Senior Counsel, Payments

Full Time
8 months ago

Airbnb was born in 2007 when two Hosts welcomed three guests to their San Francisco home, and has since grown to over 4 million Hosts who have welcomed more than 1 billion guest arrivals in almost every country across the globe. Every day, Hosts offer unique stays and experiences that make it possible for guests to connect with communities in a more authentic way.

The Community You Will Join:

Airbnb’s Legal Department is a global team with diverse international colleagues around the world. The successful candidate will be someone who is adaptable, collaborative and embodies Airbnb’s Core Values. Candidates will be required to advise on complex legal and regulatory issues while balancing local and global perspectives and cultural differences and nuances. A genuine and demonstrated interest in Airbnb and a commitment to ethics, integrity and fostering a workplace that emphasizes diversity and belonging is a must. 

Your role will directly support the Payments team. At Airbnb, if there’s anything related to moving money, it’s led by the Payments team. We have built a world-class payments and commerce organization - one that currently supports 191 countries, 70 currencies, connects dozens of payment providers and banks, processes tens of billions of dollars a year, and empowers more people to participate in our global marketplace.

The Difference You Will Make:

The Senior Counsel will be responsible for providing legal advice and support on international payments product, regulatory, and commercial matters, both across APAC and globally.  You will serve as a payments subject matter expert, partnering with the Payments team and collaborating with the other members of the global Legal team. This role reports to the Assistant General Counsel, Payments.

A Typical Day:
  • Deliver clear, effective and practical legal advice on the launch of new and maintenance of existing payment products around the world, including payment products in APAC.  
  • Evaluate and manage international payments regulatory matters, including payments laws and regulations that apply to our payments activities in APAC. 
  • Support on global payment initiatives and commercial agreements. 
  • Manage and direct outside counsel in various jurisdictions in connection with strategic decisions around regulations and consumer protection.
  • Be adept in making sensible legal risk assessments which consider practical solutions to mitigate legal risk while keeping business priorities at the forefront.
  • Active championship of Airbnb’s mission, ethics and integrity.
  • Support for Airbnb’s commitment to building and maintaining a diverse and inclusive workplace, free of discrimination and harassment.
  • Collaborate with other regional counsel, country counsel as well as other global legal team members on various other legal matters.
Your Expertise:
  • Law Degree and 8+ years of relevant legal experience, with in-house payments experience at an e-commerce marketplace, FinTech or payments service provider preferred.
  • Deep understanding of payments laws and regulations. Understanding global payments regulations and working with regulators in APAC is a plus.  
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with an ability to make complex regulatory concepts clear to business teams, engineers, lawyers and regulators.
  • Self-starter, driven and able to work autonomously while prioritizing competing tasks in a fast-paced, challenging environment.
  • Ability to spot key risks, analyze and practically assess risk, and provide business-oriented and actionable recommendations.
  • Flexibility, highly collaborative and willingness to work with all levels of the organization, and to roll up your sleeves to get the job done.
  • Intellectually curious, open-minded, adaptable, ready to grow and learn and receptive to feedback.
  • Empathetic, caring and humble.
  • Entrepreneurial and business-orientated.
  • Adaptable individual possessing high integrity, excellent judgment, a sense of humor and a genuine enthusiasm for the work.

**Applications must be submitted in English please**