Our mission

We're making Africa the first cashless continent.

In 2017, over half the population in Sub-Saharan Africa had no bank account. That's for good reason—the fees are too high, the closest branch can be miles away, and nobody takes cards. Without access to financial institutions, people are forced to keep their savings under the mattress. Small business owners rely on lenders who charge extortionate rates. Parents spend hours waiting in line to pay school fees in cash.

We're solving this by building financial services that just work: no account fees, instantly available, and accepted everywhere. In places where electricity, water and roads don't always work, you can still send money with Wave. In 2017, we launched a mobile app in Senegal for cash deposit, withdrawal, and peer-to-peer and business payments. Now, we have millions of users across 9 countries and are growing fast.

Our goal is to make Africa the first cashless continent and that's where you come in...

How you'll help us achieve it

As a Legal Counsel at Wave, you will play a key role in supporting our Senegal Legal Team, which strongly focuses on Marketing, Public Relations, and Corporate Governance. You will collaborate closely with operational and functional teams to help them reach their objectives, while actively managing legal risks and ensuring full regulatory compliance.

In this role, you will provide clear, practical legal advice and implement strategies that protect the company’s interests and contribute to business success.

You will report directly to the Head of Legal.

In this role, you'll:

Marketing, Public Relations, and Procurements

Support Marketing and Payment - growth team in the implementation and launch of promotional activities by providing legal advice.
Ensure all the Publics relations and Marketing communications are compliant with legal requirements.
Review all contracts and legal documents related to marketing and public relations to ensure alignment with the company’s interests and regulations.
Draft and review supplier contracts in accordance with the company's Procurement scope.
Ensure that the procurement follows internal procedures and regulatory obligations.
Draft contract templates for the company’s needs when necessary.
Engage with external stakeholders (e.g., the regulator) to build strong relationships and facilitate follow-up on some of Wave’s files.
Obtain authorization from competent authorities when necessary.
Provide legal support for marketing and PR matters.

General support :

Develop, implement, and communicate policies, processes, and procedures.
Recommend process improvements for the existing tools.
Provide legal advice for questions related to the regulation applicable to the company’s activity (specific regulation related to E-money, commercial regulation, labor law; civil and penal law, etc.).
Work with the Head of Legal to develop case strategies to prevent or mitigate risks.

Key details

Location: You'll work from our office in Senegal.
This is a permanent position.
Our salaries are competitive and calculated using a transparent formula.
We offer generous health insurance for yourself and your dependents.
We support working parents - we offer generous parental leave policies (26 weeks for mothers and 4 weeks for fathers) and subsidized child care when you return to work.
We help you live your fullest life now - we subsidize gym memberships and fitness classes.
Airtime reimbursement.

Requirements

Master's degree in law.
5+ years of legal experience, preferably in mobile money, banking, or other financial sectors.
Proficiency in both written and spoken French and English.
Demonstrated expertise in planning and preparing for board and shareholder meetings.
Solid understanding of legal requirements related to advertising.

You might be a good fit if you

Efficiently and quickly apply instructions from your lead, and proactively identify and report problems or blockers.
Excel in both teamwork and independent work.
Are proficient in drafting and reviewing contracts in English and French.
Demonstrate tenacity and a commitment to completing tasks.
Possess a strong analytical approach to problem-solving.
Are highly organized and detail-oriented, with a clear and accurate legal approach.
Have excellent writing, listening, and communication skills, consistently striving for excellence in all endeavors.

Our team

We have a rapidly growing in-country team in Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, Burkina Faso, The Gambia, Uganda, Niger, Sierra Leone, and Cameroon plus remote team members spread across the world.
We're deeply passionate about our mission of bringing radically affordable financial services to the people who need them most.
We foster autonomy for our employees. You'll own your projects at every stage, from understanding the problem to monitoring your solution in production.
We raised the largest Series A in Africa in 2021. Our world-class investors, include Founders Fund, Sequoia Heritage, Stripe, Ribbit Capital, Y Combinator, and Partech Africa.
We are on Y Combinator's top companies by revenue.

How to apply

Fill out the form below, and upload a resume in English and a cover letter describing your interest in Wave and the role.

We review applications frequently and recommend that you apply to the role that most closely aligns with your skills, experience and career goals.

Wave is an equal-opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.

Legal Counsel

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