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Job Advert – Corporation Secretary & Director-Legal & Corporate Board Affairs

UGANDA INVESTMENT AUTHORITY

EMPLOYMENT OPPOTUNITY

The Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) is a semi-autonomous government agency operating in partnership with the private sector and Government of Uganda to drive national economic growth and development. The Authority was setup by an Act of Parliament (Investment Code 1991, which was later revised to the Edition 2000 Laws of Uganda) 2019 with the aim of promoting and facilitating private sector investment in Uganda.

The ability of the Authority to fulfill its mandate primarily lies in the way in which its Human Resource is managed from the point of entry, stay, exit and post exit. It is a policy of UIA to attract and retain a highly qualified and competitive workforce to fulfill its mandate and hence the need to fill the vacant positions.

UIA seeks to recruit highly skilled, experienced and motivated qualified individuals to fill the following position:

1. CORPORATION SECRETARY & DIRECTOR-LEGAL & CORPORATE BOARD AFFAIRS

Reports to:  Director General

Directly Supervises: Deputy Director – Legal & Corporate Affairs

Job Summary: The Corporate Secretary main duty include ensuring the integrity of the governance framework, being responsible for the efficient administration of a company by ensuring compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements and implementing decisions made by the Board of Directors. He/she is the head of the Legal team and has delegated authority from the DG to serve as the Secretary to the Board. He/she is responsible for giving legal advice to the Board and Management on all legal matters affecting the Authority. On behalf of the DG, he/she provides all the secretarial duties to the Board and its Committees. He/she is also the secretary to Top Management meetings.

Purpose of the Job: The job holder is responsible and accountable for ensuring that legal matters, board affairs and complaints are managed in a transparent manner resulting in provision of quality services that mitigate the level of litigation risk to the authority.

Duties and Responsibilities

  • As part of the senior management team participate in the development of UIA’s strategic plans and work plans ensuring that they meet and drive the overall objective of the authority.
  • Overseeing the management of in-house counsel ensuring that accurate legal advice is provided in all cases to mitigate risk of court cases that will result in damaging the reputation of the authority and or result in negative financial impact on the authority.
  • Manage all board and committee meeting logistics, attend and record minutes of all board and committee meetings; facilitate board communications;
  • Take the lead in managing the development of standards, regulation and guidelines for the authority in regards to the implementation of UIA procedures ensuring that they are well documented and communicated to the entities for consistent application.
  • Advise the Board on its roles and responsibilities;
  • Maintain key corporate documents and records;
  • Where necessary represent the Authority in court in collaboration
  • Responsible for corporate disclosure and compliance with state corporation laws and all other relevant laws and ensure compliance;
  • Monitor corporate governance developments and assist the Board in tailoring governance practices to meet the Board’s needs and investor expectations;
  • Serve as a focal point for investor communication and engagement on corporate governance issues
  • Giving legal advice to the Board on all legal and corporate governance matters
  • Organizing Board meetings by preparing schedules for board meetings with the Director General.
  • Timely Preparation and distribution of Board Papers to the Board of directors.
  • Managing information flows between the Board Members, Board sub-Committees as well as Board and Management.
  • Organizing for Board induction and training
  • Liaising with the Board Chairman and Director General to organize Board appraisals
  • Secretary to the Board and its sub committees by taking minutes at their meetings and keeping record of the same.
  • Extracting Board resolutions
  • Advising the Director General about the legal implications of trends, issues and problems associated with UIA’s operations.
  • Identifying and addressing legal issues associated with the execution of the mandate of the Authority
  • Liaising with central and local government authorities, as well as other departments in the Authority, to ensure compliance with relevant laws, regulations and other corporate obligations.
  • Act as Secretary to Management Meetings which includes organizing weekly Top Management meetings in consultation with the Director General, taking minutes of the Management meetings and keeping proper record; and giving legal advice to Management
  • Providing expert and strategic legal advice to management
  • Attending meetings involving legal questions particularly with investors’ representatives
  • Keeping abreast of legislative changes and carry out legal research on bills relating to investment before the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee of Parliament
  • Advising on policy legal framework regarding the investment environment
  • Participating in strategy formulation and implementation
  • Directing, supervising, developing and mentoring departmental staff
  • Participating in appraisal of departmental staff
  • Preparing periodic performance reports
  • Executing any other undertakings as may be assigned by the Director General
  • Guiding and supervising the Authority’s legal team

Key result areas

  • Correct legal opinions rendered in timely manner
  • Timely Board and Management Meeting Notices
  • Properly documented Board and Management Minutes
  • Signed Board Minutes and Resolutions
  • Timely follow-up and implementation of board resolutions
  • Summary of Board decisions for purposes of feedback to staff
  • Departmental performance reports prepared and submitted in a timely manner
  • Timely submission of periodic reports and notes to file
  • Timely delivery of required legal support and services (including advice) to  
  • Management and all the divisions of the Authority

Qualifications, experiences & Competences

  • Master’s degree in Law, MBA or Policy Planning and Management is a MUST
  • Bachelors of laws from a recognized university is a MUST
  • A Post Graduate diploma in Legal Practice is MUST,
  • Possession of an ICSA qualification is an added advantage
  • Must be a member to relevant legal professional bodies.
  • Should be an enrolled Advocate of the High Court and Courts subordinate thereto
  • Possession of valid Practicing Certificate
  • Ten (10) years of relevant experience five (5) of which should be at senior management level executing legal & Corporate Affairs roles.
  • Minimum of four years’ experience within a government setting advising the institution on legal and corporate affairs.
  • Deep knowledge of the Uganda Land Laws and Regulations
  • Strong communication, networking, advocacy and negotiation skills
  • Analytical, problem-solving skills
  • Management and organizational skills
  • Discretion with confidential information
  • An understanding of the legal system as it affects business
  • Good communication and interpersonal skills
  • A thorough understanding of a company’s business
  • Working knowledge of corporate and securities law
  • Demonstration of presence and excellent communication skills
  • Sensitivity and intuition toward DG and directors’ thoughts and feelings
  • Ability to read signals and provide early warnings to management
  • Ability to mediate and assist in achieving consensus
  • Ability to overcome bureaucratic thinking in the organization
  • A sense of balance no matter how pressured a situation

Special/Key skills

  • Supremely organized and detail-oriented
  • An effective and patient communicator
  • An excellent problem solver
  • Experienced at managing entire departments as well as individual employees
  • Familiar with business laws and regulations
  • Extremely discreet
  • Acquainted with, and not bothered by, bureaucratic red tape
  • Able to perform under pressure
  • A calm and rational mediator
  • Honesty & Integrity
  • Loyalty and courtesy;
  • Punctuality;
  • Tactfulness and cautiousness
  • Sense of discipline and responsibility
  • Professional minded
  • Cooperative minded
  • Strong personality

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