Senior Legal Counsel

ABOUT THE ROLE

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The Senior Legal Counsel will provide high-quality, business-focused legal support across a broad range of matters, including commercial contracting and regulatory change (particularly in the payments space).  This is an execution-driven role for a lawyer who thrives in a fast-paced environment, can balance multiple priorities and deliver pragmatic solutions that protect value and enable growth.  The successful candidate will combine strong technical skills with commercial judgment, working autonomously and collaboratively with senior stakeholders to drive strategic initiatives and ensure timely, effective outcomes. This role will have exposure to working with the entire highly experienced and enthusiastic team at Monavate.

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WHAT YOU'LL BE DOING:

• Lead and manage complex commercial contracting across the Group, including drafting, negotiating and maintaining master service agreements, vendor contracts and strategic partnership agreements.  
• Provide pragmatic, business-focused legal advice to senior stakeholders on a wide range of corporate and commercial matters, balancing risk with commercial objectives.  
• Manage multiple workstreams simultaneously, prioritising effectively and ensuring timely delivery of high-quality outputs  
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Finance, Strategy, Sales and Operations to enable business growth and strategic initiatives.  
• Engage and manage external counsel for specialist matters, ensuring cost efficiency, quality, and alignment with Group objectives.  
• Maintain governance and compliance standards during transactions, including preparing board papers, resolutions and ensuring audit readiness.  
• Contribute to process improvement and legal operations, including template development, playbooks and automation initiatives to improve efficiency.  
• Act as a trusted advisor and problem-solver, proactively identifying risks and opportunities and driving execution with minimal supervision.
• Partner with Compliance to embed key regulatory requirements into commercial contracts (e.g., data/security, audit, business continuity, subcontracting, termination), ensuring terms are right-sized for risk.
• Monitor relevant regulatory change affecting the Group (payments, AML/CTF, sanctions, data/operational resilience) and translate into actionable guidance/playbooks with minimal disruption to sales cycles.
• Coordinate and quality-control input from specialist regulatory counsel and local counsel, delivering integrated, business-ready advice and controlling external spend.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED

• Qualified Lawyer, candidates from both common law and civil law jurisdictions will be considered: 5+ years PQE (this is a guide only)
• Advanced negotiation and drafting of complex commercial contracts.
• Strong understanding of company law and governance. • Risk identification and mitigation in transactional and operational contexts.
• Ability to run multiple workstreams, set timelines and deliver under pressure.
• Familiarity with multi-jurisdictional legal issues and coordinating local counsel.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to deliver clear and practical advice to diverse audiences.
• Working knowledge of payments/fintech regulation and its commercial impact (e.g., customer due diligence, safeguarding/segregation, outsourcing, operational resilience) would be preferable but not essential.
• Strong grasp of AML/CTF and sanctions considerations in Payment Services (with ability to liaise with compliance, risk and external counsel).
• Awareness of data protection and information security standards relevant to payments and SaaS contracting (e.g., GDPR, DPIAs, international transfers).
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EXPERIENCE:

• Solicitor with 5 years+ Post Qualification Experience.
• End-to-end commercial contracting across a broad portfolio (enterprise customer agreements, vendor/SaaS, data/processor terms, DPAs, NDAs, statements of work, SLAs), including template creation and playbook creation and leading negotiations with senior counterparties.
• Running and/or coordinating buy-side and sell-side deals from term sheet to closing and post-closing integration.
• Issue-spotting, escalation strategies, settlement frameworks and instructing litigators where needed.
• Mentoring junior lawyers, creating pragmatic guidance notes and running brief training sessions for commercial teams.
• Experience translating regulatory requirements into commercial terms (e.g., operational resilience, service levels, data/security, audit, termination for regulatory cause).
• Exposure to the payments regulatory landscape and adjacent regimes (PSD2/PSR, licensing/authorisation, AML/CTF, sanctions, data protection), with ability to co-ordinate advice from specialist counsel is preferable but not essential.

WHO WE ARE

Monavate isn't your average payment provider… We're the rebels who cut through the jargon and outdated tech, making the complex simple for ambitious businesses. (Even if we do say so ourselves - you are welcome to ask our clients if we are lying.)  As a principal member of Visa, Mastercard, and Discover, our all-in-one platform, MonavateOne. is built for speed, innovation, and disruption. We're a global team with our roots (and headquarters) in Cambridge.   We are a diverse motley crew of exceptional professionals, united by a passion for solving problems and turning payments into power.

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WHY WE EXIST

We believe in building a world where payments aren't a barrier, but a catalyst for growth. We challenge the status quo, push boundaries, and never settle for the ordinary. At Monavate, you won't just build a career, you'll help shape the future of fintech.

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OUR WORK CULTURE

We're a team of experts, innovators, and self-proclaimed payment geeks. We work hard, celebrate our wins, and relish a challenge. We value collaboration, innovation and accountability - mixed with a healthy little dose of irreverence. If you're looking for a place where your ideas are valued and your voice is heard, Monavate could be the tribe you’ve been searching for.

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WHAT WE CAN OFFER YOU  

At Monavate, we believe in rewarding talent that's as bold and innovative as our solutions. That's why we offer a competitive salary, a bonus scheme that lets you share in our success, and a pension plan to help you build a brighter future. We also know work-life balance is key. We've got you covered with a healthcare cash plan, private health insurance, life assurance, and an income protection scheme. And because everyone needs a break, you get 25 days of paid holiday each year (plus public holidays, of course), with the chance to earn more as you grow with us. Oh, and we even throw in your birthday as a paid day off! Join the Monavate team and experience the perks of working for a company that values your talent and celebrates your unique contribution to our mission. Monavate is an Equal Opportunities Employer and seeks to hire the best candidate regardless of age, beliefs, disability, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation. By applying for the above role, you confirm that you have reviewed our Privacy Notice set out at www.monavate.com

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