Legal Compliance Specialist

Humankind Group; Gauteng; On-site; ZAR 900,000 - 1,500,000; Full time

Job summary

Humankind Group is seeking an experienced Legal Compliance Specialist to provide integrated legal, regulatory compliance and risk advisory support within a fast-paced financial services environment. You will work with business, product, technology and operations teams to identify and manage risks while enabling new products and partnerships.

The role requires an LLB or equivalent, SA Admitted Attorney status, 5–8 years in payments/fintech or related regulated environment, and strong drafting and

Qualifications

• LLB / Bachelor of Laws degree at NQF Level 8 or equivalent qualification.
• Must be admitted Attorney of the High Court of South Africa.
• 5–8 years relevant experience in legal, regulatory compliance, risk or governance roles.
• 3 years experience in payments/fintech/financial services or closely related regulated environment.
• Proven experience drafting, reviewing and negotiating complex commercial agreements.
• Experience applying regulatory requirements within a commercial operating environment.

Responsibilities

• Provide practical, commercially focused legal advice to business units and management.
• Draft, review and negotiate complex commercial agreements including customer, merchant, supplier/vendor, strategic partnership, technology and outsourcing agreements.
• Identify contractual, regulatory, liability, indemnity, data protection and IP risks.
• Manage contracts lifecycle from drafting to renewal and termination.
• Prepare legal opinions, advisory memoranda, reports and briefing documents.
• Support legal due diligence for partnerships, suppliers, acquisitions and strategic projects.
• Advise on legal and regulatory implications of new products, technologies, services and business models.
• Monitor and interpret applicable legislation, regulations and payment industry rules.
• Develop and maintain compliance frameworks, policies and procedures.
• Conduct compliance monitoring and reviews.
• Support merchant onboarding, CDD, transaction monitoring, data protection and third-party relations.

Skills

Legal drafting

Contract negotiation

Regulatory interpretation

Risk assessment

Stakeholder management

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

LLB / Bachelor of Laws (NQF8)

Admitted Attorney of SA High Court

Job description

We are looking for an experienced Legal Compliance Specialist to provide integrated legal, regulatory compliance and risk advisory support within a fast-paced, technology-enabled financial services environment.

This is a commercially focused role for a legal and compliance professional who can work closely with business, product, technology, operations, finance and commercial teams to identify and manage legal, regulatory and operational risks while supporting the responsible introduction of new products, services and partnerships.

Requirements:

• LLB / Bachelor of Laws degree at NQF Level 8, or an equivalent recognised legal qualification.
• Must be an admitted Attorney of the High Court of South Africa.
• 5–8 years relevant experience in legal, regulatory compliance, risk and/or governance roles.
• 3 years experience within payments, fintech, banking, financial services, merchant acquiring, card payments, digital payments or a closely related regulated environment.
• Proven experience drafting, reviewing and negotiating complex commercial agreements.
• Experience applying regulatory requirements within a commercial operating environment.
• Experience conducting compliance monitoring, risk assessments and control reviews.
• Experience advising on new products, commercial partnerships, technology arrangements or outsourced services.
• Experience preparing reports for management, risk committees or governance forums.
• Experience engaging with regulators, auditors, external legal advisers or industry bodies.
• Experience managing regulatory, audit or compliance remediation activities.

Key Responsibilities:

Legal Advisory & Commercial Support

• Provide practical, commercially focused legal advice to business units and management.
• Draft, review and negotiate complex commercial agreements, including customer, merchant, supplier/vendor, strategic partnership, technology and outsourcing agreements.
• Identify contractual, regulatory, liability, indemnity, data protection, intellectual property and operational risks.
• Manage contracts throughout their lifecycle, from drafting and negotiation through to execution, renewal and termination.
• Prepare legal opinions, advisory memoranda, reports and briefing documents.
• Support legal due diligence for partnerships, suppliers, acquisitions, investments and strategic projects.
• Advise on the legal and regulatory implications of new products, technologies, services and business models.

Regulatory Compliance

• Monitor and interpret applicable legislation, regulations, regulatory directives, payment industry rules and relevant standards.
• Assess regulatory impact on business operations and translate requirements into practical controls, policies and procedures.
• Develop, review and maintain compliance frameworks, policies and procedures.
• Conduct compliance monitoring and reviews.
• Support compliance relating to merchant onboarding, customer due diligence, transaction monitoring, data protection, complaints management and third-party relationships.
• Ensure adherence to relevant payment industry regulations and standards.
• Identify, assess and report legal, regulatory and operational risks.
• Maintain legal, compliance and operational risk registers.
• Support enterprise risk management activities and risk assessments.
• Monitor risk mitigation plans and corrective actions.
• Assist business units in implementing effective controls.
• Support audit remediation and regulatory findings management.

Stakeholder Management

• Build strong relationships with stakeholders across business, operations, finance, technology and product teams.
• Liaise with regulators, legal service providers, auditors and industry bodies where required.
• Provide practical, business-focused legal and compliance guidance.
• Strong legal drafting and contract negotiation skills
• Regulatory interpretation and impact analysis
• Risk assessment and mitigation
• Audit and remediation management
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilityCommercial acumen
• Stakeholder engagement and influencing
• Strong attention to detail and sound judgement
• Ability to work independently and manage multiple priorities
• Strong organisational and project management skills
• High ethical standards and professional integrity