Senior Legal Counsel - Product & Commercial

About us:

BVNK is a next-generation payments platform for global businesses. We bridge the gap between traditional and digital finance to make payments borderless, instant, and secure. Using the BVNK platform, businesses can send and receive payments on all major schemes and blockchain networks, incorporate stablecoins into their payment flows, and settle funds in over 30 markets.

We are a diverse team spread across the UK, Europe, South Africa and APAC, with a shared belief that in the next five years all payment flows will interact with crypto, and BVNK will be at the forefront of this shift. We recently raised 0m in series A funding, and we're looking for smart, ambitious people to help us build the next generation of payments.

We're incredibly honoured to have made Newsweek's list of the top 100 Global Most Loved Workplaces 2 years running in 2023 and 2024. 

What we're looking for:

We’re looking for a fast-learning and well-rounded Lawyer, based out of our UK or Malta offices, with familiarity in financial services law (including payments and ideally, blockchain and digital assets) and demonstrable commercial contractual expertise to help us continue to drive innovation and accelerate our hyper growth. In this role, you’ll be a deeply embedded and strategic advisor to all of the teams across BVNK, including Product, Engineering, Compliance, Regulatory, Banking, Marketing, Finance and HR. In addition, you’ll help shape and build new products, including identifying and consulting on legal risks in connection with the development of new products, and work on exciting market-leading partnerships and embedded propositions by providing strategic advice and taking the lead on the drafting and negotiations that follow. 

Key Areas of Responsibilities:

• Partner closely with all global teams (e.g. compliance, finance, and product) across BVNK and Mastercard, including UK, EU, South Africa, Singapore and San Francisco, to advise on a range of issues, including financial services requirements, payments, outsourcing, data privacy, intellectual property, employment laws, BAU financial crime matters, disputes, litigation and corporate governance.
• Assist in drafting, reviewing, and negotiating a variety of commercial agreements, including service contracts, outsourcing agreements, SaaS agreements, and other documentation involving complex transactions.
• Review marketing materials to ensure they are accurate, compliant with legal and regulatory standards, protect intellectual property, include necessary disclosures, mitigate risks, and align with company policies.
• Assess and advise on legal risks, propose innovative and effective legal solutions to problems, ability to constructively challenge business decisions from a legal perspective.
• Work closely with other members of the Legal Team (and Mastercard legal team) to support BVNK’s global BAU activities and legal operations function.
• Conduct legal research and stay up-to-date on applicable laws and regulations dealing with cryptocurrency, payments, and other relevant areas, anticipating legal and commercial risks and advising and assisting the business to prepare for them.
• Good understanding of cryptocurrency and fintech legal frameworks, or a strong interest in learning about cryptocurrency and blockchain technology.

What we need from you:

• You’ll have 7+ years of experience as a qualified lawyer in an in-house legal team, top law firm and/or a government agency. 
• You’ll have familiarity with UK and EU financial services laws and regulations including payments and ideally, blockchain and digital assets. 
• You’ll have strong and extensive experience in negotiating and drafting agreements with customers, partners and suppliers, including complex payment services-related agreements.
• You’ll have experience in intra-group matters such as intra-group outsourcing and advising on corporate law matters. Experience with corporate governance, employment matters, disputes and litigation is ideal but not mandatory.
• You’re highly collaborative, inquisitive, and solutions-oriented, ideally with prior experience advising on product development at fast-moving technology companies. 
• You’re biased towards action and impact, and no task is too big or too small for you; you can roll up your sleeves and get things done. 
• You have exceptional verbal and interpersonal communication skills, can build strong relationships with colleagues and stakeholders, and can simplify legal concepts and communicate them in easy-to-understand language. 
• You exhibit genuine curiosity, are passionate about your work, and enjoy a fast-paced working environment. 
• You’re humble with low ego, have a strong desire to grow and learn, and have a deep commitment to your teammates.

What you can expect from us:

• Fair and competitive salary at every stage of your growth
• Meaningful ownership in the business through our employee option scheme
• Flexible working hours, with hybrid working at its heart
• A culture built on passionate growth minded people
• A flexible approach to holiday
• Opportunities to travel to our offices around the world, in locations such as London and Cape Town, to collaborate with your colleagues 
• An open and creative environment where you can help us define the future of BVNK, it’s culture, and it’s opportunity sets

At BVNK, we are focused on building a diverse and inclusive team. While you may not meet all of our requirements, we’d encourage you to apply if you meet the majority of our expectations. You may be a great fit for this role or another role in our team.