Upvest - (Senior) Legal Counsel - Investment Operations (f/m/d)
Requirements
• Qualification: At least 3–5 years post-qualification experience (PQE) in the financial services industry. At least one German legal qualification (Erste Juristische Prüfung). • Industry Background: Experience in a regulated investment firm, custodian bank, CSD, infrastructure provider, or fintech with a meaningful post-trade operating footprint. • Regulatory Expertise: Strong command of EU and German financial law relevant to post-trade operations (MiFID, CSDR, WpDVerOV, MaRisk). Exposure to UK (FCA) regulation or other European NCAs is a strong plus. • International Mindset: Familiarity with adapting legal frameworks across European markets, particularly where post-trade infrastructure and regulation diverges by jurisdiction. • Automation Advocate: Enthusiasm for streamlining the legal function through technology — whether tooling, AI-assisted review, or smarter process workflows. • Pragmatic and Direct: You focus on keeping the business running through clear-eyed legal judgement. You identify risk without creating paralysis, and give Operations and Compliance answers they can act on. • Languages: Professional fluency in English and German — essential for regulatory filings, custodian negotiations, and day-to-day stakeholder management. • How we Upvest in you: • Impact-driven work: We’re building the infrastructure that will power the future of investing in Europe. It’s complex, ambitious, and meaningful. You’ll work with modern technologies and create something entirely new. No legacy systems, no limits. • Wellbeing: Recharge with 30 days of annual leave and maintain a healthy lifestyle with sports benefits. Access confidential professional coaching and enjoy the flexibility to work remotely abroad for up to 183 days a year. Recharge with UpRest, a one-month fully paid sabbatical after every 4 years of working at Upvest. • Development: Growth is in our DNA. Each Upvenger has access to a personal development budget and the freedom to decide how to use it. • Flexible work environment: Work from any of our hubs in Berlin, London or Tallinn hybrid or remotely across Europe, depending on the role. We give you the choice and budget to work where you’re most comfortable and productive, either at home or in the office. You choose. • Compensation and equity: We believe that all Upvengers contribute to our success and deserve a competitive, above-market salary and a participation in our employee equity program. • Team celebrations: Participate in company-wide events, such as UpFest, dinners, offsites and our Holiday party, to connect with colleagues and celebrate our achievements. • Inclusion: We’re committed to a culture where everyone belongs and thrives. Our Employee Resources Groups foster inclusion and connection, like Upfem for our female Upvengers, or UpVergent supporting neurodivergent Upvengers and allies. • Make it easy for others. We simplify the complex and act with the best intentions. • Own the outcome. We are proactive, fast and confident to get the job done, valuing progress over perfection. • Rise to the challenge. We aim high and push the boundaries. We stay curious, learn and celebrate our wins together. • Tell the story. We start with the Why to align on purpose. We are transparent and share knowledge to empower and inspire others.
Responsibilities
• Custody & Safekeeping: Own the legal framework around client asset protection and safekeeping obligations. Ensure Upvest's custody arrangements, including sub-custodian relationships. are structured, documented, and monitored to the highest regulatory standard. • Custody & Safekeeping: • Counterparty & Operational Contracting: Lead the negotiation and ongoing management of agreements with CCPs, CSDs, custodians, and other post-trade infrastructure providers. Maintain a contractual framework that is robust, scalable, and commercially sound. • Counterparty & Operational Contracting: • Regulatory Navigation: Serve as the internal expert on post-trade regulation across EU and German law. Monitor and interpret developments across MiFID, WpDVerOV, CSDR, and MaRisk, and translate their implications into actionable guidance for Operations, Compliance, and Finance. • Regulatory Navigation: • Operational Risk & Incident Support: Partner with Operations and Compliance to assess and respond to post-trade incidents, settlement failures, and operational risk events from a legal perspective. Develop playbooks that enable fast, legally defensible responses. • Operational Risk & Incident Support: • Legal Ops & Automation: Drive the modernisation of Upvest's legal function. Champion scalable contracting processes, AI-assisted review workflows, and documentation standards that keep pace with operational growth without sacrificing rigour. • Legal Ops & Automation:
Benefits
• Team celebrations: Participate in company-wide events, such as UpFest, dinners, offsites and our Holiday party, to connect with colleagues and celebrate our achievements. • Team celebrations: • Inclusion: We’re committed to a culture where everyone belongs and thrives. Our Employee Resources Groups foster inclusion and connection, like Upfem for our female Upvengers, or UpVergent supporting neurodivergent Upvengers and allies. • Inclusion • Our Values: • Our Values: • Make it easy for others. We simplify the complex and act with the best intentions. • Make it easy for others. • Own the outcome. We are proactive, fast and confident to get the job done, valuing progress over perfection. • Own the outcome. • Rise to the challenge. We aim high and push the boundaries. We stay curious, learn and celebrate our wins together. • Rise to the challenge. • Tell the story. We start with the Why to align on purpose. We are transparent and share knowledge to empower and inspire others. • Tell the story.
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