Legal Risk & Compliance (LRC) Advisor

Minimum Requirements

• LLB / Bachelor of Laws degree
• 5-8 years' relevant experience in legal, regulatory compliance, risk and/or governance roles.
• Admission as an Attorney of the High Court of South Africa.
• At least 3 - 5 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 Skills & Competencies

• Strong legal drafting and contract negotiation skills
• Contract lifecycle management
• Regulatory interpretation and impact analysis
• Risk assessment and mitigation
• Audit and remediation management
• Strong analytical and problem-solving ability
• Commercial acumen
• Excellent written and verbal communication
• 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

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.

Risk Management

• 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.