Assistant Legal Manager – Commercial & Legal

About the role

The Assistant Legal Manager will support SMEC’s South African business, based in Johannesburg, by providing specialist legal advice and handling the drafting, reviewing, negotiating and execution of commercial agreements and procurement documents.

Key responsibilities

• Review terms and conditions of contracts to ensure compliance with commercial and legal guidelines.
• Lead or assist in negotiations of vendor contracts, NDAs, consultancy and construction supervision agreements.
• Assist in managing debt collection processes and commercial litigation matters.
• Coordinate with external legal counsel and participate in tender appeal processes.
• Review proposals and tender requests as part of business tendering activities.
• Provide general legal advice and draft legal notices, letters, and other commercial documents.
• Maintain MIS updates and ensure compliance with company policies.

Required profile

• Bachelor of Laws (LLB) or equivalent with Attorney certification.
• 3‑4 years of experience drafting and negotiating engineering design consultancy and construction contracts.
• Experience working on FIDIC and IFI‑funded infrastructure projects.
• Exposure to commercial litigation and debt recovery processes.
• Proficiency in PowerPoint and Microsoft Excel is an advantage.

Required skills

• Microsoft Excel
• PowerPoint