Director, Legal

Summary

Join Wealthsimple as a Director, Legal (Commercial - Banking and Payments) and lead legal support for the negotiation, implementation, and management of commercial agreements related to the company's banking and payments infrastructure. Partner with cross-functional teams to mitigate legal risks, focusing on complex commercial agreements and operational delivery. This role involves drafting, reviewing, and negotiating banking, payments, and commercial agreements; owning contract drafting and risk allocation; resolving legal issues related to commercial agreements; ensuring agreements align with legal and regulatory obligations; providing actionable legal advice; resolving legal and contractual issues; collaborating with other teams to assess legal risks; streamlining legal workflows; and contributing to the development of commercial templates and best practices. Wealthsimple is building a new neobank, requiring an innovative thinker with strong commercial legal skills and understanding of payments and banking regulatory regimes. The ideal candidate will thrive in a fast-moving, mission-driven environment.

Requirements

• 8+ years of legal experience in financial services, including a focus on technology contracts, gained at a major Canadian law firm or an in-house corporate legal department
• Experience with drafting and negotiating complex legal agreements used in banking and payments
• Familiarity with Canadian payments infrastructure, intermediaries and vendors
• Strong communication skills and ability to distill complex legal topics into clear, actionable advice for diverse audiences
• Collaborative and proactive mindset with a willingness to roll up your sleeves
• Comfortable navigating ambiguity and evolving regulatory frameworks
• A strategic thinker with a builder mentality who thrives in a fast-moving, mission-driven environment

Responsibilities

• Draft, review, and negotiate complex banking, payments, and commercial agreements, including with banks, processors, card networks, and infrastructure partners
• Own contract drafting and risk allocation for a broad range of commercial relationships critical to Wealthsimple’s banking and payments infrastructure
• Support resolution of legal issues related to commercial agreements, including disputes, renewals and compliance with contractual obligations
• Partner with Regulatory and Product Counsel to ensure agreements align with Wealthsimple’s legal and regulatory obligations
• Provide clear, actionable legal advice that balances commercial priorities with principled risk management
• Resolve legal and contractual issues in existing commercial relationships, often with cross-border and multi-party considerations
• Collaborate with Product, Compliance, Risk, and Finance to assess legal risks and develop strategies that enable growth and innovation
• Use AI and other tools to streamline legal workflows, improve contract processes and build scalable systems
• Contribute to the development of commercial templates, playbooks and best practices

Benefits

• Competitive salary with top-tier health benefits and life insurance
• Retirement savings matching plan using Wealthsimple for Business
• 20 vacation days per year and unlimited sick and mental health days
• Up to $1,500 per year towards wellness and professional development budgets respectively
• 90 days away program: Employees can work internationally in eligible countries for up to 90 days per calendar year
• A wide variety of peer and company-led Employee Resource Groups (ie. Rainbow, Women of Wealthsimple, Black @ WS)
• Company-wide wellness days off scheduled throughout the year