Legal Manager

ABOUT US

KiN Hotel Group is a Singapore-founded lifestyle and hospitality ecosystem established in 2023 by Singaporean and Vietnamese partners. Driven by our core philosophy, the “Warmth of Kinship”, we craft spaces and experiences that feel genuinely like home.

Today, KiN operates over 30 properties and a diverse brand ecosystem across multiple sectors:

• Hospitality: KiN Hotel, KiN Hotel Edition, KiN Wander, NiK Hotel
• F&B: TucKiN, Phiêu, Sip & Savour
• Wellness & Lifestyle: WAV, KiNSim
• Technology: KiNEX

With a strong foundation in Vietnam, KiN Hotel Group is actively expanding across Southeast Asia and regional markets, including Malaysia and China.

1. JOB PURPOSE

Provide hands-on legal leadership through KLM's centralised Legal & Compliance function for KLM, designated KiN Hotel Group entities, and regional expansion matters. Convert strategic and commercial decisions into legally executable structures, valid corporate approvals, properly authorized documents, and compliant operations.

This role integrates corporate governance, strategic transaction support, commercial contract advisory, and risk-based regulatory compliance, while maintaining a clear division from commercial decision-ownership and statutory signing authority.

2. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

A. Corporate Governance & Entity Structuring

• Entity Lifecycle Management: Manage legal governance across assigned group entities, including incorporations, business code amendments, restructuring, conversions, and liquidations; coordinate with Finance, Tax, and local authorities.
• Corporate Approvals & Charters: Advise on shareholder, Board, and Members' Council governance; draft and review corporate charters, resolutions, executive appointments, capital injections, and statutory representative arrangements.
• Delegation of Authority (DoA): Maintain and update the Group Delegation of Authority (DoA), reserved-matters matrix, Powers of Attorney (PoA), and signing-authority frameworks, distinguishing Group-level approvals from entity-level corporate authority.
• Intercompany Arrangements: Oversee intercompany agreements, cross-charging structures, and related-party transactions, ensuring all commitments are executed by the proper legal entities and authorized signatories.
• Corporate Housekeeping: Maintain clean, audit-ready entity registers, corporate records, licenses, internal approvals, and statutory annual corporate compliance filings.

B. Strategic Transactions & Capital Matters

• M&A & Asset Deals: Lead the legal workstream for assigned hotel acquisitions, lease-takeovers, joint ventures, and asset transfers; conduct due diligence (DD), identify risks, and recommend pragmatic mitigation structures.
• Transaction Documentation: Draft, negotiate, and finalize transaction documents including Term Sheets, LOIs, MOUs, Share Purchase Agreements (SPAs), Shareholders’ Agreements (SHAs), JV/BCC contracts, and Hotel Management Agreements (HMAs).
• Closing & Implementation: Coordinate transaction condition precedents/subsequents (CPs/CSs), closing mechanics, funding flows with Finance, handover processes, regulatory filings, and post-closing obligations.
• Fundraising & Expansion Legal Support: Support equity investments, debt/convertible facilities, shareholder loans, and regional expansion structures (e.g., Singapore, Malaysia, China) in coordination with HQ, external counsel, and institutional partners.

C. Commercial Contracts, Projects & Dispute Resolution

• Hospitality & F&B Commercial Advisory: Provide proactive, commercial-oriented legal advice for daily hotel, dining, and lifestyle operations, including tenancy leases, franchising, OTA and distributor agreements, vendor supply contracts, marketing, and event agreements.
• Development & CAPEX Contracts: Review and negotiate project development agreements: interior fit-out, design, construction, MEP, FF&E/OS&E procurement, variation orders (VO), retention money, milestone acceptances, defect warranties, and contractor delay claims.
• Technology & Data Privacy: Review IT procurement, SaaS agreements, proprietary software licenses, IP protection, and Decree 13 personal data compliance, focusing on source code ownership, cybersecurity, deliverables, and vendor termination rights.
• Contract Playbooks & Standardization: Build standardized contract templates, negotiation playbooks, issue checklists, and intake workflows to improve review turnaround time and reduce operational bottlenecks.
• Dispute Resolution & Pre-litigation: Manage material contractual breaches, partner claims, debt recoveries, and early dispute settlements; formulate pre-litigation strategies, manage appointed external litigators, and secure dispute evidence.

D. Regulatory Compliance & Legal Operations

• Enterprise Compliance Management: Oversee risk-based statutory compliance across properties, including Fire Safety (PCCC), Security/Order certificates, Food Safety, Environmental filings, Investment/Business registration, and Labor laws.
• Compliance Tools: Implement and maintain a dynamic Compliance Calendar, Legal Risk Register, and regulatory tracking system; establish prompt escalation protocols for overdue or material exposures.
• Gatekeeping & Payment Conditions: Operate legal control gates before contract signing, settlement execution, and major payment milestones in coordination with Finance & Accounting (without assuming financial approval duties).
• External Counsel & Legal Budgeting: Select, manage, and supervise external law firms; define clear scopes of work, deliverables, and optimize external legal spend against approved budgets.
• Team Supervision & Internal Training: Supervise, assign tasks, and mentor subordinate Legal Executives; conduct legal awareness sessions and standard operating procedures (SOP) training for business units.
• Executive Reporting: Provide concise, decision-oriented regular reports to the CEO and Board on open matters, transaction milestones, pending disputes, critical risks, and required executive actions.