Senior Legal Counsel (New Markets)

We're making Africa the first cashless continent. In 2017, over half the population in Sub-Saharan Africa had no bank account. That's for good reason—the fees are too high, the closest branch can be miles away, and nobody takes cards. Without access to financial institutions, people are forced to keep their savings under the mattress. Small business owners rely on lenders who charge extortionate rates. Parents spend hours waiting in line to pay school fees in cash. We're solving this by building financial services that just work: no account fees, instantly available, and accepted everywhere. In places where electricity, water and roads don't always work, you can still send money with Wave. In 2017, we launched a mobile app in Senegal for cash deposit, withdrawal, and peer-to-peer and business payments. Now, we have millions of users across 9 countries and are growing fast. Our goal is to make Africa the first cashless continent and that's where you come in... As a Senior Legal Counsel, you will serve as the primary legal advisor supporting Wave's growth into new markets, including Cameroon & DRC, and facilitate expansion in alignment with business requirements following regulatory approvals in other regions. You will 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. Contracting: Drafting and negotiating contracts for all Wave core products and services (agents, payments, procurement) to protect the commercial and legal interests of the business and maximize value. Engaging in complex/high-value contract negotiations. Managing and improving the contracting process, i.e., implementing the contracts policy, contract management software, electronic signature software, physical archiving, and other processes, across countries. Legal operations: Implementing group legal team policies and proposing periodic modifications to the same based upon practical experience, legal developments, and industry best practice, e.g., contracts policy, data privacy policy, etc. Provide cross-functional legal administrative support by ensuring the administrative follow-up of legal documentation for new markets, including the centralisation, traceability, and ongoing updating of legal information. Litigation: Implementing procedures to manage claims and disputes, including pre-action case management, mediation, arbitration, and litigation. Risk manag