Senior Legal Officer

Role Overview

You will act as a key legal partner to business teams, managing the company’s most sensitive legal matters from first notice through to resolution. Your focus will be split between active litigation and dispute management, commercial contract work, and regulatory compliance across a fast-moving payments environment. This role matters because it directly protects the company’s financial position, reputation, and ability to operate within Kenya’s fintech regulations.

Key Responsibilities

• Own the full lifecycle of disputes, claims, and litigation, including strategy, court filings, hearings, and settlement negotiations, while keeping progress visible to leadership.
• Drive recovery of outstanding merchant debts, chargebacks, and receivables by issuing demand letters, negotiating repayment plans, and preparing settlement or release documents.
• Work directly with external advocates, regulators, and counterparties to push matters toward timely, cost-effective outcomes and ensure external counsel stays aligned with business priorities.
• Review and negotiate key commercial agreements such as merchant terms, supplier contracts, technology licences, and partnership deals, ensuring they reflect the company’s risk appetite.
• Provide clear, practical legal advice to internal teams on day-to-day operational questions, product changes, and new business initiatives, flagging regulatory exposure before it becomes a problem.
• Maintain up-to-date contract templates and standard legal documentation to speed up transactions while keeping legal protections consistent.
• Track the status of all legal matters in organised registers, producing regular reports on recoveries, litigation risk, and response times for management review.
• Spot patterns in disputes and bad debts, then recommend policy or process changes to reduce recurring legal and operational issues.

Requirements & Qualifications

• Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) degree and a Postgraduate Diploma from the Kenya School of Law, with admission as an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya and a current practising certificate.
• At least 5 years of post-enrolment experience in legal practice, with substantial exposure to litigation, dispute resolution, and commercial contracting.
• Proven ability to negotiate settlements, manage external counsel, and handle multiple court or arbitration matters simultaneously.
• Strong drafting and analytical skills, with the ability to translate complex legal issues into clear operational guidance for non-legal teams.
• Sound commercial judgement and a practical approach to solving problems while protecting the company’s interests.
• Excellent organisational skills and comfort working under deadline pressure across several workstreams at once.
• High integrity, discretion, and professionalism when handling confidential or sensitive information.
• Prior experience in fintech, payments, banking, or another regulated sector is an advantage, as is familiarity with data protection and consumer protection rules affecting digital financial services.