Legal & Compliance Officer

Overview

Our organisation seeks to hire a mid-level in-house lawyer, called to the Nigerian Bar with 4–8 years' post-call experience, as Legal & Compliance Officer. This person handles the day-to-day legal and compliance work of the group and all its digital products, and knows when to bring in external counsel.

About us:

AIET is a fast-growing group building digital platforms across fintech, commerce, trade, lifestyle, education, investment and mining. Our first six products are preparing to launch, with more to follow across new sectors.

The role:

You will be our in-house lawyer and compliance officer, and part of our foundation team. You will register our companies, protect our brands, draft and negotiate our agreements, run KYC and due diligence on partners and counterparties, and keep every licence and filing on track. You will report to the CEO and work closely with our product, commercial and media leads.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Corporate and company secretarial

Incorporate and register companies, business names and incorporated trustees with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) for the group and its product entities.

File annual returns, changes of directors, shareholders, share capital and addresses on time.

Keep statutory registers, minute books, resolutions and corporate records in order; prepare board and shareholder resolutions.

Advise on group structure for new products and sectors (separate company, subsidiary or business name).

Intellectual property

Run trademark searches and file trademark applications for the group and every product brand, in the right classes; track oppositions, publication and certificates.

Secure domain names and social media handles with the Media Lead.

Make sure the group owns all software, content and designs: IP assignment clauses for staff, contractors, agencies and developers.

Advise on registering trademarks outside Nigeria as products expand.

Agreements

Draft, review and negotiate NCNDAs, NDAs, MOUs and letters of intent, especially for trade, mining and investment introductions.

Draft and negotiate partnership, supplier, service-level, software development, licensing, agency, consultancy, employment and lease agreements.

Draft platform documents for each product: terms of service, privacy policies, cookie notices, merchant and seller agreements, acceptable use policies.

Keep a contract register with key dates, renewals and obligations.

KYC, due diligence and AML

Set up and run KYC and KYB procedures for partners, counterparties, investors and corporate customers.

Carry out due diligence on mining and trade counterparties: CAC status, mineral licences and permits, beneficial owners, sanctions and adverse-media checks.

Support the product teams on customer KYC requirements (BVN, NIN, KYC tiers) with the licensed partners.

Maintain anti-money-laundering, anti-bribery and conflict-of-interest policies and records.

Regulatory compliance

Keep a compliance calendar of every licence, permit, registration, filing and renewal for the group and each product.

Support licence and registration processes with CBN-licensed partners, the SEC, the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, the NDPC and other regulators, briefing external counsel where needed.

Lead NDPA documentation: data processing records, privacy notices, consent, data processing agreements, DPIAs, with the Security & Compliance Lead.

Review advertising, promotions and launch materials for legal and regulatory compliance with the Media Lead.

General

Advise management on legal risk in day-to-day decisions; flag issues early in plain language.

Manage disputes and demand letters; brief and manage external counsel on litigation or specialist matters, and control legal spend.

Train staff on contracts, data protection, anti-bribery and compliance basics.

Person specification

What you will do

Handle CAC incorporations, post-incorporation filings and annual returns for the group and its product companies

File and manage trademarks for the group and all product brands

Draft and negotiate NCNDAs, NDAs, MOUs, partnership, service, software, employment and other agreements

Draft terms of service, privacy policies and merchant agreements for our digital products

Run KYC, KYB and due diligence on partners, investors and trade and mining counterparties

Keep a compliance calendar for licences, permits and regulatory filings, and support licence applications

Brief and manage external counsel on specialist matters

What you bring

LLB, BL and call to the Nigerian Bar, with 4–8 years' post-call experience

Hands-on experience with CAC filings, trademark registration and commercial contracts

Experience running KYC or due diligence on companies and individuals

Working knowledge of CAMA 2020, the Trade Marks Act, NDPA 2023, and CBN and SEC rules for fintech

Fintech, technology, e-commerce, mining or trade experience is a strong advantage

Clear, practical advice in plain language, and excellent organisation

Why join

Build the legal foundations of a whole group from the start

Varied work across payments, commerce, trade, investment, learning and mining

Room to grow into a senior legal role as the group expands

Competitive pay, performance bonus, HMO, pension, professional development support

WHAT THE ROLE COVERS

Corporate: CAC incorporation and registration of entities and business names for the group and each product company; annual returns; changes to directors, shareholders and share capital; statutory registers and corporate records.

Intellectual property: trademark searches and registrations for the group and all product brands, domain names; copyright and software ownership; IP assignment from staff and contractors.

Agreements: NCNDAs, NDAs, MOUs, partnership, supplier, service, employment, consultancy, agency, software development and licensing agreements; platform terms of service and privacy policies.

KYC and due diligence: KYC/KYB on partners, counterparties, investors and customers where required; due diligence on mining and trade counterparties; sanctions and adverse-media checks.

Compliance: data protection (NDPA) documentation; advertising and consumer protection compliance; licence and permit tracking (CBN, SEC, mining, trade); compliance calendar and policies; AML and anti-bribery controls.

Coordination: briefing and managing external law firms for specialist or high-stakes matters, such as CBN or SEC licence applications and litigation.

Reporting line: CEO / Group MD, with day-to-day work for the Commercial Lead (contracts and partners), Head of Product (terms, privacy, product compliance) and Media Lead (advertising compliance).

Corporate

Has personally handled CAC incorporations, post-incorporation filings and annual returns Accredited CAC agent; ICSAN or company secretarial qualification

IP Has filed and followed through trademark applications Has handled oppositions or international (Madrid) filings

Drafting Strong drafting and negotiation of commercial agreements, NDAs and NCNDAs Software, SaaS, licensing and platform terms

KYC and AML Has carried out KYC/KYB and due diligence on companies and individuals AML or compliance certification (e.g. ACAMS)

Regulation Working knowledge of CAMA 2020, the Trade Marks Act, NDPA 2023 and the main CBN and SEC rules for fintech Mining law (Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act) and trade rules

Technology Comfortable with digital products and online filing portals Experience with legal tech or contract management tools

Personal

Organised, discreet, practical, writes clearly for non-lawyers Arabic or French (useful for Al-Tijarah and cross-border trade)

Behaviours we look for:

practical (finds a lawful way to do things, not only reasons to stop); organised and deadline-driven; discreet with confidential information; honest when something is outside their expertise; calm under pressure from many business teams at once.

Success measures

By Measure

Day 7: Audit of all existing entities, registrations, trademarks and agreements; compliance calendar and contract register set up

Day 20: Outstanding CAC filings completed; trademark applications filed for all six product brands; standard templates approved (NDA, NCNDA, MOU, service, employment, IP assignment); KYC procedure live

Month One: Terms of service and privacy policies live for the pilot product and the next; partner agreements for the first launches signed; no missed filing or renewal deadlines

Month Three: All product launches supported with complete legal documentation; NDPA documentation in place; external legal spend within budget

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Minimum qualifications

BA/BSc/HND

How to apply

Send your CV and a multi-page note to jobsearchconsults@gmail.com and searchrecruitments@gmail.com with the subject "Legal & Compliance Officer". In your note, describe a commercial agreement or registration you handled from start to finish and the main risk you managed in it.

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