Senior Mangaging Counsel – Commercial / Corporate

At PPRO, we simplify access to local payments - providing a local payments platform that empowers giants like PayPal, Stripe, and Microsoft to connect with billions of consumers worldwide. We are on an ambitious, fast-paced mission to 3x our growth by 2028 - and we’re just getting started. Our magic lies in our team of proud payments nerds. Spanning over 50 nationalities across 10+ global locations, our diverse cultures aren't a checklist; they are the competitive advantage driving our innovation. This is a people-first, high trust environment where you’ll have the autonomy to make a massive impact, own your work end-to-end, and grow through broad exposure, meaningful challenges, and continuous learning. We get things done, challenge respectfully, put the customer first, and recognise that our biggest successes are those we create as a team. If you’re ready to leave your footprint on global commerce, join us.

The Purpose:

We are seeking an exceptional, highly strategic Senior Managing Counsel with deep expertise in the payments industry to lead and scale our Commercial Legal function. In this pivotal leadership role, you will manage a team of commercial lawyers, partner directly with senior leadership, and architect the legal frameworks needed to drive rapid global growth. You will bridge commercial risk management and will oversee high-stakes enterprise negotiations, streamline team capacity, and build scalable legal operations in a fast-paced, high-growth environment.

Responsibilities include:

1. Strategic Leadership & Team Management

• Team Leadership: Manage, coach, and empower a team of commercial lawyers, fostering a high-performance culture aligned with business objectives.
• Capacity & Workflow Optimisation: Design and refine legal workflows, contract playbooks, and intake mechanisms to maximise team output and efficiency as the organisation scales.
• Executive Advisory: Act as a trusted strategic advisor to C-suite and commercial leadership on key deals, international expansion, and complex commercial risk.

2. High-Impact Commercial Contracting

• Deal Execution: Structure, draft, and negotiate complex global commercial agreements with payment service providers (PSPs), acquirers, financial institutions, card schemes, and strategic enterprise partners.
• Product & Commercial Scaling: Partner closely with Product, Revenue, and Operations teams to support the launch of new payment solutions and local payment methods across target regions.
• Standardisation: Modernise contract templates, negotiation fallback guidelines, and self-serve legal tools to shorten sales cycles.

3. Payments Industry & Risk Enablement

• Sector Expertise: Apply expert knowledge of payment infrastructure, payment gateways, acquiring, merchant processing, and scheme rules to commercial contract structures.
• Cross-Functional Alignment: Collaborate with Regulatory, Compliance, Privacy, and Tax functions to ensure seamless commercial alignment with evolving fintech regulations.

What would make you a great fit:

• Experience Level: 10+ years PQE (or equivalent), with a proven track record in top-tier law firms and in-house fintech/payments legal environments.
• Payments experience: Experience in payment processing, acquiring, PSPs, cross-border payment flows, or payment infrastructure.
• People Management: Demonstrated success in leading, developing, and mentoring commercial legal teams.
• Communication & Strategy: Exceptional verbal and written executive communication skills, with an ability to translate complex legal terms into clear business guidance.
• Scale-Up Agility: Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic matrix environment, balancing speed with rigorous risk management.
• Strategic Vision: Looks beyond individual transactions to build repeatable legal systems for scale.
• Commercial Mindset: Delivers pragmatic, solutions-oriented legal advice that enables business growth.
• Influencing & Negotiation: Proven authority in leading high-stakes negotiations with global partners.

What's in it for you?

• Hybrid working - We offer a hybrid structure with a 3 days / week on site expectation, so you can strike the balance between office and home working. In addition to our 28-day holiday allowance, we also provide a work from abroad policy, enabling employees to work remotely for up to another 30 days per year.
• Learning and Development - We offer a GBP 1,000 annual budget to support your professional growth—because investing in your development benefits us all. In addition, we provide leadership cafés, on-the-job training, and other opportunities to help you grow your skills and thrive in your role.
• Insurance - Because better safe than sorry - we want our employees to benefit from various insurances including a medical insurance (AXA health care plan) and a 5% matching pension plan through Now Pensions.
• Enhance Family Leave - We understand the importance of family - that's why we offer enhanced family leave to support you during key life moments.
• Workplace Nursery Scheme - Save on childcare through salary exchange.
• Gym membership - PPRO helps contribute towards the costs of your gym membership, supporting your physical fitness journey while easing the burden on your wallet.
• Mental Health Platform - We’ve teamed up with a top well-being platform to provide one‑on‑one therapy, chat therapy, therapist‑led courses, guided meditations, and more.
• Our HQ office on Procter Street, is a short walk from Holborn, Farringdon and Covent Garden so if you’re a foodie there’s plenty nearby. The office is befitting a tech business and is set up for cross team collaboration.
• Pet-friendly office- Because work is better with your paw‑tners by your side.

Our Principles:

We get things done: We are courageous; we take ownership, make decisions and get things done.

We act with trust and integrity: We listen first and challenge respectfully. We seek out and leverage diverse perspectives. We welcome and offer honest and open feedback, always assuming positive intent

We put the customer first: We are laser focused on delivering outstanding outcomes for our customers. We put the customer at the heart of what we do.

We make things better: We boldly explore new ideas and have an unwavering commitment to continuous improvement.

We work as a team: We collaborate closely and value team success over individual achievement.

Our commitment to Diversity and Inclusion:

Payments only work when they reflect how different people actually pay, and we build teams the same way: our people span more than 50 nationalities, and that mix is exactly what makes us good at this. So if you're reading this and wondering whether you tick every box, apply anyway. We're far more interested in what you'll bring than a perfect match on paper.

We welcome applicants of every background, identity, and experience, and we make sure our hiring process is accessible to everyone. If you need an adjustment at any stage, just let us know: we're happy to help.

A few more things:

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please refer to our Candidate Privacy Policy.

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