General Counsel MENAT and UAE

About the Role
As General Counsel for MENAT and the UAE, you will act as a strategic adviser and business partner to the UAE and MENAT CEOs and their Operating Committees, navigating a complex and fast-moving legal and regulatory environment. You will provide expert legal advice that protects the organization's reputation and helps identify, report, and mitigate legal and reputational risks across the region. Additionally, you will set direction for an award-winning regional legal team, creating an inclusive high-performance culture aligned with Global Legal Strategic Priorities and Legal Core Expectations. This role will also play a key part in building the Legal Team of the Future by adopting future skills and embedding the responsible use of AI technologies. Success will be defined by your ability to provide clear practical legal solutions at senior levels, ensuring strong legal risk management across local teams and effective coordination across a regional hub and matrix model.

What You'll Be Doing

• Provide expert legal advice, guidance, and support across the UAE and MENAT to identify, report, and mitigate legal and reputational risks.
• Own accountability for material legal issues affecting the region, coordinating legal support across countries and businesses.
• Partner with the UAE and MENAT CEOs and Operating Committees to shape decisions on complex legal and regulatory matters.
• Define and communicate strategic and operational objectives for the regional Legal function aligned with Global Legal priorities.
• Support the General Counsel for Asia and Middle East and the Chief Legal Officer across leadership management and review priorities.
• Embed robust legal risk management practices across local Legal departments, ensuring consistent governance and controls.
• Foster an environment for best practice sharing and collaboration across functions, markets, and regional teams.
• Build AI fluency across the MENAT Legal team, embedding the responsible use of AI technologies to improve efficiency.
• Advance optimization and cost efficiency across markets while maintaining appropriate legal risk oversight.
• Strengthen an inclusive high-performing culture with a focus on talent development and effective team management.

What We're Looking For

• Qualified legal professional with a minimum of 10 years’ post-qualification experience in banking and finance.
• Bachelor's degree is a mandatory requirement.
• Proven experience advising on high-profile and complex legal matters across common law and civil law jurisdictions.
• Strong understanding of the MENAT legal and regulatory landscape, including relevant political and cultural considerations.
• Comprehensive understanding of the organization’s regional strategy and the ability to translate it into practical legal advice.
• Ability to influence senior stakeholders with concise solutions and partner effectively with internal and external stakeholders to agree on a course of action.
• Experience making sound decisions that balance commercial, reputational, and regulatory objectives in fast-evolving environments.
• Established experience running a function within a global financial services organization and operating in regional hub and matrix models.
• Proven ability to build effective relationships with industry participants and regulators, advising on engagements with regulatory bodies.
• Strong organizational skills to manage competing priorities under time pressure while maintaining clear communication and effective workload prioritization.
• Knowledge of organizational operations and policies relevant to regional legal risk management.

Shaping Regional Legal Outcomes
This role provides the platform to set legal direction across MENAT and the UAE at the center of key business decisions. You will help the region navigate a demanding regulatory environment with clarity and control while protecting customers and the organization. Furthermore, you will influence the evolution of legal services by strengthening future skills and embedding the responsible use of AI across the team. If you seek to make a visible impact through practical legal judgment and trusted partnership at CEO level, we welcome your application.

Leadership Capabilities

• Vision and Customer-Centricity: Inspire others to deliver the organization's ambition to be the most trusted bank globally, putting customers at the heart of everything.
• High Performance and Accountability: Hold yourself and others accountable for delivering high performance with care—seeking honest feedback, coaching, and taking responsibility for continuous learning.
• Leading Through Change: Lead proactively and effectively through change with resilience and pace, fostering curiosity and outcome-focused ownership of issues.

Collaboration & Teamwork

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work across teams, regions, and businesses, breaking down silos to deliver positive outcomes.
• Healthy and Inclusive Culture: Build trust and psychological safety, fostering an inclusive culture where diverse perspectives are encouraged.
• Solve and Succeed Together: Collaborate across the enterprise to identify issues and deliver shared solutions, recognizing the wider team's contributions.

Commercial Acumen

• Business Partnering: Collaborate closely with the business to provide pragmatic advice that considers commercial drivers.
• Customer Centricity and Commercial Understanding: Understand the organization's strategy, products, and services, exemplifying customer-centricity.
• Efficient Delivery: Steward resources carefully, aligning priorities to strategy and delivering services cost-effectively, including through the use of AI.

Risk & Control

• Strong Risk Culture: Demonstrate sound judgment and build capability in others to do the same.
• Enabling Smart Risks: Guide stakeholders in taking smart risks, leveraging expertise and understanding of the broader risk landscape.
• Early Identification and Mitigation of Risk: Identify risks early, escalating appropriately and taking action to ensure positive outcomes.

Technical Excellence

• Technical Mastery: Exhibit best-in-class subject matter expertise and anticipate issues reflecting knowledge of developments in your area.
• Strategic Thinking and Trusted Advisory: Act as a trusted advisor, thinking strategically, exercising excellent judgment, and communicating legal issues clearly.
• Innovation and Learning Agility: Model a growth mindset, champion innovation, and keep pace with emerging developments affecting strategy.

AI and Technology Proficiency

• AI Fluency: Build fluency in AI by continuously upskilling and sharing learnings and best practices.
• Responsible Use of AI: Evaluate how legal work can be improved through AI, maintaining critical thinking to validate and challenge outputs.
• Data Readiness and Literacy: Understand and maintain discipline in handling the data necessary for effective AI application.
• Horizon Scanning: Monitor emerging AI-related risks impacting stakeholders and customers.

We value diverse skills and experiences and encourage applications from all candidates, even if you meet only some of the listed requirements.

We recognize the importance of flexible working to help you perform at your best and are committed to exploring arrangements that suit you, your clients, and your team.