Sr Director, Legal Counsel

FIS Management Services LLC; Jacksonville (FL); On-site; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive benefits

Professional development

Diversity & inclusion

Job summary

FIS is seeking a Sr Director, Legal Counsel to provide strategic legal leadership, overseeing commercial transactions, governance, litigation, and regulatory compliance across the business. You will align legal strategy with organizational objectives and manage risk while guiding executive decisions.

You will mentor a high-performing legal team, oversee external counsel, and advise on mergers, acquisitions, and critical strategic transactions to protect interests and ensure regulatory compliance.

Qualifications

• Juris Doctor or equivalent law qualification.
• Experience leading legal functions in regulated organizations.
• Expertise in commercial contracting and risk management.
• Strong knowledge of corporate governance and regulatory compliance.
• Experience managing litigation and external counsel relationships.

Responsibilities

• Serve as trusted advisor to executive leadership on strategic legal and regulatory matters.
• Lead review, drafting, negotiation, and oversight of complex commercial agreements and business transactions.
• Develop legal strategies balancing business objectives with risk and regulatory requirements.
• Direct high-impact litigation and external counsel engagements to safeguard interests.
• Provide leadership on corporate governance and board-related obligations.
• Advise on mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, and due diligence activities.
• Counsel on labor and employment matters, investigations, and employment agreements.
• Develop and oversee legal policies and procedures supporting enterprise objectives.
• Guide crisis response strategies to protect reputation and continuity.
• Build and mentor high-performing legal teams and drive operational excellence.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Contract negotiation

Regulatory compliance

Litigation management

Corporate governance

Education

Juris Doctor

Job description

Job Description At FIS, our technology and our people are moving forward. We advance the way the world pays, banks and invests. We believe in building inclusive, diverse teams. Together, we innovate to help our colleagues, clients and communities succeed. If you’re ready to grow your career and make an impact in fintech, we have one question: Are you FIS?

About the Role:

As Sr Director, Legal Counsel, you will provide strategic legal leadership that enables business growth while protecting the organization from legal, regulatory, and operational risk. You will oversee complex commercial transactions, corporate governance activities, litigation matters, and regulatory compliance initiatives across a broad business landscape. Working closely with executive leadership, you will guide critical business decisions and ensure legal strategies align with organizational objectives. Success in this role is measured through effective risk management, strong governance practices, successful business partnerships, and the development of a high-performing legal function.

What You Will Be Doing:

• Serve as a trusted advisor to executive leadership on strategic legal, regulatory, and business matters.
• Lead the review, drafting, negotiation, and oversight of complex commercial agreements and business transactions.
• Develop legal strategies that balance business objectives with risk mitigation and regulatory compliance requirements.
• Direct high-impact litigation, dispute resolution, and external counsel engagements to safeguard organizational interests.
• Provide leadership on corporate governance practices, board-related matters, and regulatory obligations.
• Advise stakeholders on mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, and other strategic transactions, including due diligence activities.
• Counsel leaders on labor and employment matters, employee relations issues, workplace investigations, and employment agreements.
• Develop and oversee legal policies, procedures, and operational frameworks that support enterprise objectives.
• Guide legal response strategies during crisis situations to protect reputation, business continuity, and legal standing.
• Build, lead, and mentor high-performing legal teams while driving operational excellence, accountability, and professional development.

What you Bring:

• Bachelor’s degree in Law, Juris Doctor, or equivalent legal qualification.
• Significant experience leading legal functions within complex, regulated organizations.
• Demonstrated expertise in commercial contracting, contract negotiation, and legal risk management.
• Strong knowledge of corporate governance, regulatory compliance, and business law principles.
• Experience managing litigation strategy, dispute resolution processes, and external legal counsel relationships.
• Proven ability to advise executive leadership on strategic business decisions and legal impacts.
• Strong understanding of mergers and acquisitions, due diligence, and corporate transaction frameworks.
• Exceptional leadership, stakeholder management, communication, negotiation, and decision-making skills.

Added bonus if you have:

• Experience supporting financial services, fintech, payments, banking, or technology organizations.
• Knowledge of global regulatory frameworks and cross-border business transactions.
• Experience implementing legal operations best practices, governance frameworks, and process improvements.
• Professional certifications or advanced training in corporate governance, compliance, or risk management.
• Experience leading large, geographically dispersed teams and complex enterprise initiatives.

What We Offer you:

At FIS, you can grow your career as far as you want to take it. Here’s what else we offer:

• Opportunities to make an impact in fintech
• Personal and professional learning
• Inclusive, diverse work environment
• Resources to give back to your community
• Competitive salary and benefits

Privacy Statement FIS is committed to protecting the privacy and security of all personal information that we process in order to provide services to our clients. For specific information on how FIS protects personal information online, please see the Online Privacy Notice.

EEOC Statement FIS is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, genetic information, national origin, disability, veteran status, and other protected characteristics. The EEO is the Law poster is available here supplement document available here

For positions located in the US, the following conditions apply.

If you are made a conditional offer of employment, you will be required to undergo a drug test.

ADA Disclaimer: In developing this job description care was taken to include all competencies needed to successfully perform in this position. However, for Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) purposes, the essential functions of the job may or may not have been described for purposes of ADA reasonable accommodation. All reasonable accommodation requests will be reviewed and evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

Sourcing Model Recruitment at FIS works primarily on a direct sourcing model; a relatively small portion of our hiring is through recruitment agencies. FIS does not accept resumes from recruitment agencies which are not on the preferred supplier list and is not responsible for any related fees for resumes submitted to job postings, our employees, or any other part of our company.

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