Legal Counsel

About the role

We are looking for an experienced, commercially focused Legal Counsel to join a regulated financial services organization in the UAE. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in banking, fintech, payment services, or other regulated financial institutions.

Key responsibilities

• Draft, review, and negotiate merchant agreements, payment processing agreements, and other commercial contracts.
• Provide legal advisory support on financial services regulations, commercial transactions, and contractual matters.
• Work closely with business, compliance, risk, and operations teams to ensure contractual and regulatory alignment.
• Support corporate governance, regulatory requirements, and general legal matters.
• Identify and mitigate contractual and commercial legal risks.

Required profile

• Minimum 5 years of relevant legal experience, preferably within a regulated banking, fintech, or payments organization.
• Strong understanding of financial services regulations and the regulatory environment in the GCC, particularly the UAE.
• Demonstrated hands‑on experience in drafting and negotiating merchant agreements and payment‑related contracts.
• Strong commercial contracting, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills.
• Qualification to practise law in a common law jurisdiction (UK, US, or equivalent) is preferred.