Manager, Legal, Regulatory & Risk
Nairobi, Nairobi County, Kenya, kenya
Full-time
Department: LegalLocation: NairobiDescriptionRole OverviewAs the Manager, Legal, Regulatory & Risk, you will lead our internal legal, regulatory and risk functions and act as the primary liaison between Peach Cars and external stakeholders, including legal partners, governmental bodies, and our partners. This role requires a seasoned legal, regulatory, and risk professional with strong analytical, critical thinking and investigation skills, including different scenario setting and come up with necessary risk mitigation strategies and the ability to guide leadership on legal, regulatory, governance matters and risk management together with commercial aims in mind.The Manager, Legal, Regulatory & Risk will oversee contract management, regulatory compliance, policy development, corporate governance, internal investigations, and legal and regulatory risk management. They will work closely with teams across the business to ensure our operations align with Kenyan legal regulatory requirements, together with international standards, especially in other sub Saharan African countries and Japan context where relevant and industry best practices.Key ResponsibilitiesSpecifically, the Manager, Legal, Regulatory & Risk at Peach can expect to lead/own the following elements:Legal advisory & Strategy:Provide strategic legal advice to leadership and all business units on commercial, regulatory, employment, and operational matters.Interpret laws and regulations impacting the business and advise on implications for current and future operations.Maintain critical thinking and investigative approach to legal risk assessments and design mitigation measures aligned with business priorities.Create centralized learning mechanisms & best practices/past cases experience sharing.Contract management:Oversee the drafting, reviewing, negotiation, and standardization of commercial contracts and agreements.Design and align the commercial priorities and level of the risk appetite company is able to take and design the contracts with different scenarios and stakeholders in mind to achieve the business objectives with mitigated risk and feasible operations.Ensure all contracts meet compliance requirements and protect the company’s interests, including risk mitigation from legal and tax perspectives, integrate industry and company best practices.Build a robust, scalable contracts management process and repository and make sure all the latest contracts were properly integrated and implemented into day to day operations.Regulatory & Statutory compliance:Ensure the company complies with all applicable laws, sector regulations, and government requirements (e.g., Companies Act, NTSA, KRA).Maintain and update statutory registers, corporate filings, and regulatory submissions.Monitor and communicate legislative updates and ensure timely adaptation of internal policies and build necessary relationships with relevant government bodies to obtain necessary certifications and guidance.Policy development & Governance:Develop, review, and implement company-wide policies that align with regulatory guidelines and business needs, including internal investigations and disciplinary actions together with the People & Culture team.Strengthen corporate governance structures, practices, and documentation.Ensure seamless coordination between internal teams and external counsel on compliance matters and delivery outputs within the required timeline with high quality and accuracy.Build inter-companies rules and policies to adhere to all relevant regulations and rules to mitigate the risks (e.g. capital injection from parent company to child company, transfer policies etc.)Corporate secretarial oversight:Oversee the company secretarial function, including preparation for shareholder and board meetings.Ensure timely filing of corporate information in compliance with the Companies Act, and coordinate statutory tax filings in accordance with applicable tax laws.Maintain accurate minutes, resolutions, and corporate records, together with up to date accurate official records on government bodies.Cross-border & Investors and Partners support:Collaborate with Japanese legal teams and investors on due diligence, regulatory documentation with focus on Kenyan regulations and legal elements and fundraising processes where necessary.Guide Kenyan legal and regulatory frameworks for international partners.Ensure all required certificates, filings, and legal documents are investor-ready and up to date.Leadership & stakeholder management:Provide strong leadership to internal teams on legal, regulatory and risk management issues, including necessary clarifications with relevant government bodies.Train staff on compliance, policy adherence, and legal awareness.Serve as the primary point of contact for external legal counsel, regulators, and government agencies. And maintain relationships so that we can always be informed on the latest developments.Qualifications & ExperienceMust-Have QualificationsBachelor of Laws (LL.B) degree from a recognized universityPostgraduate Diploma in Law (Kenya School of Law)Advocate of the High Court of Kenya with a valid Practising CertificateMinimum 5–7 years post-admission experience, preferably in corporate, commercial, regulatory, or in-house rolesNice-to-Have QualificationCertified Company Secretary (ICPSK)Experience working in a fast-paced, high-growth environment is an added advantageCompetenciesRisk management and scenario planning: Ability to build what if scenarios, anticipate how risks could play out, and design practical mitigation strategies that fit business priorities.Analytical & critical thinking: You can break down complex legal and business issues, question assumptions, and reach sound, well-reasoned conclusions even with incomplete information.Commercial awareness: Ability to understand an organisation's commercial drivers, and give legal advice that enables the business rather than blocking it. You balance risk protection with speed and commercial goals.Project management (stakeholder & cross-functional delivery): As the primary point of contact, you work closely with teams across the business to embed compliance into daily operations. You coordinate external counsel so inputs, approvals and deliverables arrive on schedule and to a high standard.What Success Looks Like3 months: Understand and stabiliseMeet key leaders, regulators’ contacts and external counsel, and understand business priorities and current legal exposure.Reviewed all key contracts, registers, licences, filings and open matters, and has an initial risk register and compliance calendar.Dealt with any urgent or overdue compliance items inherited from the previous incumbent.Established as the go-to person for legal questions, with agreed turnaround times for requests.Aligned with the co-founder on priorities, decision rights and how they will work together.Aligned with the Japanese side of experts as well on priorities and when to involve the Japanese side6 months; Built and embedHave a standard contract template set and working contracts repository, with approval workflows in use.Have priority policies drafted or updated, such as investigations and disciplinary processes, and have rolled them out with staff awareness sessions.Have delivered clean, on-time corporate secretarial and statutory filings. Have a risk register reviewed regularly with leadership, with mitigation owners assigned.You’ve built working relationships with key regulators (e.g., NTSA, KRA).Have a complete, investor-ready data room of certificates, filings and legal documents that can support fundraising or due diligence at short notice.12 months: Lead and scaleThere’s a legal, regulatory and risk function that scales with the business, including readiness for 500+ cars a month and any new products such as financing.There’s no material compliance breaches, penalties or missed deadlines.Business teams see legal as a partner and bring issues early, shown by internal feedback.Has contributed to expansion planning with an informed view of regulations in Kenya and Japan-related requirements where relevant.There’s a strengthened governance, with regular board packs, accurate minutes and clear decision records.Other Job DetailsAttitudes & BehaviorsEmbraces and exemplifies Peach Cars’ values of Challenge, Respect, and OwnershipAdvisory and decision support: You raise legal and regulatory implications early in business planning, not after decisions are made.Takes initiative, asks for feedback and improves processes without prompting.Plans work as projects with owners, milestones and updates, and flags blockers early.What You Can ExpectAt Peach, GROWTH is a people’s promise. You can expect real ownership, clear expectations, regular feedback, and opportunities to grow your scope and impact as the business scales. We value challenge, respect, and ownership and we back high performers with trust, learning, and opportunity.How To ApplyIf you’re excited by the opportunity to turbo-charge growth and make a massive impact on the future of mobility in Africa, we want to hear from you! Share your CV and a short note on the field campaign you are proudest of, including the results it delivered to become our Trade Marketing Manager and help drive our vision forward.Peach Cars is an equal opportunity employer. We value diversity and are committed to building an inclusive workplace that reflects the communities we serve.