Lending Regulatory Counsel, UK

Block is one company built from many blocks, all united by the same purpose of economic empowerment. The blocks that form our foundational teams — People, Finance, Counsel, Hardware, Information Security, Platform Infrastructure Engineering, and more — provide support and guidance at the corporate level. They work across business groups and around the globe, spanning time zones and disciplines to develop inclusive People policies, forecast finances, give legal counsel, safeguard systems, nurture new initiatives, and more. Every challenge creates possibilities, and we need different perspectives to see them all. Bring yours to Block.

The Role

Block is seeking a highly engaged and experienced Lending Regulatory Counsel to join its European Legal team and primarily to support its Clearpay business. This role will focus on advising on consumer and commercial lending products, with a particular emphasis on UK consumer credit and related regulatory regimes.

Reporting to the Europe Product & Regulatory Counsel team lead, you will work closely with product, compliance, risk and commercial teams across Europe, the US and globally to support the development and scaling of compliant, customer-centric lending products.

We offer remote and hybrid working opportunities within the UK.

You Will

• Advise on regulatory matters affecting Block's European lending activities, including business-to-consumer and business-to-business lending, with a primary focus on UK consumer credit licensing and EU consumer credit frameworks.
• Identify regulatory risk areas and help design proportionate systems, controls and procedures to manage and mitigate risk at both product and enterprise level, with an emphasis on scalable and automated solutions.
• Support the Clearpay and Square businesses in delivering innovative product solutions that comply with applicable local regulatory requirements.
• Monitor, analyse and advise on new and proposed laws, regulations and regulatory guidance, particularly in relation to consumer credit and Buy Now Pay Later regimes.
• Represent Block in engagement with regulators (including the FCA) and external partners on regulatory matters, as appropriate.
• Act as a regulatory subject matter expert within the Europe Legal team, including supporting licensing and regulatory applications.
• Build strong working relationships across legal, product, compliance and business teams globally.

You Have

• 8+ years' relevant legal experience gained in private practice, in-house, at a financial services regulator, or in a comparable environment, with a focus on lending and financial services regulation.
• Strong experience advising on fintech, lending and/or banking regulatory matters.
• Experience engaging with regulators and managing regulatory relationships.
• Comfort working with technology-driven businesses and an understanding of how technology is applied to regulatory and commercial challenges.
• Qualification as a solicitor in England & Wales, or an equivalent international legal qualification.

We're working to build a more inclusive economy where our customers have equal access to opportunity, and we strive to live by these same values in building our workplace. Block is a proud equal opportunity employer. We work hard to evaluate all employees and job applicants consistently, based solely on the core competencies required of the role at hand, and without regard to any legally protected class. We believe in being fair, and are committed to an inclusive interview experience, including providing reasonable accommodations to disabled applicants throughout the recruitment process. We encourage applicants to share any needed accommodations with their recruiter, who will treat these requests as confidentially as possible. Want to learn more about what we're doing to build an inclusive workplace? Check out our Inclusion & Diversity page