Senior Counsel - Blockchain & Digital Currencies

Our Purpose

Mastercard powers economies and empowers people in 200+ countries and territories worldwide. Together with our customers, we’re helping build a sustainable economy where everyone can prosper. We support a wide range of digital payments choices, making transactions secure, simple, smart and accessible. Our technology and innovation, partnerships and networks combine to deliver a unique set of products and services that help people, businesses and governments realize their greatest potential.

Title and Summary

Senior Counsel - Blockchain & Digital Currencies

Senior Counsel, Blockchain & Digital Currencies


Overview
Mastercard is looking for an experienced lawyer to join the legal team to support Blockchain and Digital Currencies. This role will report into the Senior Managing Counsel for Blockchain and Digital Currencies. You will provide legal support and guidance on extending blockchain and digital currencies capabilities to financial services. You will be part of a highly agile team, building exciting and innovative products delivered at scale to global markets. You will play a leading role in supporting the team dedicated to managing the governance aspects of Mastercard’s regulated products, including supporting and maintaining Mastercard’s digital currency licenses, once granted. From time to time you will be expected to work on other matters within the Core Payments business that may be outside of Blockchain & Digital Currencies.

This role requires strong commercial knowledge and experience in the technology and financial/payment services space, ideally with experience working with emerging technology including distributed ledger technology, digital assets, stablecoins and crypto currency. In this role, you will act as an advisor for product and sales clients to help enable the delivery of the commercial objectives and business strategy. The ideal candidate is highly motivated, intellectually curious and analytical, dedicated to delivering strategic and hands-on legal support and partnership to develop the next generation of Mastercard products focused on enabling the future of payments.

Role
As Senior Counsel, you will be a member of the legal team. You will take a major role in handling product development and support matters for the business, identifying and analyzing relevant issues and helping the business effectively navigate legal, governance and regulatory risks and implement appropriate controls, policies and processes. You will:
• Focus on legal support for the strategic development, and daily operations of Mastercard’s global Blockchain and Digital Currencies teams’ products and services.
• Provide tactical and strategic legal support on products and solutions to advance Mastercard’s corporate objectives, including Mastercard’s blockchain and digital currencies strategy.
• Advise on the governance aspects of Mastercard’s digital currency licenses, when granted, and act as primary liaison to the team that oversees the governance aspects of Mastercard’s regulated products.
• Develop strong relationships with business, sales and senior management within the business units that you support.
• Collaborate with product, technology, sales, franchise, marketing, communications, regulatory and others to develop and launch innovative products and solutions that differentiate Mastercard and meet our customers’ and cardholders’ rapidly changing needs.
• Provide solutions-oriented guidance to and assist clients in managing and mitigating legal and commercial risks
• Assist in the monitoring and evaluation of laws and regulations affecting Mastercard’s digital currencies business.
• Inform policy and regulatory positions related to Mastercard’s digital currencies products with internal and external stakeholders.
• Advise clients through the product development cycle, from concept, to launch and commercialization, including, any, regulated products:
• ensuring alignment and compliance of products and services with Mastercard’s policies, procedures and processes, where applicable, and with local and global regulations and laws;
• covering a broad range of commercial and contractual matters, including product and marketing legal review, pilot agreements, and RFP support;
• including drafting, reviewing and negotiating a wide range of contracts, such as technology agreements, and customer and vendor agreements.
• Work in close collaboration with external and internal specialists, including regulatory, data privacy and intellectual property counsel.
• Provide training as appropriate to legal, franchise, sales and product colleagues.
• Identify needed process improvements and efficiencies; own and execute solutions to support Mastercard’s transformation strategy and streamline processes to increase ease of doing business.
• Take responsibility for special projects while continuing to handle a steady stream of day-to-day matters.
• Instruct and manage external counsel within agreed policy and budget.

Please note that roles within Mastercard evolve with the needs of the business. Therefore, the above is a guideline and is by no means comprehensive. Work may also include supporting products and sectors in other focused segments.

Location
This role will be based in either Purchase, New York or London, United Kingdom. As our team supports the business globally, the role requires the ability to support other time zones and may require some travel.

All About You
• A qualified lawyer with a solid academic and training background, licensed to practice in the relevant jurisdiction in which the job is located.
• An interest in the financial services industry, stablecoins, digital currency, crypto currency, and the use of public and private blockchains.
• Experience working on products and solutions involving distributed ledger technology and advising on related legal issues. Knowledge of smart contracts, the regulatory landscape and legal and governance issues relating to crypto currency is desirable, but not essential.
• Experience across a range of commercial and technology contracts and the ability to analyze and identify the core legal issues, skilled at explaining technical problems succinctly and clearly.
• A working knowledge of data privacy and intellectual property issues and how they relate to emerging technology such as distributed ledger technology in both the private and public sector.
• A fast learner who can gain rapid familiarity with complex products, services and legal frameworks and maintain knowledge of those changing products, services and legal frameworks.
• Have a positive “can-do” attitude, be stress-resistant and ready to go the extra mile, and willing to take initiative.
• Solutions-oriented with excellent time management, planning and organizational skills.
• Able to work flexibly under pressure and with tight deadlines.
• Strong drafting, writing, oral communication and negotiating skills, able to communicate your vision and roadmap effectively to a wide variety of stakeholders.
• Exceptional interpersonal skills with proven experience in relationship building and partnering with the business.
• Strong business acumen.
• Language: Fluent English.

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 reasonable_accommodation@mastercard.com 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.

In line with Mastercard’s total compensation philosophy and assuming that the job will be performed in the US, the successful candidate will be offered a competitive base salary and may be eligible for an annual bonus or commissions depending on the role. The base salary offered may vary depending on multiple factors, including but not limited to location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Mastercard benefits for full time (and certain part time) employees generally include: insurance (including medical, prescription drug, dental, vision, disability, life insurance); flexible spending account and health savings account; paid leaves (including 16 weeks of new parent leave and up to 20 days of bereavement leave); 80 hours of Paid Sick and Safe Time, 25 days of vacation time and 5 personal days, pro-rated based on date of hire; 10 annual paid U.S. observed holidays; 401k with a best-in-class company match; deferred compensation for eligible roles; fitness reimbursement or on-site fitness facilities; eligibility for tuition reimbursement; and many more. Mastercard benefits for interns generally include: 56 hours of Paid Sick and Safe Time; jury duty leave; and on-site fitness facilities in some locations.

Pay Ranges

Purchase, New York: $204,000 - $325,000 USD