- Legal Service to MEA Management Team (45%) This comprises:
- providing a commercially focused, savvy legal service to the MEA divisional management team and the business (hotel operations);
- providing comprehensive legal support on all new hotel developments, including drafting and negotiating hotel management agreements, franchise agreements, joint ventures, technical services agreements, HASAs and ICLAs. (Since 1 July 2006 to date, Corporate Counsel MEA has advised on and facilitated the signing of 52 new deals by Development, most of which are managed properties);
- Advising on the management of any litigation and arbitration, including the development of suitable strategies therefor;
- Providing efficient, cost-effective local legal advice to owned or managed hotels, which involves managing a portfolio of existing professional relationships with legal counsel in different jurisdictions and establishing relationships with legal counsel in new jurisdictions where no local legal support currently exists (e.g. Angola, Libya, Nigeria and Syria);
- Providing legal advice to the MEA business on the application of United States of America and United Nations Sanctions against specific countries in the region, monitoring changes to the same and providing timely updates. This work also requires knowledge of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and compliance therewith; and
- Advising on strategies across the MEA, be that with respect to business development, renewals, terminations, or implementation of global corporate initiatives.
- Divisional Legal and Tax Structure and Compliance (25%) This comprises:
- Ensuring that the MEA Legal and Tax structure is compliant with the EMEA Tax structure;
- Ensuring the delivery of EMEA Tax driven projects (such as Project Century) through coordination with Tax so that regional policy is being implemented and new entities are being established in compliance with these policies;
- Maintaining the Dubai divisional branch office licences (and, where applicable, MEA local branch licences and those of subsidiary companies) annually so that all IHG MEA operations are valid and lawful; and
- Managing the relationship with IHGs local service agent, Mr. Ahmed Ramadan; and
- Implementing any changes to MEA branch and subsidiary registrations that may arise from changes to a specific countrys legislation (e.g. Egypt, Libya; Syria; and UAE).
