Head of Payments & Regulatory Counsel

Upwork ($UPWK) is the world's work marketplace. We serve everyone from one-person startups to over 30% of the Fortune 100 with a powerful, trust-driven platform that enables companies and talent to work together in new ways that unlock their potential.
Last year, more than $3.3 billion of work was done through Upwork by skilled professionals who are gaining more control by finding work they are passionate about and innovating their careers.
Upwork (UPWK) is the leading tech solution for companies looking to hire the best talent, maintain flexibility, and get more done. We're passionate about our mission to create economic opportunities so people have better lives. Last year, more than $3.3 billion of work was done through Upwork by skilled professionals who are gaining more control by finding work they are passionate about and innovating their careers. In 2022, Upwork was recognized by Time Inc. as one of its 100 Most Influential Companies. Top companies connecting with extraordinary talent around the globe? Upwork is how we work now.
This is a remote-first role (where you can live and work from any one of our approved locations) on our award-winning legal team. We are a collaborative, business-minded, trusted, and high-performing team that loves to work on state-of-the art legal issues and generate practical solutions to resolve and mitigate risk. The team has a passion for what we do that has been recognized in the industry. In 2021, we won Law.com's "Most Innovative Legal Department in the U.S." award as well as the American Legal Technology's "Law Department of the Year" award. In 2016, we won The Recorder's prestigious "Legal Department of the Year (Emerging Companies)" award.
Your Responsibilities:

• Oversee and lead the company's legal payments regulatory program globally.
• Strategize and lead the development, transformation and evolution of Upwork's operations, products, services, technologies, and other payments capabilities with a customer-centric point of view through cost effective, efficient, business-driven, and legally-compliant business solutions.
• Serve as the compliance officer for Upwork Inc.'s AML/CFT program and provide oversight of the global AML/CFT program.
• Draft and improve policies and procedures, advise operations team implementation of compliance programs, and assist with external and internal audits and oversee prompt remediation of any issues identified.
• Partner closely with our business partners to brainstorm on our payments vision and strategy and be positioned to identify issues or concerns early-on and enable resolution in a timely manner.
• Manage a small team of compliance and payments experts in the United States, EU, and UK, with responsibility for all global escrow, payments, or similar licensure and regulatory matters.
• Provide day-to-day risk-based legal advice, including in the areas of financial crime risk (sanctions, AML, CFT, other illicit finance risk), anti-corruption/FCPA, emerging payments and other fintech-related regulations to our product, finance, trust and safety, and other business partners.
• Advise on global financial regulatory developments and drive Upwork's compliance with new legal requirements.
• Develop and deliver training and guidelines to help business partners understand and address compliance issues, identify and evaluate business and compliance issues, develop and conduct risk assessments on new or proposed product offerings to evaluate business and legal risks, and find creative ways to mitigate them while achieving business goals.
• Manage Upwork's relationship with financial services regulators and law enforcement agencies.
• Review and consult on provisions in commercial agreements with customers, vendors, and other third parties relating to financial crime risk, anti-corruption, and payments compliance.
• Manage external counsel

What it takes to catch our eye:

• You have 8+ years experience, preferably in both law firm and in-house environments, focusing on financial services compliance.
• Experience advising technology clients in the following areas:
• Anti-Money Laundering
• Payments Compliance
• Other Financial Services/Fintech Compliance
• CAMS Anti-Money Laundering or similarly respected certification.
• Familiarity with banking or fintech industries and legal issues related to financial services entities and bank and payment partners.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, including presentation skills, to explain complex concepts for a variety of audiences.
• Ability to provide practical, strategic and business-oriented legal advice.
• You are licensed to practice law, in good standing, in at least one state in the United States.
• You are passionate about Upwork's mission of providing economic opportunity so people have better lives.
• You have a positive attitude and high EQ. No job is too big or too small!
• Fintech and or B2B or B2C marketplace payments experience
• A people person who leads with empathy and has the soft skills to build strong, trusted relationships with business partners.
• Good sense of humor.

Come change how the world works.
At Upwork, you'll shape talent solutions for how the world works today. We are a remote-first organization working together to create exciting remote work opportunities for a global community of professionals. While we have physical offices in San Francisco and Chicago, currently we also support hiring of corporate full-time employees in 19 states in the United States. Please speak with a member of our recruitment team to determine whether you are located in a state in which we are hiring corporate full-time employees.
Our vibrant culture is built on shared values and our mission to create economic opportunities so that people have better lives. We foster amazing teams, put our community first, and have a bias toward action. We encourage everyone to bring their whole selves to work and grow together through development opportunities, mentorship, and employee resource groups. And oh yeah, we've also got amazing benefits - including medical insurance for you and your family, unlimited PTO, 401(k) with matching, 12 weeks of paid parental leave, and a generous Employee Stock Purchase Plan. Check out our Life at Upwork page to learn more about our benefits and the employee experience.
Check out our Life at Upwork page to learn more about the employee experience.
Upwork is proudly committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse and inclusive workforce. As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we never discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical condition), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.
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