Senior Legal Counsel (New Markets)
Wave Mobile Money is a financial technology company providing affordable mobile money services across Africa. Its offerings include money transfers, deposits and withdrawals, bill payments, airtime purchases, merchant payments, collections, bulk payments, and checkout APIs.
Funding
Projects
About Wave Mobile Money Inc.
Wave Mobile Money builds and operates a mobile financial network intended to help make Africa the first cashless continent. Its consumer services enable users to deposit and withdraw money, send funds, pay bills, buy airtime, and access customer support through mobile applications and agents. Wave Business provides bulk payments, in-person merchant payments, cash collection tools, a business portal, and checkout APIs. The company serves consumers, agents, merchants, businesses, and other clients across multiple African countries.
Skills
About the Role
You will serve as the primary legal advisor supporting Wave's growth in DRC and new markets, facilitating expansion in alignment with business requirements following regulatory approvals in other regions. You'll partner closely with the business to achieve its objectives through robust contracting, effective legal risk management, and the delivery of clear, practical strategies and solutions. You'll draft and negotiate contracts for core products and services, manage legal operations and policies, oversee litigation and dispute processes, provide legal support for people matters, handle company secretarial duties, manage legal risk with the Risk and Controls teams, develop data privacy strategy, support regulatory and licensing matters, and build relationships with external law firms.
Requirements
- A law degree from an accredited and leading law school and be a qualified lawyer in a Francophone African jurisdiction (OHADA, Cameroon, DRC regulation)
- 8+ years of experience as an in-house lawyer in technology, finance, fintech, or mobile money in a leading regional or global organization
- Fluent in French and English
- Strong communication skills (both written and oral) and ability to communicate knowledge of the law clearly
- Excellent legal drafting
- Strong planning, organizational, and management skills, and ability to meet deadlines
Responsibilities
- Draft and negotiate contracts for all Wave core products and services to protect commercial and legal interests
- Engage in complex and high-value contract negotiations
- Manage and improve the contracting process across countries
- Implement group legal team policies and propose modifications based on practical experience and legal developments
- Provide cross-functional legal administrative support for legal documentation in new markets
- Implement procedures to manage claims and disputes including mediation, arbitration, and litigation
- Provide legal support for employment contracts, disciplinary matters, and terminations
- Manage company secretarial matters across legal entities
- Work with Risk and Controls teams to implement mitigations for legal risks
- Develop data privacy compliance strategy in collaboration with other functions
- Build relations with data privacy regulators across the region
- Provide legal support on licensing and regulatory matters including mobile money license applications
- Build and manage relationships with external law firms
- Engage in other legal function activities and special projects
Benefits
- Health insurance premium paid for you and your dependents
- Generous parental leave policies (26 weeks for mothers and 4 weeks for fathers)
- Subsidized child care when you return to work
- Subsidized gym memberships and fitness classes
- Airtime reimbursement