EMEA Regulatory Counsel

Role Overview

EMEA Regulatory Counsel at Stripe, based in the UAE (in-office), reporting to the Head of EMEA Regulatory Legal in Dublin.

Company Overview

Stripe is a financial infrastructure platform for businesses. Millions of companies—from the world's largest enterprises to the most ambitious startups—use Stripe to accept payments, grow their revenue, and accelerate new business opportunities. Stripe began operations in the UAE in 2021 as its first Middle East launch to provide UAE businesses of all sizes with the financial infrastructure they need to accept payments, manage operations, and grow their revenue globally. The EMEA Regulatory Legal team provides strategic guidance on Stripe's financial regulatory obligations across EMEA.

Role Purpose

You will serve as a trusted advisor to Stripe's business, legal, policy, compliance, and risk partners on applicable financial regulations, with a focus on the UAE and future regional expansion. You will tackle cutting-edge financial regulatory challenges, influence new product development, engage with regulatory authorities, and help define Stripe's policy positions.

Key Responsibilities

Regulatory Guidance & Advisory

• Advise internal stakeholders on a wide range of regulatory issues with a focus on UAE.
• Counsel Product Legal and Compliance teams on regulatory requirements for Stripe products to enable compliant product development and expansion.
• Advise on advocacy in connection with contemplated and proposed laws, rules, and regulations.
• Serve as a proactive partner and trusted advisor to cross-functional teams in EMEA.
• Distill difficult and complex legal advice in a clear, convincing, and solutions-oriented manner to various stakeholders, including senior management, to enable effective decision-making.

Risk Management & Compliance

• Identify and evaluate business and legal risks, and find creative ways to mitigate them while achieving business goals.
• Support teams in developing policies and procedures and shaping compliance programs to meet regulatory requirements.
• Monitor developments in financial regulations to provide proactive guidance on regulatory trends, risks, and opportunities.

Stakeholder Engagement & Strategy

• Develop and work with stakeholders on regulatory engagement strategies.
• Work with internal stakeholders to engage regulators and policymakers on regulatory issues to enable Stripe's mission of helping businesses to grow and thrive.
• Collaborate with business and legal teams across Stripe to address regulatory issues efficiently.

Process Development & Knowledge Management

• Maintain and contribute to internal legal resources and repositories.
• Help refine processes, create playbooks, and provide training where necessary.
• Contribute to other regulatory and legal matters as needed.

Qualifications & Experience

• 6+ years of experience practicing as a qualified lawyer in the UAE, with a focus on payments and fintech regulation.
• Experience working closely with financial regulators in the UAE and wider region—whether as a regulator, within a regulated firm, or advising regulated clients.
• Prior experience in payments, fintech, banking, and familiarity with associated regulatory issues including licensing (preferred).
• Prior experience in advising on crypto legal issues and regulations (preferred).
• Experience navigating both UAE onshore and offshore regulatory frameworks (preferred).
• Experience advising on market entry and licensing requirements across the wider MENA region (preferred).
• Experience in advising on financial regulation pertaining to money movement, crypto, and a demonstrated interest in payments, fintech and innovative financial products (preferred).
• Prior experience in an in-house legal role at a high-growth technology company or a leading international financial institution (preferred).

Skills & Competencies

• Excellent skills in issue spotting, risk assessment, and problem-solving, particularly in ambiguous or complex situations.
• Strong strategic thinking capabilities to enable business partners to make decisions grounded in a practical application of the law, technology, and business goals.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Integrity and sound judgment.
• Ability to make sound decisions in the face of complexity, ambiguity, and imperfect information.
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to build consensus across myriad groups.
• Capable of multitasking and working effectively and independently under pressure.
• A collaborative team player who is willing to pitch in wherever needed in a dynamic, rapidly growing company.
• Fluency in both Arabic and English (written and spoken), with the ability to draft, review, and negotiate legal documents and regulatory responses in both languages (preferred).
• Proven ability to engage with and influence policymakers or industry bodies in the UAE on the development of new financial regulations (preferred).

Additional Information

• Full-time role based in-office in the UAE.