DEAN MANYENGAWANA

[email protected] • +27 81 463 1509

PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY

Legal Project Manager and legal professional with experience delivering legal, regulatory, and compliance work as structured projects and programmes across in-house, consulting, and alternative legal service provider environments. Demonstrated ability to manage project based legal advisory, regulatory implementation workstreams, and turnaround-related legal initiatives. Strong focus on translating legal risk into practical, business-enabling outcomes aligned with operational, marketing, and commercial objectives.

WORK EXPERIENCE

Legal Project Manager

04/2024 - Present

NBP Attorneys

• Manage fee-earning litigation, advisory, and compliance matters as end-to-end legal projects, defining scope, timelines, deliverables, dependencies, and reporting structures

• Coordinate multi-stream legal work programmes involving attorneys, advocates, experts, and client stakeholders across complex litigation, business rescue, and turnaround matters

• Support business rescue and restructuring-related legal projects, including litigation coordination, stakeholder engagement, and tracking of statutory and court-driven milestones

• Implement and maintain standardised legal project workflows, templates, and documentation to support consistent delivery across multiple client matters

• Oversee litigation management workstreams, including pleadings coordination, briefing of counsel, diarising of court processes, and progress reporting to clients

• Deliver project-based legal advisory services on a fee-earning basis, aligned to client commercial objectives and risk profiles

Legal Secondee/Intern

10/2023 - 03/2024

SSC Group

• Supported an in-house legal function across 16 group companies through structured legal workstreams and coordinated project delivery

• Contributed to and supported business rescue and turnaround-related legal programmes, including contract remediation projects, litigation coordination, and governance realignment initiatives across group entities

• Worked on contract review, redrafting, and policy revamp projects to align group operations with business rescue objectives and revised risk profiles

• Supported litigation projects arising from business rescue proceedings, including coordination of pleadings, preparation of briefs and heads of argument, and liaison with external counsel prior to and during litigation

• Assisted with legal due diligence projects relating to mining rights and mining-related acquisitions, including regulatory risk assessments and documentation review

• Provided project-based legal advisory under SSC Advisory, including advisory support to a mining logistics company with annual revenue of approximately R120 million

• Advised on labour law compliance projects, including labour audits and bargaining council audit preparation for operational mining and logistics entities

• Supported procurement and vetting of external legal counsel, managed engagements, and acted as a liaison between in-house stakeholders and appointed counsel

• Assisted with internal investigations and stakeholder engagement, including liaison with journalists and communications teams during ongoing business rescue matters

Junior Legal Project Manager

06/2022 - 09/2023

INMISO Consulting

• Delivered project based legal advisory services within an Alternative Legal Services Provider model, structuring and managing fee-earning matters as defined legal projects with clear deliverables, timelines, and client reporting

• Acted as a flex resource lawyer, supporting in-house legal teams across multiple sectors by delivering document drafting, legal research, regulatory reviews, contract workstreams, and litigation support on demand

• Seconded to a diversified mining and investment group, managing legal project workstreams including contract lifecycle management, regulatory compliance, business rescue litigation support, and procurement-related legal reviews aligned to mining and operational objectives

• Managed mining-related advisory projects, including MPRDA regulatory evaluations, risk and compliance reporting, stakeholder engagement frameworks, joint-venture contractual assessments, and community relations advisory components

• Supported labour law and human capital advisory workstreams for mining operations, including employment agreement standards, HR risk mitigation projects, and disciplinary/legal compliance reporting

• Prepared legal opinions, briefs, and project summaries for executive stakeholders and clients, translating complex regulatory and contractual risks into practical business-aligned recommendations for internal and external decision-makers

• Assisted in legal tech and process improvement initiatives, including standardised contract templates, scalable due-diligence processes, regulatory checklists, and compliance tracking tools to improve delivery efficiency across advisory service projects

Junior Project Manager

03/2021 - 04/2022

Parts Africa Group

• Supported the delivery of business restructuring and turnaround programmes during the Covid-19 period, working closely with in-house legal, finance, and executive management within a group corporate structure

• Assisted in managing HR advisory workstreams, including, redeployment, retraining initiatives, and compliance with Zimbabwean labour law requirements during operational downsizing

• Coordinated project activities relating to the sale and wind-down of underperforming business units within the group’s civil engineering division

• Supported the redrafting, review, and renegotiation of supplier and vendor agreements to align contractual obligations with revised operational and financial realities

• Assisted with project planning and execution of cost-containment and operational realignment initiatives, tracking deliverables and stakeholder inputs

• Supported employee layoff and transition processes, including documentation, advisory coordination, and engagement with internal stakeholders

• Contributed to broader strategic programme delivery for legal projects including governance support, risk tracking, and coordination of internal and external advisors

Candidate Legal Practitioner/ Candidate Attorney

01/2020 - 02/2021

Chinamasa Mudimu & Maguranyanga Legal Practitioners

• Gained foundational legal training in commercial litigation, mining law, intellectual property, and conveyancing, performing core candidate attorney functions under supervision

• Drafted and prepared pleadings, legal memoranda, opinions, and correspondence in support of litigation and advisory matters

• Assisted with case administration, including court file preparation, filing of documents, diarising, and liaison with court officials and registries

• Conducted legal research and supported attorneys in the management of litigation matters from initiation to resolution

• Supported commercial and litigation matters for institutional and public-sector clients, including CBZ Bank, the Minerals Marketing Council of Zimbabwe, and the Ministry of Environment, Water and Climate, primarily in commercial law and dispute-related matters

EDUCATION

Bachelor of Arts in Law (BA Law)

University of Pretoria

Bachelor of Laws (LLB)

University of Pretoria

Certified Legal Project Professional

International Institute of Legal Project Management (IILPM) (Australia)

SKILLS

Technical Skills: Project Planning, Risk Assessment, Cost Control, Process Improvement, Programme Governance, Project Management

Soft Skills: Stakeholder Engagement, Strategic Planning, Communication, Leadership, Collaboration

Tools: Project Management Software, Legal Research Tools, Compliance Management Systems

Other: Legal Compliance, Litigation Support, Legal Research, Project Management Certification, Industry Knowledge: Legal Services

CERTIFICATIONS

Legal Project Professional

08/2025

International Institute of Legal Project Management