Senior Legal Counsel (Commercial & Regulatory)

Senior Legal Counsel (Commercial and/or Regulatory)

About us:

ClearBank is built on the belief that banking infrastructure shouldn’t slow down progress. Quite the opposite. Speed it up and that’s when you unlock potential. When you really start to innovate.  

That spirit and ‘can-do’ attitude is why our clients – from FinTech's and Corporates, to crypto platforms, banks and credit unions – choose to use our API to power their banking infrastructure.  

But it’s our people who are the stars here. They power that innovation, push harder to break boundaries. They make coming to work (or working from home) fun. They’re the ones we trust to catapult our clients to success. Just as they trust us to build a business that’s always striding forward.  

What you can expect:

ClearBank is a place where you can do things differently and challenge the status quo. We will give you a high level of autonomy and transparency, and we trust you to make the right decisions for the bank. If that excites you, how about joining our team as Senior Legal Counsel, working directly with our Head of Commercial Services.

About the roles:

Our Legal team are looking for two Senior Legal Counsel.  One role will be primarily commercial contracts focussed and the other will involve a variety of regulatory and commercial work.

• We would like to speak to experienced lawyers who have relevant experience and are interested in joining a fast-growing business that is challenging the market and doing things differently. 

• In our team there is a focus on advising on new product design and readiness, new business structures and models, as well as negotiating strategic contracts with new and existing customers and suppliers.

• We are broadening our embedded banking product. We’re also considering how to expand further in Europe. You’ll be supporting us on this journey. You’ll also be supporting on broader matters of strategy and product development in the global growth plans of ClearBank and working with the Group team on the strategy for the legal, governance and policy function.    

• You’ll help to ensure that ClearBank’s arrangements with customers, partners, and suppliers, meet legal and regulatory requirements. Cross departmental relationships are essential, and you will work closely with a range of teams across ClearBank including product teams and technical experts to ensure that ClearBank’s innovative and expanding products are designed and operate in compliance with legal and regulatory requirements.

• You’ll advise on commercial and regulatory issues affecting the business, as well as drafting, advising, and negotiating contracts.    

What we're looking for:

• The ideal candidate will be a qualified solicitor or barrister in England and Wales with proven experience leading on commercial negotiations and employing your knowledge of banking and payments regulation as you go.

• A breadth of experience will complement the broad nature of work in this role. Direct experience of the areas highlighted in the above section is preferred.

• A working knowledge of UK and other payment systems is beneficial but not necessary. 

• To be successful within the legal team, you should be able to work independently whilst liaising effectively and building relationships with stakeholders.

• In terms of culture, we are looking for a motivated individual with great people skills. Someone who is delivery focused and confident in suggesting solutions and enhancements. You’ll need to enjoy working through complex, novel situations as well as problem-solving. You’ll also need to be comfortable reprioritising and adapting to change.

Technical knowledge:

You’ll have previous experience in, and good knowledge of:

• Amending and negotiating high value “strategic” contracts directly with customers or suppliers, as well as; amending / drafting / developing new customer agreements from ‘bare bones’ 

• Familiar with financial services regulatory regimes  

• Ability to give legal regulatory advice in a financial services context 

• Applying that advice in a practical way to business decisions, product design, and customer, supplier and product terms   

• Ideally an understanding of financial services business and operating models 

Bonus attributes : (desirable experience)

• Working in high‐growth or scale up environment  

• Experience of product development

• Understanding of; Payments and e-money regulatory regimes

• Experience of advising on the development of digital assets products, their operations and current regulation  

• Experience of advising on intra-group issues, including matters relating to governance and the oversight of intra group agreements

• Legal business processes and providing recommendations

• Knowledge of embedded banking business models

Regretfully, we are not able to sponsor applicants for immigration purposes at the current time. 

If this sounds like you, dust of your CV and apply!

A little bit more about us! 

ClearBank is Where You Can belong: 

At ClearBank we think about Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) a lot. Not because we think we should. But because we know we should – how else can we build a happy workforce and be successful as a business. We’re committed to making sure our teams reflect society. And we put energy and effort into making this a place where everyone feels at home, where they’re given the trust and encouragement to do their very best work. Here are some of the things we’re most proud of: 

• 42% of our senior management roles are held by women 

• Our enhanced family leave policies

• Launching our partnership with Code First Girls 

• Increasing awareness of neurodiversity in the workplace through our partnership with the Inclusive Group 

Our hiring process and what you can expect:

Application: a member of our talent acquisition team will review your application against the key requirements for the role and let you know within two weeks whether you’re moving forward to the next stage; 

Screening: You’ll spend 30-45 minutes speaking to one of our recruiters learning more about the role and ClearBank, and we’ll get it know more about you, your experience and how your skills align with the role (this will be via phone or Teams video call). You can expect to hear back from us within seven days following this meeting (if things are taking longer than expected, we’ll let you know that too); 

First Interview: You’ll spend one hour with a member of our hiring team focusing on your skills, competencies and your ways of working at the same time we’ll give you time to ask more questions about the role, the team and learn more about the ClearBank culture. This will be via Teams.  

Second Interview: This will be a competency-based interview with one or more members of our team.

Final Stage: You will have a final meeting with the Head of Department. This will be around 45-60 minutes.  

Offer: Congratulations! Get ready for transform banking forever! 

Our commitment to you as a candidate: 

We will always try our best to get back to you within seven days of your interview whether you’ve been successful or not and provide you with feedback. Sometimes things take a little longer, so we may not have a decision to share but we will get it touch to let you know we need a little more time.  

We’re unable to provide specific individual feedback at the application or screening stage but know that your application was reviewed and considered carefully.  

We wish you the best of luck with your application and maybe we’ll be celebrating your new role at ClearBank soon!  

Equal Opportunities

ClearBank is committed to ensuring equal opportunities throughout every stage of the recruitment process. ClearBank recognises that diversity is vital to the long-term success of the business in the communities and markets in which it operates. ClearBank is also a firm believer that an inclusive culture fosters greater employee engagement and collaboration. 

ClearBank strives for diversity and inclusion of all forms, including (but not limited to): gender, age, educational and professional background, disability, gender reassignment, marital or civil partner status, pregnancy or maternity, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief and sexual orientation. 

As part of the Company’s commitment to equal employment opportunity, we provide reasonable adjustments, to candidates during the recruitment process, including to individuals with disabilities. We want to create a safe space that welcomes everyone so please let us know how we can accommodate you. In case you have any accessibility requirements you can share that with our Talent Acquisition team prior to your interview stage, if applicable. 

The legal bit

By submitting your CV to ClearBank Limited you are providing your consent for us to use the information you provide for recruitment purposes. For more information on how we manage your data go and check out our Candidate Privacy Notice on the ClearBank website to see how we process, manage and look after your data. You are also allowing us to communicate with you by email and telephone for recruitment purposes.