Legal Operations Associate

Responsibilities:

Immigration Compliance & Application Management:

• Use Odyssey’s proprietary compliance platform to create, manage, and process immigration applications, including e-visas, business visas, temporary work permits, work permits, expatriate quota, business permits, and related immigration documents.
• Review client documentation and application materials thoroughly before submission to ensure accuracy, completeness, and compliance with applicable requirements.
• Prepare, track, and submit monthly CERPAC filings and other recurring immigration compliance filings.
• Maintain clear application documentation showing eligibility, documents required, cost, next steps, and escalation points.
• Coordinate payment processing for immigration applications, government fees, and related statutory charges, while ensuring proper documentation and reconciliation.
• Ensure all immigration applications and compliance workflows are properly documented inside the Odyssey platform.
• Use Odyssey’s internal weekly goal-setting framework to set individual goals, track progress, report blockers, and support accountability across the team.

Client Communication & Account Support:

• Communicate application status updates to clients through the Odyssey platform, email, and phone.
• Respond to client inquiries regarding immigration processes, documentation requirements, timelines, and application status.
• Support client onboarding by helping HR, legal, and admin teams understand required immigration workflows and documentation.
• Prepare clear client-facing updates, compliance summaries, and application progress reports.
• Escalate risks, delays, missing documents, or compliance issues promptly to management and relevant client stakeholders.

Legal Advisory & Corporate Compliance:

• Draft, review, and support negotiation of company and client contracts.
• Provide legal advisory support on corporate, commercial, regulatory, and immigration-related matters.
• Liaise with regulators, immigration authorities, government agencies, and external counsel to ensure compliance with applicable laws and procedures.
• Advise on data protection, privacy, and cross-border compliance obligations.

Compliance Operations, SOPs & Internal Controls:

• Develop, document, and improve internal SOPs for immigration applications, client onboarding, document review, compliance checks, filings, and regulatory follow-ups.
• Design and implement compliance policies, internal controls, checklists, templates, and escalation frameworks.
• Conduct periodic legal and compliance audits and ensure timely remediation of identified issues.
• Track regulatory interactions, application bottlenecks, compliance incidents, and process risks.
• Work closely with the founder and team to improve the legal/compliance operating system as Odyssey scales.

Product & Cross-Functional Collaboration:

• Collaborate with product and engineering teams to ensure Odyssey’s platform aligns with immigration, legal, regulatory, and data protection requirements.
• Provide feedback from real immigration workflows to help improve platform features, document management, application tracking, compliance automation, and client visibility.
• Help translate immigration processes into structured workflows, checklists, and product requirements.

Leadership & Department Ownership:

• Lead and oversee Odyssey’s legal and immigration compliance function.
• Ensure proper implementation of all compliance programs, processes, and procedures.
• Build a high-accountability culture around documentation, urgency, accuracy, and client trust.
• Support future hiring, training, and supervision of legal/compliance team members as the department grows.

Requirements:

• Bachelor of Laws degree or relevant legal/compliance qualification.
• 2+ years of experience in legal, corporate compliance, immigration, regulatory, or legal operations work.
• Strong understanding of Nigerian immigration processes, work permits, business visas, expatriate quota or related regulatory procedures is highly preferred.
• Excellent documentation, drafting, and organisational skills.
• Strong attention to detail and ability to manage multiple applications, deadlines, and client requests at once.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Comfortable using software tools, spreadsheets, and digital platforms to manage workflows.
• Ability to work with urgency, independence, and high ownership.
• Comfortable liaising with clients, regulators, government agencies, and external counsel.
• Strong judgement, discretion, and professionalism when handling confidential client and employee information.
• Proactive and able to move without constant reminders.
• Comfortable operating in a fast-paced startup environment.
• Detail-oriented but also practical and execution-focused.
• Able to turn ambiguous legal or immigration processes into clear workflows.
• Strong at follow-up, documentation, and deadline management.
• Excited about building the legal and compliance function of a technology-enabled immigration company.

Nice to Have:

• Prior experience working with immigration consultants, law firms, HR teams, EOR companies, global mobility teams, or expatriate workforce compliance.
• Experience building SOPs, checklists, internal controls, or compliance workflows.
• Familiarity with data protection, privacy, and cross-border compliance.
• Experience working in a startup, technology company, or high-growth operational environment.