Associate Legal Counsel

at  Symbiotics Group

Job Location
About us
Symbiotics is the leading market access platform for impact investing in emerging and frontier markets, offering market research, investment advisory and asset management services. We are regulated by FINMA, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority and our daughter company Symbiotics (UK) Ltd has an investment firm license from the FCA in the UK. Symbiotics currently employs 160 people and is headquartered in Geneva, with further offices in Zurich, London, Amsterdam, Paris, Mexico City, Singapore, Cape Town, Delhi and Yerevan. Since 2004, we have invested over USD 6.9bn in more than over 500 microfinance institutions across over 90 emerging and frontier markets, working with more than 62 investment funds and many institutional investors.
We are a fast-growing, market-leading company, offering a dynamic work environment in the growing impact investment space. Our people are our biggest competitive advantage.
We believe that in order to recruit the best professionals all applications must be reviewed equally. For this reason, we will not require personal data such as photos, date of birth or gender to be included on CV applications.
About the Job
Who we are looking for
The Associate Legal Counsel is based in our Head office in Geneva, with a reporting line to the Head of Legal. The ideal candidate will support the in-house legal team in a wide range of the day-to-day legal matters.

Lead contract negotiations across various sectors with a focus on the financial sector and technology suppliers. Review and draft contracts, agreements, and other legal documents. A solid understanding of software and technology contracts is necessary.
Continuous improvement of contract-related processes and policies as well as supporting business lines in planning and implementing such improvements.
Advise internal business lines/divisions in various legal matters i.e. Commercial Law, Corporate Law, Intellectual Property, Data Protection, and Labor Law.
Conduct global case law research, as needed.
Provide legal advice to all subsidiaries in several jurisdictions, with an emphasis on Latin America.
Proofread and assist with any materials, including documents, reports, memos, briefings, presentations, forms, and other items ensuring accuracy and completeness.
Collaborate with cross-functional teams to address legal and compliance issues and provide guidance on business decisions.
Assist on compliance matters and provide trainings i.e AML, GDPR etc.
Provide support on Governance matters, such as providing materials for board meetings.
Keep legal resources up to date (i.e., the legal page on the intranet).
Providing general legal support to the Group Legal team.
Perform other duties as assigned by the Head of Legal Department.
Your Qualification
We are looking for a motivated, detail-oriented individual capable of excelling in a dynamic and challenging environment. The ideal candidate will possess the following skills and competencies:
Advanced university law degree, masters degree, LLM, or equivalent in international, finance, and/or business Law.
2-3+ years of experience as an attorney, in-house legal counsel or in a similar role, preferably in the financial markets industry.
Proven negotiating, legal drafting, writing and document review skills.
Interest in impact finance and/or sustainable development.
Fluent in English, proficiency in Spanish and/or French is a plus.
Ability to conduct research, analyze information, assess risk, and provide resolutions for various legal and business issues.
Experience working in a fast-paced environment with different cultures and professional backgrounds.
You are motivated, dynamic, and able to work both independently and in a team.
You are very organized, autonomous, and have excellent attention to detail.
You have a high level of integrity and confidentiality.
You enjoy collaborating with others to reach common goals.
Excellent communication, research, and analytical skills.
You are adept and agile to perform in a fast-paced environment, and managing competing demands and priorities.
You are IT savvy and have a good working knowledge of Outlook, SharePoint, Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.
Job Offer
What makes us different?
The chance to contribute to improving the lives of people in emerging and frontier countries, to work towards supporting the UN Sustainable Development Goals
A flexible work environment with colleagues from 41 countries
The opportunity to become part of a growing business that pushes you to excel every day while having a positive impact on others