Legal Senior Officer

As a company lawyer or in-house counsel, you will play a pivotal role in advising the various business lines on a broad range of banking, financial and commercial legal matters. Along with other legal team members and in compliance with the 4-eyes-review principle, you will collaborate closely with different business lines, providing pragmatic and business-oriented legal guidance to support the Bank’s activities, products and strategic projects while ensuring compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

Below is a non-exhaustive list of the key tasks entrusted to you under the supervision of the General Counsel:

• Assisting with corporate housekeeping and managing board and shareholder meetings, including coordinating timing and location of meetings, preparing and distributing board/shareholder pre-read materials, meeting agendas, notifications and meeting minutes for the board of directors and shareholders; 
• Assisting the business lines with day-to-day legal matters related to the Bank’s activities and products, including banking, lending, savings, investment and commercial matters; 
• Providing research, legal analysis, business-oriented advice, legal opinions and memoranda to the business lines; 
• Drafting, reviewing and negotiating a wide range of commercial, banking and financial contracts; 
• Developing and maintaining the Bank’s policies, procedures and governance framework on industry-specific issues, corporate governance and regulatory matters; 
• Providing clarification on legal language or specifications to the business lines and contributing to legal awareness and training initiatives; 
• Communicating and negotiating with external parties, including external counsel, regulators, Ombudsfin and other stakeholders, and supporting the business lines in such interactions; 
• Drafting and amending contracts, procedures, and other legal documents; 
• Creating and managing a solid legal contractual database; 
• Optimising legal processes and workflows to improve efficiency, consistency and risk management; 
• Continuously staying abreast of evolving laws and regulations by reviewing legal resources and consequently informing the business lines; 
• Analysing on a regular basis the Bank’s actions and decisions, identifying legal and operational risk areas, suggesting alternative courses of action and proposing mitigating measures; 
• Gradually assisting with transactional work (M&A, structured finance, and capital markets); 
• Providing support to the wider Legal team, including acting as a back-up for team members and assisting with governance and administrative legal matters when required; 
• Contributing as a trusted internal legal adviser to the Bank’s departments, with a hands-on and solution-oriented approach;
• Other duties as may be determined from time to time by the General Counsel.

Profile: 

• Master's degree in Belgian Law (only Belgian qualified lawyers) any additional degree is a plus; 
• Minimum 5 years' experience (experience as a legal counsel in a bank, financial institution, or law firm advising the financial sector is an asset); 
• Generalist legal profile with a strong interest in the financial sector; banking law expertise is not required, but a genuine curiosity, willingness to learn, and motivation to develop expertise in a regulated banking environment are essential.
• Strong analytical, communication, and stakeholder management skills.
• Fluent in English and French and/or Dutch (knowledge of both national languages is an asset).