SVP, Senior Legal Counsel - Product (Hybrid)

Whether you’re at the start of your career or looking to discover your next adventure, your story begins here. At Citi, you’ll have the opportunity to expand your skills and make a difference at one of the world’s most global banks. We’re fully committed to supporting your growth and development from the start with extensive on-the-job training and exposure to senior leaders, as well as more traditional learning. You’ll also have the chance to give back and make a positive impact where we live and work through volunteerism.

We’re currently looking for a high caliber professional to join our team as SVP, Senior Legal Counsel - Product (Hybrid) (Internal Job Title: Senior Lead Counsel 1 - Product - C14) based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Being part of our team means that we’ll provide you with the resources to meet your unique needs, empower you to make healthy decisions and manage your financial well-being to help plan for your future.

The Citigroup Services Legal Department (Services Legal) comprises over 110 FTE located across all time zones. Services Legal supports the Services Business. This is one of the 5 core business segments at Citi and it comprises Treasury & Trade Solutions and Securities Services. It is a business with an extensive client base of multinational corporations, financial institutions, and public sector organizations and it is a truly global business with an extensive local presence.

Services Legal is now seeking a motivated and versatile individual to act as the principal lawyer in Asia for the Services Client Solutions Legal Team. The successful applicant will report to the Services Legal Head - Client Solutions, Business Strategies and Initiatives (the “Legal BSI Head”). The introduction of this role presents the opportunity for a talented lawyer to run and manage a team of up to 4 legal professionals located in either India or Malaysia who will primarily be engaged in client-facing roles comprising transactional work and providing broad-based advice on various issues and projects across the panoply of the Services: Cash, Trade, and Securities Services businesses.

The role will require close teamwork with the other Senior Lawyers who manage the equivalent Client Solutions teams based in Belfast and Tampa, creating an environment that covers all time zones, is joined up, and consistent. It will also involve daily interaction with colleagues in each of the Cash, Trade, and Securities Services Product legal teams and with other functional colleagues (and external counsel as required) to ensure coordination of best documentation practices and procedures, identifying commonalities and consistency across all Products which live within Services. This is a relatively new expansion as the Asia Client Solutions team has thus far been limited to just the Cash Business.

The role requires a person who has real aptitude as a leader and a manager in order to work on a broad range of matters. Whilst a major focus of the role will be business-facing, there will also be an overarching emphasis on the strategy and priorities of the Client Solutions team, especially in connection with the consolidation of knowledge, development of training, precedents, and best practices, and finally, the use of new technologies to simplify the team’s operating model.

The ideal candidate will have a strong understanding across all the elements of Cash, Trade, and Securities Services and will understand the risks and controls those Businesses need to manage, both as a whole and on a cluster-by-cluster basis, as this is reflective of the nature of a business which operates in over 100 countries, processing payments, clearing, and settlement of trillions of assets each day.

Key responsibilities

• Manage a team of legal professionals who will cover the Services Client Solutions Asia team.
• Responsible for providing legal counsel to the Cash, Trade, and Securities Services business, participating in strategic initiatives, providing subject matter expertise and interpretations of relevant laws, rules, regulations, and industry practices, and advising business management on legal matters impacting the business such as negotiating various documentation, including service agreements, supplier agreements, and custody agreements.
• Partners with the Cash, Trade, and Securities Services Product Legal teams to objectively evaluate business proposals by analyzing documentation while applying institutional knowledge and risk appetite against industry standards, widely accepted business practices, laws, rules, and regulatory guidelines, escalating as appropriate.
• Collaborates across internal lines of business, control/support functions, and/or external counsel to achieve coordinated and efficient outcomes on matters of common interest; coordinate closely with the Cash, Trade, and Securities Services Product Legal teams on a regional and global basis.
• Assists team in identifying, evaluating, and contributing to the management of legal, regulatory, and reputational risk by collaborating with ICRM & Risk, following relevant legal developments, participating in internal projects, escalating as appropriate.
• Manages day-to-day legal activities as a subject matter expert in Cash, Trade, and Securities Services, provides advisory services to internal stakeholders across all three business lines, and supports business projects, including regulatory and cross-border matters.
• Monitors management of complex legal issues and transactions, escalating to appropriate internal stakeholders when necessary.
• Appropriately assesses risk when business decisions are made, demonstrating particular consideration for the firm's reputation and safeguarding Citigroup, its clients, and assets, by driving compliance with applicable laws, rules, and regulations, adhering to Policy, applying sound ethical judgment regarding personal behavior, conduct, and business practices, and escalating, managing, and reporting control issues with transparency, as well as effectively supervising the activity of others and creating accountability with those who fail to maintain these standards.

Qualifications:

• 10+ years of relevant industry experience, preferably in financial services.
• Banking or financial industry experience, including laws related to banking regulations.
• Teamwork: Ability to engage with both senior legal and business teams on a partnership basis as well as an ability to work independently as required.
• Knowledge of international laws, regulations, and practices while staying abreast of the regulatory and legal environment, internal policies, and industry trends that impact the business.
• Experience with complex deals, demonstrated ability to analyze issues and develop legal solutions.
• Effective communication and negotiation skills and ability to build and maintain trusted relationships.
• Excellent interpersonal, organizational, management, and relationship management skills.
• Strong attention to detail, with proven ability to apply sound judgment while managing assignments in a demanding, fast-paced environment.
• Excellent technical skills (including drafting skills), and analytical ability.
• Strong business judgment and commercial attitude.
• License in good standing to practice law.

Working at Citi is far more than just a job. A career with us means joining a family of more than 230,000 dedicated people from around the globe. At Citi, you’ll have the opportunity to grow your career, give back to your community, and make a real impact.

Take the next step in your career, apply for this role at Citi today.

Job Family Group: Legal

Job Family: Legal - Product

Time Type: Full time

Citi is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer.

Qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.