thorough legal opinion when it is requested on the impact, consequences and possible outcome of the situation; · These opinions must consider various views and outcomes to ensure that it reflects a thorough opinion that provides guidance on the approach that would be in the best interest of SU. Liaising with external law firms and other internal and external stakeholder: · Liaising with external law firms when SU is exposed to litigation; · Acting as internal liaison and manager of the communication to ensure that clear instructions are given; · Compiling a litigation report for submission to SU management. Managing legal risk: · Identifying legal risk and managing it in consultation with stakeholders; · Drafting a policy and guidelines that will assist in managing legal risks; · Introducing new and evaluating / reviewing existing controls to ensure that legal risks are reduced. General: · Working in close relation with the Senior Director: Legal Services and other legal advisors, but also independently; · From time to time, attending consultations and discussions on behalf of the Senior Director: Legal Services and providing feedback on these to the Senior Director: Legal Services; · Drafting reports for the consideration of the Senior Director: Legal Services; · The legal adviser could be deployed in other roles in Legal Services should the need arise; · It may be required of the legal advisor to act as evidence leader during student disciplinary matters; · Drafting half-year and full year reports to enable feedback on the work by the Office of the Senior Director: Legal Services. Job Requirements: LLB, or other relevant professional degree or qualification; At least two years' relevant legal experience after admission; Admission as attorney (or similar professional registration) and appropriate post-admission experience; Ability to work under pressure in a rapidly evolving environment focused on customer service; Fluent in English and Afrikaans with high levels of language proficiency; Experience in MS Office (Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint and Word) and the Internet; The ability to link with internal and external clients with proactive assessment to add value; The ability to work independently, within a team context, in the interests of the greater institution; The ability to work with external service providers; Excellent interpersonal skills. Recommendation: · Knowledge of Higher Education Institutions as a regulatory environment will be regarded as an added benefit; · Experience of Risk Management will be considered an additional benefit.
