Legal Commercial Team Lead

Overview

This role leads the in-house Commercial Legal function for a global travel-tech organization. You will manage the legal team while partnering closely with business stakeholders across international markets. Responsibilities include advising on commercial contracts, products and payments, regulatory requirements, dispute support, and coordinating external counsel across jurisdictions.

This is a remote position open to candidates who are willing to work in the European time zone and are qualified to practice law in England & Wales, the US or an EU Member State.

Responsibilities

Team leadership

• Lead and develop the in-house legal team, set priorities, and ensure the business receives clear, timely advice.
• Take the lead on complex legal matters and coordinate external counsel across multiple jurisdictions.
• Support professional development of junior and mid-level legal team members.
• Lead cross-functional legal projects and partner with stakeholders across the business.

Commercial contracting

• Draft and negotiate commercial agreements, including partnership, B2B and B2C, licensing, and technology agreements.
• Advise teams on contractual structures, identify key legal and commercial risks, and recommend practical solutions.
• Support strategic transactions and international commercial arrangements.

Product and business support

• Partner with product and business teams on travel products, booking flows, customer journeys, ancillary services, cancellations, refunds, and payment solutions.
• Advise on the legal aspects of new products and business models.
• Support market entry and international expansion, including local regulatory assessments.

Regulatory, payments, and risk management

• Advise on payment flows, merchant models, PSP integrations, and the legal aspects of cross-border payment structures.
• Help the business navigate rules affecting online travel, including consumer protection, e-commerce, package travel, intermediary liability, payments, digital platforms, and privacy.
• Track changes in laws and regulations and help the business understand and address their impact.
• Help ensure operations comply with relevant requirements, including GDPR and ePrivacy.

Disputes and cross-border matters

• Support dispute resolution, including pre-litigation matters, arbitration, and cross-border litigation.
• Manage complex legal matters across jurisdictions with internal stakeholders and external counsel.

Requirements

• Qualified to practise law in England and Wales or an EU Member State, or holds a degree from a university in one of these countries.
• 8+ years of post-qualification experience, including substantial in-house work with an international consumer technology, digital platform, or travel technology business operating across the EU and UK.
• Experience working with an online travel agency (OTA), bedbank, travel marketplace, travel distribution platform, or travel technology company.
• Experience leading or managing a legal team, or taking ownership of major cross-functional legal projects.
• Strong commercial contracting experience across common-law and civil-law jurisdictions.
• Sound understanding of rules affecting online travel businesses, including consumer protection, e-commerce, package travel, intermediary liability, payments, digital platforms, and privacy.
• Experience advising on commercial and product matters across several European jurisdictions.
• Confidence managing complex cross-border matters and working with external counsel.
• Strong project management skills and ability to work effectively with teams across the business.
• Practical approach to legal advice: clearly explain risks and help colleagues decide next steps.
• Fluent English, both written and spoken (C1 or higher).
• Fluent Russian, both written and spoken is a plus.
• Flexible schedule and ability to work remotely.

Compensation & Benefits

• Partial compensation for participating in external training and conferences.
• Corporate English school: group and individual lessons, speaking clubs with colleagues from all over the world.
• Corporate prices on hotels and travel services.
• MyTime Day Off: an extra non-working day without loss of compensation.

Location

• Remote.
• Candidates must be willing to work in the European time zone and be qualified to practice law in England & Wales, the US or an EU Member State.