Legal Counsel Southern Africa
DHL · Johannesburg
About DHL and Legal Services:
DHL Group the logistics provider of the world with over 580,000 employees in more than 220 countries and territories. We are an organization that is not just moving goods around, we have a very clear purpose, and we are: Connecting People. Improving Lives. We provide challenges and opportunities for personal and professional development, we recognize the difference you bring to our business and together we share the pride of building one of the largest world leaders in logistics and supply chain.
DHL Legal Services offers all business partners worldwide solution-oriented legal advice. We provide comprehensive support in contracts, negotiations, and processes with customers and suppliers as well as in general litigation and commercial law matters.
We are looking for a Legal Counsel to join our Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) Legal team, providing strategic legal support across Southern Anglophone Africa. This is an exciting opportunity to partner with senior business leaders, influence commercial decisions, and help shape legal strategy across a dynamic international business.
Reporting to the Head of Legal SSA, you will provide legal advice to DHL Express operations in South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and our agent in St Helena, while also supporting regional SSA initiatives and cross-functional projects.
If you enjoy solving complex legal challenges, working closely with the business, and operating in a fast-paced international environment, we'd love to hear from you.
Key Tasks:
- Provide commercially focused legal advice across a broad range of business, operational and regulatory matters.
- Draft, review and negotiate commercial contracts and other legal documentation.
- Identify legal risks and develop practical solutions that protect the business while enabling commercial growth.
- Advise on competition law, compliance, data protection and corporate governance matters.
- Support regional marketing, sales and strategic initiatives by providing timely legal guidance.
- Manage external legal counsel across multiple jurisdictions, including litigation, employment, corporate, regulatory and commercial matters.
- Monitor legislative and regulatory developments across the region and communicate business impacts.
- Deliver legal training and guidance to internal stakeholders to improve legal awareness and reduce business risk.
- Build strong relationships with business leaders and become a trusted legal adviser across the organization.
- Prepare legal reports, maintain oversight of regional legal matters and support wider Legal team initiatives.
What you'll bring
- Bachelor's Degree in Law from a reputable university
- Admission to practice law in a relevant jurisdiction.
- Fluency in English, both written and spoken, French would be a great advantage
- At least 8 years of post-qualification experience gained in a leading law firm, multinational organization or corporate legal department.
- Strong experience in commercial contracts, corporate law and regulatory matters.
- Sound knowledge of competition law, compliance and data protection.
- Excellent commercial judgement and the ability to balance legal risk with business objectives.
- Outstanding stakeholder management and relationship-building skills, with confidence working alongside senior executives.
- Excellent drafting, negotiation and communication skills.
- High levels of integrity, professionalism and sound ethical judgement.
- Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities across different jurisdictions.
- A proactive, pragmatic and solution-oriented approach to legal problem solving.
Why join DHL Legal Services?
At DHL Legal Services, our people are at the heart of everything we do. As part of the world's most international company, you'll have the opportunity to work on complex, cross-border legal matters while collaborating with colleagues across Africa and our global network.
In this role you will:
- Work closely with senior business leaders and influence strategic decisions.
- Gain exposure to a broad range of commercial and regulatory legal matters across multiple countries.
- Join a collaborative and highly respected regional legal team.
- Be part of a company consistently recognised as a Great Place to Work.
- Build a rewarding international legal career with opportunities for professional development and growth.
If you're ready to combine legal expertise with commercial impact in a truly international environment, we'd love to hear from you. Apply today and help us keep the world connected.