Legal Counsel, Capital Markets

Standard Chartered; Dubai; Hybrid; AED 500,000 - 900,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working options

Wellbeing support

Learning & development opportunities

Diversity & inclusion

Competitive benefits

Job summary

Standard Chartered's Capital Markets Legal team in Dubai seeks a senior legal professional to advise on debt capital markets products, multi-jurisdictional transactions, and regulatory compliance. You will collaborate with internal stakeholders and external counsel to ensure timely, commercially sound outcomes that align with Group standards.

You will drive governance, ethical conduct, and global legal standards while tailoring approaches to regional requirements.

Qualifications

• PQE in debt capital markets, ideally spanning private practice and in-house roles handling complex matters.
• Experience in banking/financial services, with regulatory engagement.
• Understanding of risk management, compliance obligations and governance.

Responsibilities

• Provide proactive legal counsel on CM products and initiatives, aligning with regulatory and internal standards.
• Lead multi-jurisdictional CM transactions with regional and country teams and external counsel.
• Develop, enhance and standardise CM documentation and templates for consistency across the Group.

Skills

Capital markets law

Stakeholder engagement

Regulatory risk management

Ethical conduct

Multicultural communication

Legal drafting

Education

Qualified solicitor

Job description

Job Summary

As a valued member of the Capital Markets (CM) Legal team based in Dubai, you will play a pivotal role in delivering expert legal advice and support related to capital markets products and initiatives. You will serve as a trusted legal advisor responsible for navigating complex multi-jurisdictional CM transactions, collaborating closely with external counsel and internal stakeholders to ensure seamless execution of business objectives.

Your remit will extend to leading efforts in maintaining and enhancing compliance standards aligned with regulatory frameworks, embedding the bank's culture of integrity and ethical conduct. You will champion the 'Here for Good' ethos and uphold the Group Code of Conduct, demonstrating exemplary leadership and setting clear expectations for conduct within the CM Legal team. Furthermore, you will play an instrumental role in implementing global legal standards across the CM business, tailoring approaches to regional and country-specific requirements whilst proactively managing regulatory reform impacts. This position offers an enriching opportunity to work within a dynamic, multi-cultural environment where strategic vision, attention to detail and business acumen are essential.

The role requires continuous engagement with senior stakeholders including Regional General Counsels and CM Business Heads, fostering close working relationships to provide accurate, timely, and commercially minded legal support. You will be instrumental in driving legal excellence while promoting a culture of compliance and good governance, ensuring that all capital markets-related activities align with both the bank’s values and applicable legal requirements.

Key Responsibilities

• Act as a key contributor within the CM Legal team by providing proactive legal counsel on capital markets products and initiatives, ensuring alignment with applicable regulatory and internal standards.
• Lead complex, multi-jurisdictional capital markets transactions by effectively managing collaboration with regional and country legal teams, internal business stakeholders, and appointed external counsel, ensuring transactions are executed efficiently and with minimal legal risk.
• Develop, enhance and standardise legal documentation and templates for CM products to improve clarity, reduce risk, and promote consistency across the Group.
• Collaborate with Product teams and other stakeholders to structure innovative CM products, providing legal guidance on parameters and compliance frameworks that support sustainable business growth.
• Monitor evolving regulatory landscapes and lead the assessment of impacts on the CM business, ensuring that legal perspectives are effectively incorporated into business decision-making and regulatory reform responses.
• Provide training and communication to CM teams to enhance understanding of legal documentation and regulatory requirements, fostering a culture of informed compliance.
• Manage legal risk by identifying potential issues early and advising on appropriate mitigating strategies, thereby protecting the bank’s reputation and business interests.
• Oversee external counsel engagements, ensuring clear scopes of work, quality outputs, cost controls, and effective matter management aligned with the bank's standards.
• Maintain effective liaison with country legal and compliance teams to navigate local regulatory nuances and ensure cohesive governance across jurisdictions.

Skills And Experience

• Demonstrated expertise and hands‑on experience with capital markets legal frameworks, particularly in debt capital markets products and transactions.
• Strong capability to foster collaboration across legal, business, and functional teams, building and maintaining productive relationships that facilitate smooth execution of mandates.
• Proficient in managing legal and regulatory risks within capital markets operations, implementing robust governance and risk mitigation strategies.
• Skilled in upholding high standards of conduct and ethical behaviour, promoting transparent decision‑making and adherence to internal and external legal requirements.
• Excellent analytical abilities and business acumen, with the capacity to align legal advice with commercial objectives and regulatory considerations.
• Effective communication and interpersonal skills, with demonstrated multicultural sensitivity suited for a diverse, international environment.

Qualifications

Fully qualified solicitor, attorney, barrister, or advocate authorized to practice law.

• post-qualification experience (PQE) specialising in debt capital markets, ideally spanning private practice and in‑house counsel roles handling complex legal matters.
• Proven track record of operating in the banking sector or financial services industry, demonstrating success in comparable legal counsel roles and sustained engagement with regulatory frameworks.
• Deep understanding of risk management principles, compliance obligations, reputational risk, and regulatory relationship management.
• Excellent judgement and ethical standards, with proven resilience and independence in challenging environments.
• Demonstrated ability to influence and establish authoritative relationships with senior business leaders and stakeholders across geographical regions.
• Completion of mandatory group e-learning programmes to ensure compliance with company-wide standards.

About Standard Chartered

We're an international bank, nimble enough to act, big enough for impact. For more than 170 years, we've worked to make a positive difference for our clients, communities, and each other. We question the status quo, love a challenge and enjoy finding new opportunities to grow and do better than before. If you're looking for a career with purpose and you want to work for a bank making a difference, we want to hear from you. You can count on us to celebrate your unique talents and we can't wait to see the talents you can bring us.

Our purpose, to drive commerce and prosperity through our unique diversity, together with our brand promise, to be here for good are achieved by how we each live our valued behaviours. When you work with us, you'll see how we value difference and advocate inclusion.

Together We

• Do the right thing and are assertive, challenge one another, and live with integrity, while putting the client at the heart of what we do
• Never settle, continuously striving to improve and innovate, keeping things simple and learning from doing well, and not so well
• Are better together, we can be ourselves, be inclusive, see more good in others, and work collectively to build for the long term

What We Offer

In line with our Fair Pay Charter, we offer a competitive salary and benefits to support your mental, physical, financial and social wellbeing.

• Core bank funding for retirement savings, medical and life insurance, with flexible and voluntary benefits available in some locations.
• Time‑off including annual leave, parental/maternity (20 weeks), sabbatical (12 months maximum) and volunteering leave (3 days), along with minimum global standards for annual and public holiday, which is combined to 30 days minimum.
• Flexible working options based around home and office locations, with flexible working patterns.
• Proactive wellbeing support through Unmind, a market-leading digital wellbeing platform, development courses for resilience and other human skills, global Employee Assistance Programme, sick leave, mental health first‑aiders and all sorts of self‑help toolkits
• A continuous learning culture to support your growth, with opportunities to reskill and upskill and access to physical, virtual and digital learning.
• Being part of an inclusive and values driven organisation, one that embraces and celebrates our unique diversity, across our teams, business functions and geographies - everyone feels respected and can realise their full potential.