Senior Counsel

Senior Counsel

Mastercard is seeking an experienced attorney to be responsible for providing comprehensive, end-to-end, strategic support to our global Commercial and SME Solutions business, with a focus on development of new products and services for SME.

Small and Medium Enterprises (SME), as part of Commercial and New Payment Flows (CNPF) group, is responsible for building and commercializing products and services to reduce complexity, cut costs, and automate processes in micro, small, and medium businesses. The team is also tasked to grow Mastercard's market share in small business cards.

The CNPF team builds relationships within the merchant community to expand acceptance and drive revenue and supports our co-brand, commercial, and public sector customers as well as our acquirers and processors.

The scope of work will include contract drafting and negotiation, product development, regulatory and compliance assessments, risk analysis, supporting the development and distribution of Commercial and SME Solutions offerings (including drafting and negotiating contracts, legal risk management related to payments automation and trade platforms). The role reports to the VP, Senior Managing Counsel of Global SME Solutions. The key responsibilities for the role include:

• Acting as a day-to-day advisor for SME clients by partnering with the business and legal specialists to deliver on strategy, including expanding Mastercard acceptance; and securing Mastercard's share with merchants, acquirers, prepaid program managers, issuers and digital partners.
• Advising business on a wide range of commercial and contractual matters including legal and business risk assessment; and analysis on diverse matters from new product constructs to commercial agreements.
• Collaborating with internal subject matter experts to better understand and be able to advise holistically on our products and relevant regulatory, compliance, privacy and antitrust issues.
• Providing support to the business development teams to enable and support product sales initiatives.
• Autonomously structuring, drafting, reviewing, and negotiating complex customer and vendor agreements (such as Master Services, SaaS, Software and Data Licensing Agreements), including identifying legal and business risks and recommending solutions.
• Engaging on strategic relationships and partnership agreements with our digital partners.
• Training and educating clients on processes, risks, changes in laws and regulations and the regulatory landscape of different regions on an ongoing basis.
• Partnering with regional compliance leads to ensure products and services comply with corporate policies, such as gifts and hospitality, anti-bribery and anti-corruption and third party on-boarding.
• Identifying needed process improvements and efficiencies; owning and executing solutions to support our transformation strategy and driving towards streamlining processes to increase ease of doing business.

All About You

Qualified lawyer with a solid academic and training background, with at least 7 years of experience, licensed to practice in the relevant jurisdiction.

Able to work independently and collaboratively, spot issues, prioritize and multi-task effectively in a fast-paced sales environment.

Keen business insight and strong communication skills to interact confidently and effectively with internal clients, Mastercard customers and law and policy colleagues, including senior management and Mastercard executives.

Complex transactional legal experience at a reputable law firm or as an in-house counsel.

Strong drafting and negotiating skills with the ability to understand and simplify complex concepts, issues and deal structures.

A team player, willing to take on responsibilities and roles that support the team, department, region and the company.

Considered favorably: candidates with in-house work experience, technology background, familiarity of law/regulations in the banking and payments space, knowledge of AI governance and regulations, and understanding of open banking.

JD or equivalent from an accredited law school; admitted to and in good standing in the relevant jurisdiction.

Mastercard is a merit-based, inclusive, equal opportunity employer that considers applicants without regard to gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, disabled or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We hire the most qualified candidate for the role. In the US or Canada, if you require accommodations or assistance to complete the online application process or during the recruitment process, please contact View email address on click.appcast.io and identify the type of accommodation or assistance you are requesting. Do not include any medical or health information in this email. The Reasonable Accommodations team will respond to your email promptly.

Corporate Security Responsibility

All activities involving access to Mastercard assets, information, and networks comes with an inherent risk to the organization and, therefore, it is expected that every person working for, or on behalf of, Mastercard is responsible for information security and must:

• Abide by Mastercard's security policies and practices;
• Ensure the confidentiality and integrity of the information being accessed;
• Report any suspected information security violation or breach, and
• Complete all periodic mandatory security trainings in accordance with Mastercard's guidelines.

Pay Ranges

New York City, New York: $212,000 - $340,000 USD