Legal Officer

Role Overview

The Legal Officer supports the Bank’s Retail, Commercial, Corporate, MSME and Digital Banking teams with practical legal guidance, documentation review and regulatory updates. The role helps teams structure and document transactions appropriately, identify legal exposure early, and maintain effective oversight of external counsel.

Key Responsibilities

• Review letters of offer, valuation reports and related security documents before instructions are issued, and advise credit analysts on suitable security structures.
• Recommend changes to security documentation and raise deficiencies or perfection risks with Credit Management.
• Draft and review contracts, checking that they follow approved templates and meet applicable legal and regulatory requirements; highlight gaps and potential exposure.
• Research legal questions and prepare advisory notes for the Legal Manager’s review before advice is shared with the business.
• Track changes in legislation, regulations, circulars and internal policies, explain their implications to relevant teams, and assess whether global threat alerts apply to the Bank.
• Provide focused guidance to branches and support functions on legal procedures and compliance obligations.
• Coordinate with external lawyers, maintain current service-level agreements and professional indemnity records, and monitor counsel’s work quality and feedback.
• Prepare external counsel reports for review by external auditors and support litigation-related matters.

Requirements & Qualifications

• LLB degree from a recognised university and a Postgraduate Diploma in Law through an Advocates Training Programme.
• Admission as an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya, or equivalent in the relevant jurisdiction, with membership in good standing of the Law Society of Kenya or an equivalent professional body.
• Two to four years of post-qualification legal experience.
• Practical exposure to contract drafting, legal documentation, litigation support, and regulatory or compliance work.
• Experience in a bank, financial institution or other regulated organisation is an advantage.
• Certification in compliance or data protection is an added advantage.