Advisor, Legal, Commercial Property Finance

Liberty is seeking a skilled Legal Advisor to provide crucial support to its Commercial Property Finance (CPF) division. This role is instrumental in facilitating transactions, driving business growth, and managing legal risks within the dynamic property finance sector. The ideal candidate will be a strategic legal professional who can balance regulatory compliance with commercial objectives, offering pragmatic and solution-oriented advice.

About the Role

As a Legal Advisor within the CPF business, your primary responsibility will be to offer commercially driven legal expertise to support a variety of financing initiatives. You will be deeply involved in the structuring, drafting, and negotiation of bespoke financing agreements and related documentation. This position requires you to act as a strategic partner, proactively enabling transactions, accelerating deal execution, and contributing to revenue generation while rigorously managing legal risks. You will be expected to deliver insightful, actionable legal advice across various business units, ensuring that commercial imperatives are met without compromising on legal and regulatory standards.

A key aspect of this role involves the proactive identification, assessment, and mitigation of legal and transactional risks associated with banking products and services. You will ensure that all activities align with the legal entity's mandate and adhere to all applicable regulatory frameworks. Furthermore, you will represent the organisation in complex, multi-party negotiations. The expectation is that you will effectively influence outcomes, safeguarding the organisation's interests while simultaneously facilitating successful deal closures and cultivating robust relationships with clients and other stakeholders.

The responsibilities within this role are varied and demand a high degree of legal acumen and commercial understanding. You will be expected to:

• **Provide Legal Counsel:** Offer commercially focused legal advice on a range of property finance matters.
• **Draft and Negotiate Agreements:** Structure, draft, and negotiate bespoke financing and associated legal agreements.
• **Risk Management:** Proactively identify, assess, and mitigate legal and transactional risks inherent in banking products and services.
• **Strategic Partnership:** Act as a strategic advisor to the CPF business, enabling deal flow and supporting growth objectives.
• **Stakeholder Engagement:** Represent the organisation in complex negotiations, manage stakeholder relationships, and influence outcomes.
• **Compliance:** Ensure all legal activities comply with relevant regulatory requirements and internal policies.
• **Transaction Support:** Facilitate the smooth execution of transactions by providing timely and practical legal input.

What They're Looking For

To excel in this position, candidates should possess a strong foundation in law with a commercial orientation and significant experience within the financial services or legal sectors. A first-degree qualification in Law is essential, coupled with at least five to seven years of post-qualification experience. This experience should demonstrate a proven track record in providing commercially focused legal advice, specifically including the drafting, review, and negotiation of financial and transactional documentation.

Candidates must exhibit a clear ability to identify and manage legal risk in a manner that actively supports business performance and facilitates the successful delivery of deals. While not strictly mandatory, prior experience within banking, property finance, or broader commercial property transactions is highly advantageous and strongly preferred. Furthermore, the role requires a degree of leadership and influence; therefore, at least three years of experience in influencing, guiding, or managing stakeholders or teams is expected, even if formal people management responsibilities haven't been a core part of your career progression.

Strong behavioural competencies such as clear articulation of information, meticulous attention to detail (checking things, documenting facts), relationship building (establishing rapport, interacting with people), organisational skills (managing tasks, meeting timescales), analytical thinking (providing insights), composure under pressure, and a collaborative approach (team working) are vital. Technical competencies expected include expertise in contract management, understanding of financial industry regulatory frameworks, legal advisory and interpretation skills, proficiency in legal drafting, broad legal knowledge, and robust legal research capabilities.

For a Legal Advisor in commercial property finance in South Africa, typical remuneration can vary significantly based on experience, the specific employer (major banks, specialised finance houses, or law firms acting for these entities), and the complexity of the transactions handled. However, with 5-7 years of post-qualification experience, one could anticipate a competitive salary package. Career progression often involves moving into more senior advisory roles, management positions, or specialising further within niche areas of finance law.

Type of Qualification: First Degree
Field of Study: Legal

Experience Required
Macro Generic
Legal

• 5–7 years’ post-qualification experience providing commercially focused legal advice, including drafting, reviewing, and negotiating financial and transactional documentation within legal and/or financial services environments.
• Demonstrated ability to identify and manage legal risk in a way that supports business performance and deal delivery.
• Experience within banking, financing, or commercial property transactions is strongly preferred.
• At least 3 years’ experience influencing, guiding, or managing stakeholders/teams (formal people management not essential).