Job description
Employment Type:
Employee
Contract Type:
Permanent
About the role
Planet is seeking an experienced, senior legal counsel with a strong background across a range of commercial and regulatory legal matters within digital payments, FinTech and/or financial services sectors. Reporting directly to our Chief Legal Officer, who leads the Legal, Risk & Compliance Team, the successful candidate will help lead a team of lawyers and risk and compliance professionals by providing practical, solutions–orientated advice to deliver on Planet’s strategic, business, and financial goals whilst meeting its regulatory, statutory, and legislative obligations.
Background
We are seeking a highly motivated and detail-oriented individual to join and lead our growing legal team. Planet is a PE-backed, high-growth business which is expanding organically, geographically and by acquisition. This is an excellent opportunity to leverage your payments expertise on commercial and regulatory matters across multiple jurisdictions, develop senior leadership skills, and play a key role in leading Planet’s rapid growth.
Responsibilities
- Draft, review and negotiate a variety of commercial agreements including those involving the provision of acquiring, gateway, terminal and other value-added payment and integrated software services
- Review and support responses to business proposals/ tenders/ RFPs
- Resolve legal issues and contract interpretation matters that arise during negotiations and during the customer lifecycle with a focus on balanced, win-win solutions
- Produce and/or maintain various standard agreements. Develop playbooks and standard contractual provisions to further and enhance the speed, efficiency, and effectiveness of commercial agreements
- Analyse and advise on regulatory matters that relate and/or arise out of the payment and software products and services offered by Planet such as PSD2+, payment services regulations in UK, France and broader EEA, AML/CT regulations, GDPR, retail financial services, card scheme and alternative/local payment method rules
- Advise and deliver on special, growth projects including new product developments and geographical expansions, taking into consideration their legal and regulatory impact
- Support M&A activity inclusive of performing due diligence on target companies, evaluating risks and opportunities of the target from a legal and regulatory perspective, and integrating the target into the commercial and legal operations into Planet’s Legal, Risk & Compliance organization
- Keep fully conversant with the new and emerging product lines developed by Planet and with the wider payments and software innovation ecosystem
- Have a keen awareness and understanding of the regulatory and other legal environment within which Planet operates
- Horizon scan and delivery strategic counsel on evolving payments and regulatory developments and their potential impact on the business and Planet’s overall strategy
- Identify, communicate, and ensure all legal risks are within appetite. If necessary, escalate legal risks together with appropriate recommendations and mitigations
- Support internal and external regulatory examinations and audit reviews
Requirements
- 10+ years PQE of industry experience in an in-house legal department and/or leading law firm in England and Wales, Ireland, or another Common Law jurisdiction
- Have a deep expertise in payments, financial services and related payment and scheme rules and regulations
- Demonstrate a keen, working understanding of the legal issues affecting the payments industry, including AML/CTF, data privacy/security, safeguarding, funds flows, and transactional reporting to regulators
- Strong transactional experience leading contract negotiations in relation to (as many of the following as possible): direct acquiring; indirect acquiring with sponsoring banks, payment processing, gateway services, and multi-currency pricing solutions for a payment services provider (or equivalent), FinTech, e-money institution and/or financial institution
- A business-first mind-set with a drive to find solutions that allow business and market share growth in a prudent and long-term-oriented approach
- Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills
- Passion for simplification and efficiency/process improvement
- A high degree of discretion and the ability to work with sensitive and confidential data
- Able to thrive in a fast-paced environment, tackle ad hoc projects as they arise/are assigned, and successfully manage multiple deadlines.
- Be fluent in English. Additional languages a plus
What do we offer and why should you join us?
We don't shy away from wanting to hire great people to deliver amazing things for our customers. And once you join us, we want to keep you motivated and engaged in our collective mission.
Competitive Pay
We don't want you to worry about your pay and wonder if you can have it better someplace else. We follow the market and evaluate salary benchmarks through the year to make sure any salary increases remove any worries and keep you satisfied. We review pay annually to make sure we are paying you what you're worth.
Growth and skills
We know that for some it's about growing into more senior and exciting roles, and for others it's about becoming a deep technical expert. No matter what your ambition, we are with you all the way. We know that investing in you is the way to keep skills relevant and you motivated.
Flexible working
Work from home? Work in the office? Have family and life commitments that mean you need flexibility? What we care about is what you deliver not where you work nor the hours you work. We know flexibility matters and that's why we offer the flexibility that suits you and your lifestyle.
An array of people
We know that to win, our workforce needs to reflect the world in which we live and the customers we serve. We are proud that we have a culture where everyone and anyone can bring their whole selves to work.
Ready to meet us?
We hope this role sounds exciting and could be your next step. If so, we'd love to meet you - click the button to apply. Go on. Make our day
seankuhnke.com is the go-to platform for job seekers looking for the best job postings from around the web. With a focus on quality, the platform guarantees that all job postings are from reliable sources and are up-to-date. It also offers a variety of tools to help users find the perfect job for them, such as searching by location and filtering by industry. Furthermore, seankuhnke.com provides helpful resources like resume tips and career advice to give job seekers an edge in their search. With its commitment to quality and user-friendliness, seankuhnke.com is the ideal place to find your next job.