Senior Regulatory Counsel, Americas

Overview

This role involves serving as Senior Regulatory Counsel focused on regulatory matters across the Americas region within the payments and financial services sector. The position requires advising on complex regulatory issues including licensing, money transmission, and compliance obligations, supporting cross-border product offerings, and engaging with regulators in key jurisdictions. The role is part of a global legal and compliance team supporting a rapidly growing business navigating a complex regulatory landscape.

Responsibilities

• Handle regulatory legal issues related to business operations in the Americas.
• Provide strategic advice on existing licenses/registrations and potential future license applications to support scaling in the region.
• Monitor and report on trends and developments in payments and financial services regulation in the Americas.
• Collaborate with Product Legal, Regulatory Compliance, Risk, and Financial Crime Compliance teams to ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
• Support new market entry and expansion of regulatory licenses by providing regulatory mapping and licensing advice.
• Liaise with senior stakeholders globally to provide timely and pragmatic regulatory legal advice and risk assessments.
• Manage external legal counsel and consultants in the Americas to ensure high-quality, cost-effective support.
• Utilize AI and other tools to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the Regulatory Legal team.
• Provide legal advice on ongoing regulatory compliance and submission of regulatory reports and filings.
• Support government relations outreach to legislators and regulatory agencies in key Americas markets.

Minimum Qualifications

• Qualified lawyer with 8 years of relevant post-qualification experience.
• Strong regulatory experience in fintech, reputable law firms, or financial institutions, ideally with exposure to payments, e-money, FX, remittances, and/or card issuing in the Americas.
• Proven success advising on regulatory matters, handling submissions, filings, and regulatory strategy, including direct engagement with regulators.
• Deep understanding of the financial services regulatory environment in the Americas, particularly payments, remittance, FX, issuing, and digital financial services.
• Strong stakeholder management skills with the ability to work cross-functionally.
• Proactive, results-driven, and ownership-oriented with experience managing multiple priorities.
• Ability to explain complex legal topics to non-lawyers and provide business-relevant solutions.
• Collaborative team player comfortable managing ambiguity in fast-paced environments.

Preferred Qualifications

• Combination of private practice and in-house experience.
• Experience supporting expansion into new markets and launching new regulatory licenses in fintech, payments, or financial services.
• Knowledge of consumer and commercial regulatory matters, including state money transmitter licensing and federal prudential regulations such as Reg E, UDAAP, and TILA.
• Experience with RegTech, LegalTech, or AI tools to enhance legal functions.
• Familiarity with Canadian payment processing and money services business regulations including RPAA, Fintrac, and provincial financial licensing.

Compensation & Benefits

• Salary range: $200,000 - $280,000

Location

• Americas region (specific location not specified)

Additional Information

• The employer is an equal opportunity organization valuing diversity and inclusion.
• Applicants with disabilities or special needs requiring accommodation are encouraged to disclose this during the application process.
• The employer does not request sensitive personal information or payments during recruitment.
• Only applications submitted through official channels will be considered.