Legal & Compliance Associate, Cameroon

Overview

The organization is seeking a mid-level Legal & Compliance Associate to own document review and regulatory work for its Cameroon business. The role includes reviewing and negotiating NDAs, commercial contracts, and regulatory documents in both French and English, and turning matters around quickly so deals and licence applications are not delayed.

Responsibilities

Contracts and document review

• Review, redline, and negotiate NDAs, partner and vendor agreements, banking and payment-provider contracts, and service agreements in French and English.
• Draft from internal templates and improve them, including building a bilingual playbook of standard positions, fallback clauses, and red lines.
• Translate legal and regulatory documents between French and English accurately enough for signing or submission.
• Provide clear guidance on each document: sign, sign with specified changes, or do not sign, including the rationale.

Regulatory and compliance

• Prepare and review licence applications, regulator correspondence, and responses to information requests in Cameroon and the CEMAC zone (including BEAC, COBAC, and the Ministry of Finance).
• Track regulatory change in Cameroon and the CEMAC zone and flag implications for products and licences.
• Review AML/CFT policies, KYC procedures, and compliance documents for local fit, and keep them current.
• Manage company secretarial work for the Cameroon entity, including incorporation documents, filings, board resolutions, and statutory registers.

Working with others

• Manage external counsel in Cameroon by scoping the work, reviewing deliverables, and controlling costs.
• Provide fast, practical legal support to the Cameroon country manager, partnerships, and operations.
• Maintain a live tracker of owned documents and filings, including status, blockers, and next dates.

Requirements

• Law degree; admission to the bar or an equivalent professional qualification is welcome but not required.
• Approximately 3–6 years of experience reviewing and negotiating commercial contracts in a law firm, in-house, or compliance function.
• Excellent French and English (written and spoken). Ability to redline contracts, write to regulators, and run negotiations in either language.
• Strong commercial judgment: distinguish real risk from noise and clearly identify which points are worth pursuing.
• Clear, concise writing. Ability to summarize a 40-page agreement in five lines for non-lawyers.
• Working knowledge of Cameroonian law across both civil-law and common-law systems.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in fintech, payments, mobile money, banking, or digital assets.
• Hands-on work with payment or e-money licensing, or direct dealings with BEAC, COBAC, or the Ministry of Finance.
• Knowledge of OHADA company and commercial law.
• Experience with AML/CFT, data protection, or sanctions compliance.
• Experience managing external counsel.

Compensation & Benefits

• Not specified.

Location

• Douala, Cameroon.
• Some travel.

Hiring Level & Languages

• Mid-level (roughly 3–6 years' experience).
• Languages: French and English at professional written and spoken level.

Application

In your application, include an example of something you started without being asked, a problem you solved that was not your job, or a result you delivered with little guidance—be specific about what you did and what changed.