General Counsel, EU

Role Description

We are looking for an exceptional regional General Counsel to be a senior advisor to the Group Head of Europe, his senior leadership team, the European business and the wider FNZ business.

This role is a true GC role covering a wide variety of legal matters across multiple jurisdictions. Your role will have oversight of our businesses across Europe, and in particular in relation to our regulated businesses in Germany, Ireland and Luxembourg. There are small legal teams within our regulated businesses, however, you will have get involved in the detail of many diverse legal matters as they arise.

You will bring regulatory, product, commercial, corporate and employment expertise to support the operation of the European business, the delivery of the existing customer pipeline and the strategic expansion in terms of product, customers and geographic footprint. 

The right candidate is someone who has a passion for delivering complex legal projects, has a detailed analytical brain, good organisational skills, can understand and navigate a complex multi-facetted business and can link in with multiple teams across the business to generate the best legal and commercial outcomes for FNZ.

Organisational Design

You will have dual reporting lines to the Group General Counsel and the Group Head of Europe.

The lawyers located in region will have reporting lines into you, and also into their respective Country Heads.

We have:

• a team of lawyers in Germany, supporting our German Banks;

• a lawyer in Dublin supporting our MiFID investment firm and its European branches; and

• a lawyer in Sweden supporting our securities business.

We have a funds platform in Luxembourg but do not have an in-house lawyer yet.

Note this role excludes the UK.

Specific Role Responsibilities

What you will be doing:

• Advising the European businesses on legal and regulatory issues surrounding its operations generally

• Advising the European businesses on legal and regulatory issues surrounding structuring of products, sales, onboarding of customers and future development of products and services for our customers

• Ensuring compliance with all relevant laws, regulations and industry standards, including those related to financial services, data privacy and corporate governance

• Supporting strategic projects such as reorganisation and restructuring plans

• Contract drafting and analysis, including intra-group agreements

• Working closely with the Compliance and Risk, Finance, Tax and the People teams

• Liaising with specialist external counsel, and distilling and coordinating advice for senior management and non-legal audiences

• Producing MI for internal business reporting/tracking

• Focus on legal risk management and contribute to the development of legal policy/procedure

• Excelling at leadership while also undertaking executional work to handle significant and complex legal matters with short turnaround times

• Evaluate and report on potential risks and opportunities, monitor and report on legal developments, develop mitigation or enhancement strategies, and coordinate external legal advisors

Experience required 

What you will need:

• 15+ years of PQE experience

• Fintech/Financial Services sector experience required

• Deep knowledge of financial regulations and experience with European regulatory bodies is essential

• Excellent academic and law firm credentials

• Sound judgment, composure under pressure and a collaborative mindset

• Confidence making decisions where there is ambiguity or incomplete information

• Proven experience in contract negotiations and managing disputes in collaboration with senior leadership

• Experience engaging with regulators and/or policymakers

• Exceptional stakeholder management and communications skills.

Nice to have: -

• Experience in advising clients/stakeholders on Capital Requirements Directives and prudential requirements

About FNZ Culture  

Our culture is what drives us. It's at the heart of who we are and everything we do. It's what inspires, excites and moves us forward. Our ambition is to create a culture for growth, one that opens up limitless opportunities for our employees, customers and the wider world. At FNZ we know that great impact is only possible with great teamwork.

That’s why we value the strength and diversity of thought in our global team.

The FNZ Way is the cornerstone of what we do. It is comprised of four values that set the standard for how everyone at FNZ interacts with each other, with our customers, and with all our diverse stakeholders around the world. 

Customer obsessed for the long-term Think big and make an impact Act now and own it all the way Challenge, commit and win together 

Read more about The FNZ Way and our values: www.fnz.com/culture 

Opportunities 

• Right from day one, you will work alongside exceptional, multicultural teams - experts in their respective fields - who will inspire and challenge you to make your greatest impact.

• Be part of a highly successful, rapidly growing, global business that is leading the delivery of financial services via cloud computing and partners with some of the world’s largest companies. 

• Working in a flexible and agile way that meets the needs of the business and personal circumstances.

• Remuneration, significant financial rewards and career advancement is based on individual contribution and business impact rather than tenure or seniority. 

• We provide global career opportunities for our best employees at any of our offices in the UK, EU, US, Canada, South Africa and APAC. 

Commitment to Equal Opportunities  

At FNZ, we recognise that diversity, equity and inclusion are important factors contributing to our success. We embrace the unique perspective and capabilities of our current and future employees, which will help us continue to drive innovation and achieve our business goals. Recruitment decisions at FNZ are made in a non-discriminatory manner without regard to gender, ethnicity/race, faith, age, nationality, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status, socio-economic background, disability or military veteran status where all applicants and employees are valued and respected.

In addition, we want to ensure accessibility needs are well supported, if you require specific support please advise us. 

About FNZ

FNZ is committed to opening up wealth so that everyone, everywhere can invest in their future on their terms. We know the foundation to do that already exists in the wealth management industry, but complexity holds firms back. 

We created wealth’s growth platform to help. We provide a global, end-to-end wealth management platform that integrates modern technology with business and investment operations. All in a regulated financial institution. 

We partner with over 650 financial institutions and 12,000 wealth managers, with US$1.5 trillion in assets under administration (AUA).

Together with our customers, we help over 20 million people from all wealth segments to invest in their future.