Senior Legal Counsel
Monavate is a regulated global payments infrastructure provider that enables ambitious companies to issue, move, and settle money across borders. It serves fintechs, Web3 platforms, and B2B operators through a single regulated payments platform.
Funding
Projects
About Monavate
Monavate provides a fully regulated payments platform that manages the full lifecycle of payments — from value entering a system (virtual IBANs, multi-currency accounts, funding rails, fiat and digital asset on-ramps), to value movement (digital asset rails, cross-border settlement and FX, bank-to-bank rails), to value exit (scheme-backed card programmes, wallet integrations like Apple Pay and Google Pay, physical and virtual card issuing). As a principal member of Mastercard, Visa, and Discover, Monavate offers direct scheme connectivity for global card issuance and programme management, along with advanced KYC/AML compliance frameworks and real-time on-chain/Web3 capabilities including stablecoin settlements and crypto-backed card issuance. The company works with clients through Direct Integration for mature fintechs and Web3 platforms, or Managed & Co-Branded Programmes for growing or early-stage organisations, serving industries such as fintech, health insurance, financial services, travel, media buying, insurance, and fleet. Monavate is a UK limited company regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, with an affiliated entity, UAB Monavate, incorporated in Lithuania and regulated by the Bank of Lithuania.
Skills
About the Role
You'll provide high-quality, business-focused legal support across a broad range of matters, including commercial contracting and regulatory change, particularly in the payments space. This is an execution-driven role where you'll balance multiple priorities and deliver pragmatic solutions that protect value and enable growth. You'll combine strong technical skills with commercial judgment, working autonomously and collaboratively with senior stakeholders to drive strategic initiatives and ensure timely, effective outcomes. You'll have exposure to working with the entire highly experienced team at Monavate.
Requirements
- Qualified Lawyer from common law or civil law jurisdictions with 5+ years PQE
- Advanced negotiation and drafting of complex commercial contracts
- Strong understanding of company law and governance
- Risk identification and mitigation in transactional and operational contexts
- Ability to run multiple workstreams, set timelines and deliver under pressure
- Familiarity with multi-jurisdictional legal issues and coordinating local counsel
- Strong communication and interpersonal skills
- Working knowledge of payments/fintech regulation preferable but not essential
- Strong grasp of AML/CTF and sanctions considerations in Payment Services
- Awareness of data protection and information security standards relevant to payments and SaaS contracting
- End-to-end commercial contracting experience across enterprise customer agreements, vendor/SaaS, data/processor terms, DPAs, NDAs, statements of work, SLAs
- Experience running and/or coordinating buy-side and sell-side deals from term sheet to closing
- Experience in issue-spotting, escalation strategies, settlement frameworks and instructing litigators
- Experience mentoring junior lawyers and running training sessions for commercial teams
- Experience translating regulatory requirements into commercial terms
- Exposure to payments regulatory landscape preferable but not essential
Responsibilities
- Lead and manage complex commercial contracting across the Group, including drafting, negotiating and maintaining master service agreements, vendor contracts and strategic partnership agreements
- Provide pragmatic, business-focused legal advice to senior stakeholders on corporate and commercial matters, balancing risk with commercial objectives
- Manage multiple workstreams simultaneously, prioritising effectively and ensuring timely delivery of high-quality outputs
- Collaborate cross-functionally with Finance, Strategy, Sales and Operations to enable business growth and strategic initiatives
- Engage and manage external counsel for specialist matters, ensuring cost efficiency, quality, and alignment with Group objectives
- Maintain governance and compliance standards during transactions, including preparing board papers, resolutions and ensuring audit readiness
- Contribute to process improvement and legal operations, including template development, playbooks and automation initiatives
- Act as a trusted advisor and problem-solver, proactively identifying risks and opportunities and driving execution with minimal supervision
- Partner with Compliance to embed key regulatory requirements into commercial contracts
- Monitor relevant regulatory change affecting the Group and translate into actionable guidance and playbooks
- Coordinate and quality-control input from specialist regulatory counsel and local counsel
Benefits
- Bonus scheme
- Pension plan
- Healthcare cash plan
- Private health insurance
- Life assurance
- Income protection scheme
- 25 days of paid holiday plus public holidays
- Birthday as a paid day off