Senior Counsel

Mastercard; Johannesburg; On-site; ZAR 800 000 - 1 300 000; Full time

Job summary

A leading financial services company is seeking a Senior Counsel to join their legal team in Johannesburg. This role focuses on providing legal support for Security Solutions, managing commercial contracts, and collaborating with various business units. The ideal candidate has a Juris Doctorate, strong negotiation abilities, and experience from a reputable law firm. This is a dynamic position requiring proactive communication with business clients and a commitment to legal excellence.

Qualifications

• Experience from a highly reputable law firm.
• Ability to manage complex issues and deal structures.
• Must be solutions-oriented and business-friendly.

Responsibilities

• Structure, draft, and negotiate high-volume commercial contracts.
• Collaborate with business and legal teams.
• Provide legal support for the Services group.

Skills

Strong drafting and negotiation skills

Leadership skills

Ability to make calculated decisions

Strong communication skills

Ability to operate in a fast-paced environment

Education

Juris Doctorate degree

Job description

Our Purpose

Mastercard powers economies and empowers people in 200+ countries and territories worldwide. Together with our customers, we’re helping build asustainableeconomy where everyone can prosper. We support a wide range of digital payments choices, making transactionssecure, simple, smart and accessible. Our technology and innovation, partnerships and networks combine to deliver a unique set of products and services that help people, businesses and governments realize their greatest potential.

Title and Summary

Senior Counsel Mastercard is looking for an energized commercial/technology attorney to join its dynamic legal team to serve as a legal partner to Services group of Mastercard with a particular focus on Security Solutions (SSO). Mastercard’s SSO team provides strategic and cutting-edge safety, security, identity and fraud solutions to Mastercard’s customers and cardholders. This innovative team helps develop the next generation of Mastercard product solutions with respect to authentication, artificial intelligence, behavioral biometrics, cybersecurity, contactless transactions, and the internet-of-things.

Under the direction of the Vice President and Senior Managing Counsel - Services EEMEA, this position will provide the legal and general support for Services in the Mastercard's Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (EEMEA) region.

The position may be located in Johannesburg or Istanbul.

Role

• Structure, draft, and negotiate high-volume commercial contracts ranging from simple statements of work to complex partnership and novel/strategic deals. Typical agreements include transactional agreements, consulting agreements, platform agreements, SaaS agreements, marketing and promotional campaign agreements;
• Align and collaborate across various business and legal teams, including with other Services legal team members and EEMEA regional counsels;
• Develop, assist with and execute global initiatives in the region to support the evolution of the Services legal team and the support it provides;
• Collaborate with team members on product development and go-to-market implementation;
• Be a strategic partner and trusted advisor to a demanding business unit; counseling the business on deal matters as well as general business matters; High level of interaction with business clients;
• Manage wide-ranging issues such as data usage/privacy, intellectual property, compliance, regulatory, and tax by partnering with subject matter experts in these areas and other stakeholder teams, and balancing these issues against reputational risk to ensure product constructs and commercial agreements are consistent with corporate strategy, internal policies and procedures and applicable laws and regulations; and
• Provide back-up support to other colleagues on the Services legal team as needed.
• Please note that this job description is not exhaustive, and the job holder may be required to undertake additional duties from time to time to ensure the smooth running of the Services business.

All About You

• Solid transactional training and experience (preferably from a highly reputable law firm);
• Must have strong drafting and negotiations skills with the ability to manage complex issues and deal structure;
• Ability to operate in an agile and less than full information environment and ability to make quick but calculated decisions while managing risk effectively;
• Must be pragmatic, solutions-oriented, business-friendly, creative, nimble, thought provoker, and an advocate for the business;
• Must have leadership skills in bringing different perspectives together and work through competing priorities;
• Must be able to work independently and collaboratively, but also take direction from manager and other team members, as appropriate;
• Must multi-task effectively in an extremely fast-paced team environment with short turnaround times;
• Must have strong communication skills to interact with clients and colleagues;
• Must be a team player and willing to take on responsibilities and roles that support the team, region, department and the company;
• Must be interested in significant contact with the business clients daily
• A Juris Doctorate degree (or non-U.S. equivalent) and admitted to bar (or non-U.S. equivalent) and in good standing

Corporate Security Responsibility

All activities involving access to Mastercard assets, information, and networks comes with an inherent risk to the organization and, therefore, it is expected that every person working for, or on behalf of, Mastercard is responsible for information security and must:

• Abide by Mastercard’s security policies and practices;
• Ensure the confidentiality and integrity of the information being accessed;
• Report any suspected information security violation or breach, and
• Complete all periodic mandatory security trainings in accordance with Mastercard’s guidelines.