Legal Advisor

JOB DESCRIPTION

Position Summary

The Legal Advisor is the organization's dedicated in-house legal, risk and compliance authority, providing proactive legal counsel while owning enterprise risk management and the compliance program. The role is prospective and advisory in nature, embedded within management, and is deliberately distinct from the Internal Audit function, which independently and retrospectively tests whether policies and controls are being followed. The Legal Advisor reports directly to the General Manager and works closely with the Board on material legal, risk, and compliance matters.

Key Responsibilities

Legal Advisory

• Draft, evaluate, and negotiate contracts, including supplier agreements, OTA (online booking platform) contracts, event and banquet contracts, leases, franchise or management agreements, Sponsorship and Membership. 
• keep a central contract register and track important contractual deadlines and renewals.
• oversee disputes, claims, and litigation in coordination with external counsel, protecting the organization's legal and financial position.
• deliver legal opinions to the General Manager and Board on business decisions, new initiatives, and licensing matters.
• track and interpret changes in relevant law and regulation, including labor, licensing, consumer protection, and data privacy, and translate these into practical guidance for the business.
• oversee corporate governance documentation, including board resolutions, the contracts registry, and intellectual property/trademark records.
• Act as company representative in legal and regulatory matters, liaising with external counsel and regulators as required.

Risk Management

• Build and keep the enterprise risk register, covering operational, financial, reputational, and strategic risk.
• Design and keep the organization's risk appetite and risk treatment frameworks.
• guide crisis and incident response planning, including guest safety incidents, data breaches, and reputational or PR crises.
• Own business continuity planning and periodic insurance adequacy reviews.

Compliance

• Policy Development: write, update, and execute company policies, standards, and internal control systems, and guide their rollout across departments.
• Design and own the organization's overall compliance program, including codes of perform and supporting frameworks.
• Act as the primary point of contact for regulators and licensing authorities (e.g., liquor licensing, tourism/hospitality regulation, fire and safety codes).
• track ongoing compliance with anti-money laundering (AML), data protection, labor, and health and safety regulations.
• perform proactive compliance risk assessments and gap analyses, distinct from Internal Audit's control testing.
• Staff Training: educate employees and leadership on compliance standards, codes of perform, and new or changing legal requirements, through periodic training sessions.
• Compliance Reviews & Reporting: run periodic internal compliance reviews, document findings, and report compliance issues and recommendations to the General Manager and, where material, the Board — distinct from Internal Audit's independent assurance testing.
• Investigations: look into suspected policy violations or legal/regulatory breaches referred to the role and oversee intake of the whistleblowing/ethics hotline (case management; investigations requiring independent audit assurance remain with Internal Audit).

Governance and Coordination

• keep a clear delineation of duties from Internal Audit to avoid duplication and preserve Internal Audit's independence: the Legal Advisor builds and owns policies and frameworks; Internal Audit independently tests whether they are being followed.
• Convene a quarterly coordination meeting with Internal Audit to align risk registers and avoid duplicated fieldwork.
• Escalate material legal, risk, and compliance matters to the General Manager and, where warranted, directly to the Board.

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in law (LLB), business, or a related field or relevant master's degree is an added advantage.
• Must be a member in good standing with the Rwanda Bar Association (RBA), or demonstrate eligibility for admission (e.g., completion of a Diploma in Legal Practice from a recognized institution). 
• A postgraduate qualification or certification in Risk Management and/or Compliance (e.g., ICA Diploma in Compliance, CAMS for AML) is a strong advantage.
• Minimum 5–8 years of post-qualification legal experience, ideally combining law firm and in-house exposure.
• Demonstrated experience in contract negotiation and commercial law.
• Prior exposure to regulatory liaison with licensing bodies, Labor authorities, and tax/AML regulators.
• Hospitality, tourism, retail, or service-industry legal experience strongly preferred.
• Experience building or running a compliance program from the ground up is a plus.

Key Competencies

• Legal drafting and negotiation: contracts, policies, and memoranda of understanding.
• Regulatory intelligence: ability to track and translate legal and regulatory change into business action.
• Risk analysis: sound quantitative and qualitative risk assessment methodology.
• Stakeholder management: able to advise the General Manager and Board while working cross-functionally with Operations, HR, and Finance.
• Crisis management: composure and sound decision-making under incident pressure.
• Communication: able to translate complex legal and regulatory language into practical guidance for non-legal staff (Front Office, F&B, Housekeeping, and other operational teams).
• Integrity and independence of judgment: willing to escalate uncomfortable findings to management.
• Attention to detail: precision in policy drafting, contract evaluate, and compliance documentation.
• Commercial pragmatism: advice that is workable for a fast-paced, guest-facing business rather than purely academic.

Scope Boundary with Internal Audit

To preserve Internal Audit's independence and avoid duplication of duties, the following remain explicitly outside the scope of this role:

• Independent testing of control effectiveness (remains with Internal Audit).
• Retrospective audit reporting to the Audit Committee/Board.
• Assurance opinions on financial or operational controls.
• Leading or opining on investigations requiring independent audit assurance (the Legal Advisor may assist with legal input only).

Required documents to apply:

• a detailed CV with 3 contacts of professional referees.
• a one-page cover letter with a motivation statement in relation to the responsibilities and requirements for this position.
• copies of academic degree, professional training certificates, and other relevant training certificates.
• a copy of your national ID

how to apply 

• The deadline for submitting applications is Friday,September 25, 2026, at 17:00 hrs Kigali time.
• All Candidates should send their zipped documents tohr@kigaligolf.rw with the subject line " Legal Advisor."
• Only selected candidates for interview will be contacted.