Legal Counsel

Confidential Careers; Dubai; On-site; AED 350,000 - 520,000; Full time

Job summary

Confidential Careers is seeking an experienced Legal Counsel for a regulated financial services organization in the UAE. The role focuses on drafting, reviewing, and negotiating merchant agreements and payment services contracts, with strong involvement in regulatory compliance.

The ideal candidate has 5+ years in banking, fintech, or payments, deep knowledge of GCC/UAE regulations, and proven ability to advise cross-functional teams while managing commercial risk.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of regulated financial services experience.
• Experience drafting merchant and payment contracts.
• Knowledge of UAE GCC regulatory environment.
• Strong contracting and stakeholder management.
• Qualified to practise in a common law jurisdiction preferred.

Responsibilities

• Draft, review, and negotiate merchant and payment services contracts.
• Provide advisory support on financial services regulations.
• Collaborate with business, compliance, risk, and operations.
• Support governance and regulatory compliance.
• Identify and mitigate contractual and commercial risks.

Skills

Legal experience

Contract negotiation

Fintech regulatory

Cross-functional collaboration

Regulatory advisory

Education

Qualified to practise in common law jurisdiction (UK/US)

Job description

We are looking for an experienced, commercially focused Legal Counsel to join a regulated financial services organization in the UAE.

The ideal candidate will have a strong background in banking, fintech, payment services, or other regulated financial institutions, with hands-on experience in drafting, reviewing, and negotiating commercial agreements, particularly merchant agreements and payment services contracts.

Key Responsibilities:

• Draft, review, and negotiate merchant agreements, payment processing agreements, and other commercial contracts.
• Provide legal advisory support on financial services regulations, commercial transactions, and contractual matters.
• Work closely with business, compliance, risk, and operations teams to ensure contractual and regulatory alignment.
• Support corporate governance, regulatory requirements, and general legal matters.
• Identify and mitigate contractual and commercial legal risks.

Requirements:

• Minimum 5 years of relevant legal experience, preferably within a regulated banking, fintech, or payments organization.
• Strong understanding of financial services regulations and the regulatory environment in the GCC, particularly the UAE.
• Demonstrated hands-on experience in drafting and negotiating merchant agreements and payment-related contracts is highly preferred.
• Strong commercial contracting, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills.
• Qualification to practise law in a common law jurisdiction (UK, US, or equivalent) is preferred.

Location & Availability:

We are specifically looking for candidates currently based in the UAE. Preference will be given to candidates who are immediately available or able to join at short notice.

All applications will be handled confidentially.