POSITION: In-House Legal Counsel

JOB SUMMARY: The successful candidate will be an integral member of Central Payments’ team. As such, the individual must be a reliable source of expertise on the laws, rules and regulations that apply to Central Payments. The candidate must be knowledgeable of the broader payments and banking market and possess excellent communication skills, a strong commitment to client service, ability to handle multiple matters, and work independently in a fast-paced, team environment.

REPORTS TO: Head of Finance and Business Administration

WORK LOCATION: Sioux Falls, SD – remote candidates considered, provided the candidate has experience effectively performing similar duties and responsibilities in a remote status, including managing people.

ABOUT US: Visit www.central-payments.com

WORK SCHEDULE: Standard business hours, Monday through Friday, with a willingness to monitor email and other systems during nonbusiness hours in case of a critical matter and available for additional hours that may be occasionally required in order to meet time-sensitive deliverables and deadlines.

TRAVEL: Travel is expected to average four (4) trips per year, ranging from one to two nights per trip.

Key Responsibilities Include:

• Structure, draft, review and negotiate key agreements relating to clients and vendors.
• Provide timely legal advice and interpretation on a wide range of legal matters, including banking, corporate governance, consumer compliance, and information technology.
• Assist with reporting obligations to the Central Payments Board of Directors and external stakeholders, including regulatory agencies and lead responses to any regulatory or legal inquiries.
• Assist in the development of corporate legal activities, including administration of strong policies and overall governance process.
• Draft customer-facing disclosures governing use of Central Payments products and terms of use for partners using our technology.
• Oversee work required from outside counsel and manage the associated legal budget.
• Monitor and report on changes to law, regulations, and regulatory guidance documents and advise management about any impact to the business.
• Provide clear and concise guidance to business units, particularly on novel and complex legal issues and emerging technologies.
• Actively engage with business units to help identify and assess risks and resolve issues.
• Undertake industry leadership opportunities within trade associations and contribute to marketing and public relations initiatives through speaking opportunities, articles, blog posts, podcasts, etc.
• Proactively collaborate with stakeholders across the enterprise, including compliance, technology, risk, operations, and other key partners.

Required Skills:

• Working knowledge and research experience of laws, rules and regulations applicable to financial services, banking, and payments, including consumer products in prepaid and banking, money remittance, as well as general corporate statutes.
• Familiarity and experience with network, ACH, and PCI guidelines and requirements.
• Experience in drafting, reviewing, and negotiating detailed client and vendor contracts, particularly those with technological components.
• Comfort with concepts and general workings of technology and payment platforms, particularly as it relates to transaction processing, API connectivity between multiple unrelated systems, and data file transmission/secure file transfer concepts.
• Specific experience working with consumer protection laws and regulations, information security guidelines, and BSA/AML rules is required.
• Effective communication skills at all levels of the organization and with external clients.
• Experience coordinating the work of other legal professionals at external law firms supporting Central Payments.
• Understanding how broader legal and regulatory risks, issues and policies may impact financial services companies like Central Payments.
• High degree of professional ethics and integrity.
• Excellent judgement, analytical skills and decision making.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, including the ability and desire to build relationships with others, particularly with peers at partner and vendor companies.
• Hard working, well organized and able to manage numerous projects simultaneously under deadline pressures.
• An inquisitive nature to learn about our business and to help find solutions as Central Payments grows as a company.

Education/Experience:

• 3-5 years (minimum) of legal experience, either with a U.S. law firm with a fintech or banking practice or in-house with a financial institution, fintech company, regulatory agency, or technology company.
• Licensed to practice law in a U.S. state.
• A Juris Doctorate (J.D.) degree from an ABA-accredited U.S. university.

Tips if we contact you for an interview:

We highly recommend that you take time to visit our website at www.central-payments.com and our LinkedIn company page. There are informational videos and links to podcasts under the “Our Story” tab that help you understand our background.

To better understand the traits we look for when interviewing candidates please visit: “Is Central Payments a Fit for Me?” And what it means to “Be Essential.”

Central Payments’ primary business is establishing consumer deposit accounts, issuing incentive and rebate cards, and transferring/remitting funds via ACH and other means. Prepaid cards make up a sizable portion of our business. If you are not familiar with prepaid cards, we recommend that you purchase a Visa, MasterCard, or Discover-branded, general-purpose, reloadable prepaid card (not a gift card) at any retailer, load a small amount of money, register the account/activate the card, login to the account center online, and conduct transactions. While Central Payments will not issue the card you purchase, it will still help you understand the product in general, its features, and benefits.