Senior Legal Counsel

Job Summary

This Band 5 role is a Senior Legal Counsel in Dubai situated in the Dealing Room among both the 1st and 2nd Lines of Defence. It requires the individual to demonstrate both considerable technical Markets Legal skills, business acumen and a strong risk barometer to ensure that Markets business is conducted in line with our policies and values.

Key Responsibilities

Strategy

1. Legal subject matter expert for Markets products in some, but not all, of the following areas: bespoke Credit Solutions, Islamic Structured and Macro Products (Interest Rate and FX).
2. Possesses technical knowledge of the legal landscape for Markets especially in Emerging and Frontier Markets.
3. Awareness and understanding of the wider business, economic and market environment in which the Group operates.
4. Provides legal advice, guidance and support to business units and stakeholders on all legal matters relating to Markets.
5. Supports Group strategic initiatives to reduce Cost of Funds (CoF) / attract dollar liabilities / increase ROTE.
6. Maintain close relationships with stakeholders including the Cluster General Counsels and Markets Business Heads to provide them with relevant legal advice, guidance, and support.

Business

1. Be considered as a strategic partner to the business.
2. Involved in the roll out of new Islamic Structured Products in partnership with Trading and Markets Structuring and Islamic Product Development.
3. Member of a team providing Markets related specialist legal advice with respect to new products and Markets initiatives with a particular focus for, Structured Rates, Structured Credit and Structured Islamic products.
4. Provide transactional support to Markets businesses having regard to the Product Program Authorization (PPG) / Country Addenda (CA) parameters and, if applicable, the Group’s minimum standards and guidance for the relevant product(s) or service(s).
5. Act as lawyer as part of complex multi-jurisdictional Markets transactions, with a particular focus for Structured Rates, Structured Credit and Structured Islamic products collaborating with the relevant regional and/or country Head of Legal to provide seamless support to the business.
6. Drive improvements to documentation processes and develop template legal documentation for Markets businesses that are fit for purpose and promote standardization across the Group.
7. Assist to Implement global standards and initiatives for legal matters in relation to all Markets businesses, including the Bank’s position on departures from standard clauses, and applying a consistent approach to management of issues.
8. Support and oversee internal legal, external legal counsel and business teams supporting/working within Markets and drive operational efficiencies/improvements.
9. Promote clarity and understanding of Markets documentation within the Markets teams and if required, to conduct relevant training to Markets teams around documentation, with a particular focus for Structured Rates, Structured Credit and Structured Islamic products.
10. Identify and find ways to reduce legal and reputational risk.
11. Control the quality and cost of legal services provided by external law firms.
12. Interface with country legal and compliance on local regulatory issues.

Processes

1. Ensure that appropriate forms of legal documents are used for transactions with adequate protections and remedies for the Bank, and help management determine that transactions are valid and enforceable under the laws of all relevant jurisdictions.
2. Help to develop effective front to back processes with stakeholder partners.
3. Act as Risk Control Owner Delegate under the Group’s Risk Management Framework for Financial Markets processes where Legal is the second line Risk Control Owner for Markets in the Region (erroneous execution).

People & Talent

1. Promote best practice and share lessons learned across the Markets Legal team, especially in relation to legal risks and compliance with relevant regulations and internal policies/procedures.
2. Communicate with stakeholders on a regular basis to resolve challenges and roadblocks with a client centric approach.

Risk Management

1. Act as Risk Control Owner for Legal Enforceability and Liability Risks arising in relation to Markets transactions, as outlined under the Operational Risk Framework and associated policies and procedures.
2. Promote a culture and practice of compliance with legal standards (including conducting business within legal and regulatory requirements, with high ethical standards).
3. Help to embed and implement global legal standards for Markets considering regional/country issues.

Governance

1. Awareness and understanding of the regulatory framework in which the Bank operates and the regulatory requirements and expectations relevant to role.
2. Support operationalization of OTC regulatory agenda for Markets business.

Regulatory & Business Conduct

1. Display exemplary conduct and live by the Group’s Values and Code of Conduct.
2. Take personal responsibility for embedding the highest standards of ethics, including regulatory and business conduct, across Standard Chartered Bank.
3. Effectively and collaboratively identify, escalate, mitigate and resolve risk, conduct and compliance matters.
4. Help to ensure that regulatory reform/changes are appropriately assessed within Legal from a Markets impact perspective.

Key Stakeholders

1. Head, Legal Financial Markets, AME
2. Head, Legal Financial Markets, Group
3. Regional (Cluster) General Counsels, AME
4. Other members of Legal in the region and globally
5. Markets LMT
6. Business Heads of Markets
7. Regional (Cluster) Markets Business COOs
8. Regional (Cluster) Markets leadership in TCRM, Compliance, Governance
9. Regional (Cluster) MANCO
10. Markets PGC Representatives

Other Responsibilities

1. Perform other responsibilities assigned under Group, Country, Business or Functional policies and procedures.
2. Work with Management to develop and roll out approved strategy.
3. Participate in a culturally diverse team across functions and geographies.
4. Keen awareness and understanding of seamless co-ordination at Regional (Cluster) and Product level.
5. Maintain high standards of professional integrity.
6. Liaise and respond where applicable to local regulators eg DFSA.

Skills and Experience

1. Law
2. Practising certificate

Qualifications

1. Qualified to practice as a solicitor/attorney and admitted to the Law Society of England and Wales, or an equivalent legal society/body in the relevant local jurisdiction.
2. Experience of dealing with Market-related legal matters in private practice or in-house.
3. Have more than 5 years of relevant PQE.
4. Have knowledge and experience in key markets products, ideally including fixed income derivatives, credit derivatives, commodities, structured credit, structured products, and structured financing.
5. Legal experience in one or more of the FM product areas such as FX, Rates, Credit and Commodities.
6. Besides FM experience, experience in banking and finance would be preferred.
7. Familiar with, and have experience working on, ISDA master agreement, credit support documentation, repo and stock lending documentation, confirmations, and term sheets in relation to FM transactions.
8. Understanding of financial market reforms and regulations such as IBOR remediation, margin reform, stays, EMIR and Dodd Frank, etc.
9. Some experience in and familiarity with Islamic finance and derivatives transaction and documentation would be beneficial.
10. Strong business acumen (including ability to assess risk and appropriate levels of return), strong leadership qualities, strong interpersonal skills and multi-cultural awareness and sensitivity.
11. Have an independent guardian and risk control mindset.
12. Understanding of risk management techniques and approaches.
13. Sound judgment of business practices, regulatory relationship management and reputational risk.
14. Exemplary integrity, ethics, independence, and resilience.

About Standard Chartered

We're an international bank, nimble enough to act, big enough for impact. For more than 170 years, we've worked to make a positive difference for our clients, communities, and each other. We question the status quo, love a challenge and enjoy finding new opportunities to grow and do better than before. If you're looking for a career with purpose and you want to work for a bank making a difference, we want to hear from you. You can count on us to celebrate your unique talents and we can't wait to see the talents you can bring us.

Our purpose, to drive commerce and prosperity through our unique diversity, together with our brand promise, to be here for good are achieved by how we each live our valued behaviours. When you work with us, you'll see how we value difference and advocate inclusion.

Together we:

1. Do the right thing and are assertive, challenge one another, and live with integrity, while putting the client at the heart of what we do.
2. Never settle, continuously striving to improve and innovate, keeping things simple and learning from doing well, and not so well.
3. Are better together, we can be ourselves, be inclusive, see more good in others, and work collectively to build for the long term.

What we offer

In line with our Fair Pay Charter, we offer a competitive salary and benefits to support your mental, physical, financial and social wellbeing.

1. Core bank funding for retirement savings, medical and life insurance, with flexible and voluntary benefits available in some locations.
2. Time-off including annual leave, parental/maternity (20 weeks), sabbatical (12 months maximum) and volunteering leave (3 days), along with minimum global standards for annual and public holiday, which is combined to 30 days minimum.
3. Flexible working options based around home and office locations, with flexible working patterns.
4. Proactive wellbeing support through Unmind, a market-leading digital wellbeing platform, development courses for resilience and other human skills, global Employee Assistance Programme, sick leave, mental health first-aiders and all sorts of self-help toolkits.
5. A continuous learning culture to support your growth, with opportunities to reskill and upskill and access to physical, virtual and digital learning.
6. Being part of an inclusive and values driven organisation, one that embraces and celebrates our unique diversity, across our teams, business functions and geographies - everyone feels respected and can realise their full potential.