Legal and Business Integrity Director at Diageo | April 2024

Scope of the role 

Primary accountability for Legal, Compliance, and Security  

 Purpose of Role 

• Enable SBL to achieve its business objectives in a legally compliant way while unlocking commercial opportunity through good practice. 

• Preserve value (financial and reputational) by minimising the risk of value leakage and litigation and maintaining compliance with laws and Diageo’s Codes.  

• Support SBL in developing best practice corporate governance, understanding Statement of Authorities. 

• Ensure the Function’s activities are prioritised and the Function is staffed internally and externally to maximise SBL’s business objectives and performance. 

Complexity 

The most significant financial contribution is the effective management of legal risk e.g. through clear commercial advice to business functions, contract negotiation and documentation, management of litigation, training of staff and by driving ethical and compliant behaviours to drive sustainable growth.   

Leadership Responsibilities and Decision Making Rights 

•  Proactively provide commercial and pragmatic legal advice and solutions for all aspects of SBL’s business and any other businesses of Diageo/EABL in Tanzania.  

• A member of the SBL Executive team. 

• Being a lead driver in ensuring that Diageo/SBL’s codes and policies are adhered to as well as driving sustainable behaviours where the local laws may be less rigorous than the codes and policies, including provision of on-point training. 

• Providing assistance to the EABL Company Secretary in managing the SBL board, board committee and general meetings; 

• Providing assistance to the EABL Group Legal Counsel and SBL Managing Director in advising in relation to minority shareholders, rights; 

• Responsible for ensuring good corporate governance including advising on best practice and training across a number of functions. 

• With the assistance of Diageo Global Compliance and Diageo Legal Function, the Legal Counsel is responsible for aspects of the Company’s compliance agenda.   

  Top 3-5 Accountabilities 

•  Function as a highly effective legal and business partner.  Stay particularly close to the SBL Managing Director and Finance Director. 

• Ensure that the Legal Function is an integral part of the SBL business (including visibility in-market) so it receives appropriate commercial and other functional inputs.  

• Embed functional best practice in the business. 

• Achieve the right balance between hands on “doing” of legal work, managing external lawyers and training of staff on relevant topics. 

• Review current processes and ways of working with the aim to embed proactive and commercial legal support for SBL in particular in the context of a recently expanded EABL legal team and business. 

Qualifications and experience required 

• Strong commercial law background especially in the negotiation and documentation of commercial contracts relevant to SBL’s business and giving advice in relation to marketing, sales and promotion activities. 

• A good working knowledge of the following legal areas – contracts, product liability, IP, employment, antitrust, litigation, corporate governance.  

• A track record of effectively managing external lawyers generally and in relation to a large outsourced litigation caseload. 

• Strong, analytical, drafting and negotiating skills. 

• Strong inter-personal/communication skills.  

• Strong commercial and pragmatic approach. 

Barriers to success in role 

• Inability to constantly reprioritise and manage expectations from a large and demanding business in a role that interacts with a high proportion of senior level managers. 

• Inability to understand and manage ambiguity and risk in an appropriate manner 

• Unwillingness to take and maintain strong positions with senior commercial management. 

• Inability to operate within an unpredictable judicial and regulatory system, where existing legislation may be new and untested and where there are frequent political and societal pressures.