Senior Legal Counsel - Financial Services

SymphonyAI; Greater London; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading enterprise AI SaaS company in London is seeking an experienced Senior Legal Counsel to lead commercial legal functions in its Financial Services division. The role includes managing transactions, ensuring compliance with data privacy laws, and advising on complex agreements and product lifecycle matters. The ideal candidate possesses at least 7 years of relevant experience and dual qualifications in English law and another jurisdiction. This position offers a unique opportunity to influence legal strategy in a fast-paced environment.

Qualifications

• At least 7 years of post-qualification experience, ideally in Fintech.
• Experience with GDPR and EU data protection regulations.
• Ability to simplify complex legal concepts.

Responsibilities

• Manage and negotiate commercial transactions across EMEA.
• Ensure compliance with data privacy laws like GDPR.
• Advise on intellectual property and technology licensing.

Skills

Dual qualification or law degrees in English and one other jurisdiction

7+ years PQE in Fintech

Strong command of contract structure

Ability to draft and negotiate in English and another EU language

Strong analytical and problem-solving skills

Exceptional communication skills

Education

Law degree

Job description

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Introduction

JOIN US! We seek an experienced Senior Legal Counsel - Financial Services Lead to join our Legal team, based in London.

Our legal team is the backbone of SymphonyAI's global operations across the Americas, UK, Europe, Middle East and Africa, and Asia Pacific regions. Focusing on enterprise Software as a Service agreements and product-related legal counselling, this role offers a unique opportunity to lead a core commercial and product legal function for one of SymphonyAI's business divisions. You will collaborate closely with executive leadership, division management, sales teams, product and engineering organizations, and multiple internal stakeholders to support commercial acceleration, product readiness, partnership execution, and regulatory compliance.

This position will be based at our London office and will report to SymphonyAI's Vice President and General Counsel International. As a Division Lead, you will serve as the primary legal point of contact for SymphonyAI's Financial Services division, while contributing to legal strategy, legal tooling, process improvement, and cross-border contracting efficiency across the enterprise.

Job Description

What You'll Do:

Commercial and Transactional Work - EMEA

• Manage and negotiate a wide range of commercial transactions, including sales contracts, customer agreements, vendor agreements, software licensing, professional services, distribution and channel partnerships, across EMEA.
• Conduct legal analysis and risk assessments for commercial relationships, ensuring they align with division and enterprise business objectives.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to provide legal support for business initiatives, product launches, strategic sales pursuits, and operational projects.
• Support efforts to ensure compliance with data privacy and protection laws, including GDPR, DORA, Cyber Resilience Act, and any other applicable regulations across EMEA, including new country laws and EU regulations.
• Assist in the review and negotiation of technology partnership agreements, joint ventures, and collaborations. Evaluate and address legal risks associated with product development, data usage, cybersecurity standards, and emerging AI technologies.
• Help develop and improve commercial templates, playbooks, escalation models, and legal tooling to enhance contract velocity, forecasting, renewals management, and overall division commercial execution.
• Stay informed about changes in laws, regulatory guidance, industry trends, best practices, and emerging legal issues affecting the business. Conduct internal training and develop educational materials to enhance legal awareness, contracting discipline, and risk management across the organization.

Product, IP and Licensing

• Provide legal support on product-related matters across the business as needed, including licensing structures, go-to-market considerations, and regulatory implications relevant to SaaS and enterprise AI solutions.
• Advise on intellectual property, data protection, cybersecurity, open-source usage, and technology licensing issues arising in the context of commercial transactions and customer deployments.
• Support go-to-market activities, strategic partnerships, and technology integrations from a commercial and risk-management perspective.
• Draft, review, and negotiate a range of product-related and commercial agreements, including reseller, OEM, alliance, integration, and professional services agreements.
• Work closely with Sales, Product, and Customer Success teams to identify legal risks and provide practical, business-focused guidance that supports revenue generation while maintaining compliance and contractual consistency.
• Ensure that commercial contracts align with internal policies, security requirements, and applicable revenue recognition principles.
• Provide advice on competition law, marketing and contractual claims, and other product-adjacent compliance matters as they arise in commercial contexts.
• Support the management of disputes, escalations, and risk issues related to commercial delivery and customer relationships.
• Division Leadership and Internal Collaboration
• Serve as the primary legal advisor for one SymphonyAI business division, providing strategic legal leadership, prioritization, direction, and decision support to executive stakeholders. Provide oversight, thought leadership, and escalation management for high-value deals, mission-critical negotiations, and recurring contracting themes within the division. Collaborate with internal departments, share legal expertise, and build strong, trusted stakeholder relationships at executive, leadership, and operational levels. Contribute to internal legal frameworks, policies, training programs, knowledge sharing, playbook evolution, and cross-division contracting efficiency. Manage competing priorities in a fast-paced environment and contribute flexibly beyond core responsibilities when required by workload, deadlines, or enterprise priorities.

What You'll Bring:

• Dual qualification or law degrees in English and one other jurisdiction.
• 7+ years PQE (or equivalent) at a law firm or in-house environment, ideally in the Fintech sector.
• Significant experience in drafting and negotiating complex commercial agreements with a strong command of contract structure, deal dynamics, and commercial risk allocation.
• Experience counselling on product lifecycle matters, software licensing, technology integrations, open source, data privacy and protection, and intellectual property.
• Demonstrated ability to independently lead legal support for a business division, product vertical, or go-to-market function.
• Knowledge of data privacy frameworks and regulatory regimes, especially GDPR and EU data protection, with any additional certifications (e.g., CIPP, CIPM) considered a plus.
• Ability to draft and negotiate in English and any other EU language (French, German, Italian or Spanish would be ideal).
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to assess risks and propose practical, business-focused solutions.
• Exceptional communication skills, both written and verbal, with the ability to simplify complex legal or regulatory concepts for diverse stakeholders.
• Ability to build strong stakeholder relationships at all levels, collaborate with cross-functional teams, and influence legal and commercial standards across the division.
• Ability to work independently, prioritize effectively, and manage multiple concurrent projects in a fast-paced, evolving environment.

About Us

SymphonyAI is building the leading enterprise AI SaaS company for digital transformation across the most critical and resilient growth industries, including retail, consumer packaged goods, financial crime prevention, manufacturing, media, and IT service management. Since its founding in 2017, SymphonyAI today serves 1500+ Enterprise customers globally and has grown to 2,500 talented leaders, data scientists, and other professionals across over 30 countries.