Senior Director Product Legal, Booking Holdings FinTech

Booking Holdings is seeking a highly experienced and business-minded Senior FinTech Product Legal Counsel to join our international Fintech legal team. This role is critical in supporting the design, development, launch, and scaling of innovative financial technology products across multiple jurisdictions and Booking Holdings Brands. You will report directly to the General Counsel of Fintech, with a dotted line into the Chief Legal Officer, Booking.com. You will also act as a strategic partner and trusted adviser to Booking.com’s VP of Payments and Regulation Tech and be responsible for the delivery of high-quality legal support that ensures our FinTech solutions comply with global regulatory requirements while enabling frictionless travel experiences for millions of customers and partners worldwide.

You will share responsibility for the successful execution of FinTech and Payments strategies across all our Brands, acting as a critical partner to Fintech and payments operations, globally. You will be a senior legal leader who champions the effective management of legal risk while confidently balancing commercial priorities to enable strategic, sustainable growth. You will be a member of the BKNG Fintech Legal Leadership Team managing a growing team of highly impactful FinTech/ Payment lawyers, and be an exemplary role model for all the legal team and beyond. You will also be an integral member of the Fintech Product and RegTech Leadership Team. This opportunity represents an exceptional chance to embed yourself within one of the world’s most exciting groups, work with top class Brands and help define the future for accessing travel experiences across the world.

Strategy: You will act as a strategic partner and trusted adviser to Booking.com’s VP of Payments and Regulation Tech and to their leadership team. You will provide strategic legal advice to enable the compliant delivery of FinTech/ Payments-related product strategy, supporting stakeholders through the end-to-end product journey from the design “drawing board” to launch and beyond. Your legal and strategic business advice will help develop a comprehensive, long-term approach for our Fintech and Payments Product strategy globally.

Product & Regulatory Advisory: Advise on the design, structure, implementation, operation and lifecycle management of all of Fintech/ payment product initiatives globally. Identify and interpret applicable regulatory requirements globally, including licensing, payments regulation, consumer protection, AML/CTF, data privacy, and market conduct. Ensure products are designed to comply with complex, evolving regulatory frameworks while maintaining competitiveness and customer impact.

Cross Functional Collaboration: You will work cross functionally/ in a matrix structure on a daily basis, including directly with the BKNG Fintech Leadership Team and the B.com Fintech LT. You will build a strong dotted-line relationship with the B.com CLO and be responsible for ensuring that the B.com CLO is kept fully abreast of all key Fintech legal items impacting B.com. You will also work closely with other members of the B.com LPA team to ensure early legal alignment on support needed in relation to Fintech activities. You will also interact with other senior stakeholders within Booking.com, Agoda, Booking Holdings and BHFS- both within and outside of the legal function.

Team: You will lead and mentor a team of high performing lawyers (currently five heads) and help scale best-in-class legal support for a rapidly growing and ambitious global FinTech organisation. You will act as a senior ambassador for the legal team, strengthening its visibility and reputation by consistently delivering thoughtful, strategic, and timely legal counsel and help drive a culture of trust, collaboration, and partnership between the legal function and the Fintech teams. You will lead the team on how to expertly balance legal risk with business objectives, acting as a champion for practical, commercially oriented legal guidance. You will manage external counsel and team budgets.

Approx. 15 years practicing law, with a mix of in-house and big firm experience preferred. Law degree from a top law school, and excellent academic credentials. Strong experience advising on Fintech products within fast-paced technology companies. Proven track record working in complex, multi-jurisdictional environments. Good understanding of global regulations that cover payments, e-money, EMI/PI frameworks, lending/BNPL, AML/CTF, fraud, sanctions, crypto/virtual assets, and data-driven financial services. Familiarity with the key legal issues associated with the use of AI (agentic and other) in development and scale of Fintech products. Familiarity with payments and Fintech regulatory frameworks across the EU, UK, US, APAC, and other major markets. Excellent drafting, negotiation, and communication skills, with the ability to influence senior stakeholders.

Preferred Experience supporting payments and financial services for a global online marketplace or travel/e-commerce platform. Understanding of the operational and regulatory complexities of cross-border travel transactions. Skilled at building consensus and driving alignment among diverse stakeholders with differing priorities. Strong influencing skills, with the ability to shape decisions and guide strategy as a thought leader and trusted adviser. Excellent communication skills, capable of translating complex legal concepts into concise, actionable insights for non-lawyers. Experienced in exercising sound commercial judgment to propose pragmatic legal solutions that balance risk, speed, and strategic goals. Comfortable making recommendations in ambiguous, fast-evolving regulatory and business environments. Flexible in adjusting approaches as new regulatory, market, or operational realities emerge. Comfortable collaborating across multiple time zones, cultural contexts, and regulatory environments. Acts as a role model for ethical conduct, especially when working on sensitive financial, regulatory, or risk-related matters. A passion for fintech and payments. Eager to learn new technologies and ideas. Comfortable navigating complicated and nuanced issues. Regular travel to Amsterdam is required. Some travel internationally as well.