Manager, Legal

Job Description – Legal Manager (Compliance and Governance)

Role Summary
We are seeking a commercially minded lawyer with strong expertise in regulatory compliance, governance, and legal risk management to join Vena Energy’s regional Compliance & Governance team. This role will enhance Vena’s second-line capability within the legal function by shaping and maintaining the Group’s governance, regulatory compliance, and control frameworks, while also providing strategic legal support across our corporate structure.

Working closely with the Group Head, Compliance & Governance, and in partnership with Legal, Procurement, Sustainability, HSSE, IT, HR, Finance and Internal Audit, the role will:

• Strengthen corporate governance by drafting and maintaining charters, Delegation of Authority (DoA) frameworks, governance documents for joint ventures and funds;
• translate ethical compliance and regulatory obligations into clear, operationally-sound policies and playbooks, including legal template documentation and drafting guidance for business and legal teams;
• Support disputes and investigations, providing legal input on strategy and risk assessment while also helping to refine investigation practices, including those under the Group’s whistleblowing framework;
• oversee effective monitoring of policy adherence and control effectiveness; and
• drive governance initiatives that promote lawful, ethical and sustainable business practices across the Vena Energy portfolio.

The position is suited to a commercially minded lawyer who combines excellent drafting skills with a pragmatic understanding of how to embed controls within fast-moving businesses operating across multiple jurisdictions.

Work Scope

1. Governance Framework

• Contribute to the ongoing refinement of Vena Energy’s corporate governance framework, ensuring that the Group’s governance charters, Delegation of Authority (DoA) matrix, approvals protocols and “Policy on Policies” remain current, internally coherent and aligned with shareholder expectations and regulatory best practice.
• Draft and maintain governance documentation for joint ventures and co-investment vehicles.
• Coordinate with country teams to document and implement approved amendments to governance documents.
• Support preparation of board and committee packs, governance reports and authority register updates, ensuring consistency and accuracy of information presented to directors and senior management.

2. Legal and Regulatory

• Support management and oversight of the Group’s ethical compliance policies (ABC, AML, sanctions and insider-trading) and programmes:
   – design, draft and refresh policies, procedural guides and due-diligence tools;
   – conduct risk assessments on third party diligence program;
   – develop and refresh legal templates/contract provisions to implement ethical compliance principals.
• Provide assistance in any potential or on-going disputes and investigations, including assessing the merits of claims and advising on strategy).
• Serve as principal drafter and custodian of cross-functional Group policies and procedures (other than ethical policies) that are underpinned by legal or regulatory requirements—including Data Protection & Privacy, Records Retention, etc.
• Conduct legal research related to AML, sanctions and other regulatory compliance matters.
• Support regional and country legal teams in development of policies and procedures to ensure compliance with certain regulatory requirements.
• Support fund compliance workstreams, including the development, implementation, and monitoring of compliance frameworks and policies for investment funds managed or established by the Group (including ensuring that fund structures, governance arrangements, and ongoing operations comply with applicable laws, regulations, and best practices relevant to investment management and fund administration).
• Develop and deliver in-person and virtual training to employees, directors and relevant third parties on legal and regulatory matters.
• Prepare periodic legal and compliance reports for the Audit & Risk Committee and senior management, highlighting key risk indicators and emerging legal and regulatory trends.

3. Other Corporate Policies and Procedures

• Implement Policy on Policies, including a structured policy lifecycle management process: version control, periodic review, stakeholder consultation, approval, publication and archiving.
• Partner with other functional groups to review and operationalise policies and develop controls.
   

4. Sustainability

• Partner with the Sustainability team to align governance and compliance deliverables with Vena Energy’s broader ESG objectives, focusing on the “G” pillar.
• Support integration of supply-chain due-diligence and human-rights considerations into relevant policies, vendor-onboarding and procurement processes.

5. Enterprise Risk Management and Audit

• Collaborate with Legal to update the enterprise risk register with new or evolving legal, compliance and data-privacy risks.
• Support Legal and Investment teams in reviewing transaction papers for governance and compliance risks, advising on mitigants and documenting residual risk acceptance.
• Coordinate with Internal Audit on legal and policy-related testing programmes and ensure timely closure of any identified control gaps.

Requirements

• Qualified lawyer with 6–10 years’ PQE, including law firm training and in-house compliance experience.
• Demonstrated expertise in regulatory compliance program design, policy drafting, governance frameworks, AML/sanctions and data protection.
• Strong legal drafting, analytical, and communication skills in English.
• Experience working across multiple jurisdictions, ideally in Asia.
• Ability to manage multiple projects, influence stakeholders, and drive execution across the organization.
• Proactive, detail-oriented, and capable of balancing strategic development with hands-on delivery.
• Ability to lead and manage projects across multiple teams or groups, including documenting milestones and proactively providing updates to leaders and stakeholders.

Are you ready to engineer a greener future?