Senior DSF Legal Counsel – Derivatives & Securities Financing

Santander Group; Camden Town; On-site; GBP 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Discretionary annual bonus

Pension contributions at 8% of salary

Private medical insurance

Life insurance and critical illness

Employee share plans

Job summary

Santander seeks an Executive Director, Legal Counsel - Derivatives and Securities Financing to lead legal support for DSF across UK and international desks. You’ll negotiate master agreements, advise on complex risk-transfer structures, and partner with front office to enable ready-to-trade status while managing external counsel.

You’ll bring PQE in banking law, deep derivatives expertise, and strong stakeholder management to influence senior leaders and drive compliant, efficient deal execution.

Qualifications

• Qualified lawyer with extensive post-qualification experience in a financial institution.
• Excellent knowledge of markets products and experience advising on structured derivatives.
• Experience drafting and negotiating master trading agreements for DSF transactions (ISDA, CSAs, GMRAs, GMSLAs, CDEAs).
• Strong understanding of UK regulatory frameworks including UK EMIR, MiFID II/MiFIR, SFTR and margin rules.
• Ability to manage complex transactions independently and advise senior stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Provide legal advice across markets products including derivatives and other structures.
• Structure, review, and lead on transaction documentation from term sheet to execution.
• Advise on new-product approvals and novel transaction structures.
• Instruct and manage external counsel cost-effectively within budget constraints.
• Mentor colleagues and contribute to legal technology and AI-enabled workflows.

Skills

Derivatives expertise

Legal risk management

Stakeholder management

Negotiation

Regulatory compliance

Education

Qualified lawyer with PQE

Tools

MS Office

Job description

Santander seeks an Executive Director, Legal Counsel - Derivatives and Securities Financing to lead legal support for DSF across UK and international desks. You’ll negotiate master agreements, advise on complex risk-transfer structures, and partner with front office to enable ready-to-trade status while managing external counsel.

You’ll bring PQE in banking law, deep derivatives expertise, and strong stakeholder management to influence senior leaders and drive compliant, efficient deal execution.