Associate Director - Legal (Pay & M&A)
at Careem Dubai, United Arab Emirates Careem is building the Everything App for the greater Middle East, making it easier than ever to move around, order food and groceries, manage payments, and more. Careem is led by a powerful purpose to simplify and improve the lives of people and build an awesome organisation that inspires. Since 2012, Careem has created earnings for over 2.5 million Captains, simplified the lives of over 50 million customers, and built a platform for the region’s best talent to thrive and for entrepreneurs to scale their businesses. Careem operates in over 70 cities across 10 countries, from Morocco to Pakistan.
What you'll do
We are looking for an experienced, ambitious, and proactive Associate Director of Legal to be based in Dubai, who will work directly with the General Counsel in overseeing the Careem Pay legal & compliance function and leading the legal M&A function globally.
Advising senior business stakeholders, including at the executive level. Overseeing and leading Careem Pay’s legal and compliance team. Negotiating with government authorities and regulators. Drafting and reviewing complex fintech contracts. Formulating risk management strategies. Managing all legal aspects of mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, and other strategic transactions, including deal sourcing, due diligence, negotiation, execution, and integration issues. Drafting, reviewing, and negotiating all relevant transaction documents for the same. Mentoring and providing guidance to junior team members, fostering a collaborative and high-performance culture.
What you'll need
The ideal candidate will have a passionate commitment to improving the lives of people, an intense focus on excellence, and a strong alignment with our core values: being bold, focused, agile, and collaborative. This candidate will thrive on uncertainty, relish the challenge of building entirely new models in the region, be unafraid to work long hours, and have a clear passion for getting things done. Additional qualifications include:
A law degree from a top international university. Admitted to practice as a lawyer and in good standing in at least one jurisdiction. Dual-qualified candidates with both civil law and common law admissions are especially encouraged to apply. Fluent in English. Minimum of 8 years of professional experience as a lawyer at a reputable international law firm and/or in-house, of which: + A minimum of 3 years of experience advising on financial services regulations; in-house experience in a fintech startup environment is preferred.
+ A minimum of 4 years of experience as a corporate lawyer.
Strong legal and regulatory compliance knowledge around US/EU/UK payment regulations; MENA regulatory knowledge preferred. Strong corporate and commercial law knowledge. Excellent negotiation, drafting, and communication skills. Ability to prioritize and multitask, particularly when working under pressure and to tight deadlines. A methodical approach to work with a strong focus on accuracy. Willingness to work in a fast-paced environment and ability to manage a team.
What we’ll provide you
We offer colleagues the opportunity to drive impact in the region while they learn and grow. As a full time Careem colleague, you will be able to:
Work and learn from great minds by joining a community of inspiring colleagues. Put your passion to work in a purposeful organisation dedicated to creating impact in a region with a lot of untapped potential. Explore new opportunities to learn and grow every day.
Work 4 days a week in office & 1 day from home, and remotely from any country in the world for 30 days a year with unlimited vacation days per year.
(If you are in an individual contributor role in tech, you will have 2 office days a week and 3 to work from home.)*
* Access to healthcare benefits and fitness reimbursements for health activities including gym, health club, and training classes.
