Senior Legal Counsel

Location: Global

Team: General

About the Role

Wise is a global technology company revolutionizing the way the world moves and manages money, with min fees, max ease, and full speed. As Senior Legal Counsel in our General team, you'll be based in our London office (hybrid model, 3 days/week) and play a pivotal role in advising on day-to-day and strategic legal matters. This includes providing expert guidance on financial services regulations, navigating complex landscapes for new and existing products, and ensuring compliance across our innovative operations. You'll collaborate with regulators and cross-functional teams like Compliance, Product, and Operations to become a trusted advisor on key issues such as sanctions, AML, banking partnerships, and commercial agreements. Drafting, negotiating complex contracts with banks, API users, and enterprise customers will be core to your role, alongside mentoring our global Legal Team spanning London, New York, Austin, Tallinn, Singapore, Brussels, and São Paulo. Join us to help build the future of money without borders, with a competitive salary of £127,000-£150,000.

Key Responsibilities

• Advise and lead on a wide range of legal matters relating to Wise’s day to day and strategic initiatives
• Provide clear advice on regulatory matters relating to financial services, covering both new and existing products and licences
• Navigate the rapidly changing regulatory landscape, ensuring Wise's products and operations adhere to relevant legal and regulatory requirements
• Engage proactively and collaborate effectively with regulators
• Work closely and build relationships with multiple business teams across Wise including Compliance, Product, Wise Platform, Banking and Expansion and Operations
• Become a trusted advisor on issues such as financial and consumer regulations, sanctions, AML and anti-bribery issues, banking arrangements, new products, partnerships, employment issues etc.
• Structure, draft, and negotiate complex commercial agreements with bank partners, API users and enterprise customers
• Mentor and upskill the Legal Team (based in London, New York, Austin, Tallinn, Singapore, Brussels and São Paulo)

Required Qualifications

• UK-qualified lawyer with at least 7 years PQE
• Law firm or in-house experience, focusing on financial regulation relating to payments and financial services
• Experience building and scaling a team

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with sanctions, AML and anti-bribery issues
• Background in banking arrangements and new products
• International regulatory experience across multiple jurisdictions

Required Skills

• Ability to evaluate and summarise legal advice and communicate advice in a succinct and pragmatic way
• Proven aptitude for commercial contract structuring, drafting, and negotiation
• Clear communication skills
• Project coordination and management skills
• Ability to navigate difficult issues and multiple stakeholders
• Advising the business on key risks and developing solutions
• Regulatory navigation in financial services
• Stakeholder relationship building
• Team mentoring and upskilling
• Pragmatic problem-solving

Benefits

• RSUs (stock options)
• Flexible working (hybrid model, 3 days in London office per week)
• Parental leave
• Learning budget
• Paid sabbatical after 4 years
• Health insurance
• Company retreat
• Wise card

Wise is an equal opportunity employer committed to building a diverse workforce.