Senior Legal Counsel - Fintech Regulatory & Commercial in London

About Verto

At Verto, we're on a mission to democratise global finance and empower businesses in Emerging Markets to reach the world. Founded by British‑Nigerian entrepreneurs Ola Oyetayo and Anthony Oduu, our roots in Africa provided a firsthand understanding of the significant challenges businesses face with cross‑border payments, ranging from illiquid currencies and high fees to slow transactions. This deep‑rooted insight is why Africa remains a core focus: we are committed to bridging the gap between emerging and developed markets and fostering global economic growth. We started as an FX solution for the Nigerian Naira and have evolved into a market‑leading platform that enables thousands of businesses to seamlessly transfer billions of dollars annually. We believe that where you do business shouldn’t determine your success or ability to scale. Our platform provides equal access to the liquidity and payment solutions that exist in developed markets. Backed by high‑profile investors such as Y‑Combinator, Quona, and MEVP, we have received the Milken‑Motsepe Prize, appeared on CNBC’s list of fastest‑growing UK companies, the Deloitte Fast 50, and Sifted’s fastest‑growing UK tech companies. Join us as we continue to grow and transform global finance.

Role Overview

The Senior Legal Counsel is a high‑impact legal role at the heart of Verto’s global operations. You will be the primary source of legal advice across the company, working as a strategic partner to senior leadership, commercial, product, and compliance teams. We are not looking for a gatekeeper, but for a Senior Legal Counsel with strong commercial acumen who can think holistically about risk and reward to enable the business to move quickly and confidently. Your focus will be on commercial contracting, regulatory navigation, and supporting our growth‑oriented decisions.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Commercial & Contractual Law
• Drafting & Negotiation: Lead the drafting, review, and negotiation of a wide range of commercial agreements, including customer terms and conditions, partner/aggregator contracts, and vendor agreements.
• Revenue Enablement: Streamline day‑to‑day contracting processes to support revenue growth, ensuring legal execution keeps pace with a fast‑moving fintech environment.
• Third‑Party Management: Manage and coordinate external law firms for specialized support in contract drafting, tax, or broader corporate matters.
• Litigation: Manage pre‑action cases and debt management.
• Regulatory & Financial Services
• FCA Framework: Provide expert advice on the FCA regulatory framework applicable to EMIs, including the Electronic Money Regulations (EMRs), Payment Services Regulations (PSRs), and relevant FCA rules (PRIN, COND, CASS).
• Safeguarding: Advise on safeguarding obligations for client funds to ensure Verto’s practices meet stringent regulatory requirements.
• International Expansion: Support the business as it enters new jurisdictions (e.g., EEA, US, UAE/DIFC, and East Africa), navigating multi‑jurisdictional payments regulation.
• Product & Innovation Support
• Product Development: Act as a legal partner to the Product team, advising on the legal implications of new features, such as stablecoin on/off‑ramping, API integrations, and FX products.
• Data Privacy: Support UK GDPR compliance, managing data processing agreements and ensuring privacy‑by‑design in our product roadmap.
• Corporate & Strategic Support
• Corporate matter: Work alongside external counsel to support corporate structuring and any other corporate matters, as required.
• Internal Governance: Maintain a strong feedback loop with the manager, and overall leadership team to ensure commercial contracts do not stall and legal risks are escalated appropriately.

What You Need

• Qualified solicitor (England & Wales) with a current practising certificate.
• Minimum 3‑4 years’ post‑qualification experience (PQE), ideally including experience in financial services regulation.
• Senior Profile: Substantial experience in an in‑house legal position (FinTech, Banking or Payments experience is highly preferred).
• Commercial Mindset: A commercial brain able to understand risk/reward trade‑offs and support growth‑oriented decisions rather than simply mitigating risk.
• EMI Knowledge: Deep understanding of FCA‑authorised EMI/Payment Institution regulations and cross‑border payment flows (SWIFT, CHAPS, Faster Payments).
• Fast‑Paced Experience: Proven ability to operate effectively in a fast‑growing startup or scale‑up environment where agility is key.
• Stakeholder Management: Experience managing external law firms and acting as a trusted advisor to leadership.

Bonus Points

• Experience with multi‑jurisdictional regulation.
• Familiarity with crypto/digital asset regulation and blockchain infrastructure.
• Exposure to emerging markets, scale‑up stage startup environment and dynamic client environment.
• Background in environments where legal must maintain a high pace across commercial contracting and fundraising simultaneously.

Competencies & Personal Attributes

• Pragmatic & Solutions‑Focused: You know when to be flexible and when to elevate.
• High Integrity: You maintain the highest professional ethics while enabling business speed.
• Proactive Self‑Starter: You thrive in a standalone role and are comfortable with ambiguity.
• Effective Communicator: You can translate complex legal requirements into actionable business advice for non‑legal stakeholders.

Life At Verto

Perks

• Insurance paid by the company
• Health and wellness benefits (with specific added benefits depending on the location of the role)
• Yearly salary review based on inflation, personal and business performance
• Access to entire Udemy’s library
• Budget for professional development courses
• Work‑From‑Anywhere policy for certain durations
• Integration programme (opportunity to work from our global offices)
• Regular team social events
• Pension scheme (depending on the role location)
• Flexible work arrangements
• Exposure to work with globally distributed teams
• Location specific benefits like car lease policy, cycle to work, gym membership, etc.

You’ll Fit Right In If You

• Love asking “why?”
• Value solving problems over just completing tasks
• Understand sync vs. async communication practices
• Thrive in ambiguity and change
• Actively seek feedback
• Prioritise impact over activity
• Are fun to work with - we love good humour!

Culture

• Mission‑Driven Impact Work: Be at the forefront of simplifying cross‑border payments, directly contributing to a borderless future for global businesses, particularly in emerging markets.
• High Performance & Ownership: We empower you to take risks, be results‑driven, and take ownership. Act fast, deliver impactful results, and make the impossible possible. We set you up for success.
• Collaborative & Supportive Environment: We work "as one," sharing successes and failures openly. We foster a transparent, supportive atmosphere where everyone does their best. A community of colleagues from varied backgrounds, who care deeply about their craft, collaborate with purpose, and enjoy the journey together.
• Industry Competitive Compensation & Benefits: We compensate our employees in recognition of the great value they bring to the business; our compensation and benefits package are competitive in the industry across all our geographies. This includes performance based salary reviews, comprehensive health and wellness benefits, generous paid time off and flexible working arrangements to support your career and life.

Diversity & Inclusion at Verto

Verto is an equal opportunities employer and we value diversity. Anyone seeking employment at Verto is considered based on Merit, Competence, Qualifications and their Talent. We are proud to be a truly international team and we do not discriminate in our hiring process.