Senior Managing Counsel - Commercial / Corporate

About the Position

Senior Managing Counsel - Commercial / Corporate

At PPRO, we simplify access to local payments, providing a platform that empowers giants like PayPal, Stripe, and Microsoft to connect with billions of consumers worldwide. We are on an ambitious, fast-paced mission to triple our growth by 2028. Our magic lies in our diverse team of proud payments experts, spanning over 50 nationalities across 10+ global locations. We are seeking an exceptional, highly strategic Senior Managing Counsel with deep expertise in the payments industry to lead and scale our Commercial Legal function.

Responsibilities

• Strategic Leadership & Team Management

  • Manage, coach, and empower a team of commercial lawyers, fostering a high-performance culture aligned with business objectives.
  • Design and refine legal workflows, contract playbooks, and intake mechanisms to maximize team output and efficiency as the organization scales.
  • Act as a trusted strategic advisor to C-suite and commercial leadership on key deals, international expansion, and complex commercial risk.

• High-Impact Commercial Contracting

  • Structure, draft, and negotiate complex global commercial agreements with payment service providers (PSPs), acquirers, financial institutions, card schemes, and strategic enterprise partners.
  • Partner closely with Product, Revenue, and Operations teams to support the launch of new payment solutions and local payment methods across target regions.
  • Modernise contract templates, negotiation fallback guidelines, and self-serve legal tools to shorten sales cycles.

• Payments Industry & Risk Enablement

  • Apply expert knowledge of payment infrastructure, payment gateways, acquiring, merchant processing, and scheme rules to commercial contract structures.
  • Collaborate with Regulatory, Compliance, Privacy, and Tax functions to ensure seamless commercial alignment with evolving fintech regulations.

Requirements

• Experience Level: 10+ years of PQE (or equivalent), with a proven track record in top-tier law firms and in-house fintech/payments legal environments.
• Payments Experience: Experience in payment processing, acquiring, PSPs, cross-border payment flows, or payment infrastructure.
• People Management: Demonstrated success in leading, developing, and mentoring commercial legal teams.
• Communication & Strategy: Exceptional verbal and written executive communication skills, with an ability to translate complex legal terms into clear business guidance.
• Scale-Up Agility: Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic matrix environment, balancing speed with rigorous risk management.
• Strategic Vision: Looks beyond individual transactions to build repeatable legal systems for scale.
• Commercial Mindset: Delivers pragmatic, solutions-oriented legal advice that enables business growth.
• Influencing & Negotiation: Proven authority in leading high-stakes negotiations with global partners.

We Offer

• Hybrid working - We offer a hybrid structure with a 3 days/week on-site expectation, so you can strike the balance between office and home working. In addition to our 28-day holiday allowance, we also provide a work from abroad policy, enabling employees to work remotely for up to another 30 days per year.
• Learning and Development - We offer a GBP 1,000 annual budget to support your professional growth-because investing in your development benefits us all. In addition, we provide leadership cafés, on-the-job training, and other opportunities to help you grow your skills and thrive in your role.
• Insurance - We want our employees to benefit from various insurances including a medical insurance (AXA health care plan) and a 5% matching pension plan through Now Pensions.
• Enhanced Family Leave - We understand the importance of family - that's why we offer enhanced family leave to support you during key life moments.
• Workplace Nursery Scheme - Save on childcare through salary exchange.
• Gym membership - PPRO helps contribute towards the costs of your gym membership, supporting your physical fitness journey while easing the burden on your wallet.
• Mental Health Platform - We’ve teamed up with a top well-being platform to provide one-on-one therapy, chat therapy, therapist-led courses, guided meditations, and more.
• Our HQ office on Procter Street, is a short walk from Holborn, Farringdon and Covent Garden so if you’re a foodie there’s plenty nearby. The office is befitting a tech business and is set up for cross team collaboration.
• Pet-friendly office - Because work is better with your paw-tners by your side.

About the Company

At PPRO, we are committed to simplifying access to local payments and providing a platform that empowers giants like PayPal, Stripe, and Microsoft to connect with billions of consumers worldwide. Our diverse team of proud payments experts, spanning over 50 nationalities across 10+ global locations, drives our innovation. We are on an ambitious, fast-paced mission to triple our growth by 2028.

Our Principles:

• We get things done: We are courageous; we take ownership, make decisions and get things done.
• We act with trust and integrity: We listen first and challenge respectfully. We seek out and leverage diverse perspectives. We welcome and offer honest and open feedback, always assuming positive intent.
• We put the customer first: We are laser focused on delivering outstanding outcomes for our customers. We put the customer at the heart of what we do.
• We make things better: We boldly explore new ideas and have an unwavering commitment to continuous improvement.
• We work as a team: We collaborate closely and value team success over individual achievement.

Our commitment to Diversity and Inclusion:

Payments only work when they reflect how different people actually pay, and we build teams the same way: our people span more than 50 nationalities, and that mix is exactly what makes us good at this. So if you're reading this and wondering whether you tick every box, apply anyway. We're far more interested in what you'll bring than a perfect match on paper.

We welcome applicants of every background, identity, and experience, and we make sure our hiring process is accessible to everyone. If you need an adjustment at any stage, just let us know: we're happy to help.

A few more things:

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please refer to our Candidate Privacy Policy.