Sr Director, Legal, Global Payments

What You'll Do

Lead the legal strategy supporting our global payments ecosystem and serve as the company's foremost legal advisor on payments, financial services, and fintech matters.

Lead Payments Legal Strategy

• Serve as GoFundMe's senior legal advisor and enterprise leader for payments, financial services, and fintech legal matters.
• Define the legal strategy supporting GoFundMe's global payments platform, partnering closely with executive leadership to enable continued product innovation, business growth, and international expansion.
• Partner with executive leadership to design scalable legal and regulatory operating models that support global expansion, enterprise risk management, and long-term platform strategy.
• Help shape the legal architecture underlying the company's global payments and regulatory infrastructure, ensuring legal frameworks evolve alongside the business.
• Advise the Chief Legal Officer and executive leadership on emerging legal and regulatory developments affecting payments, financial services, and global commerce.

Enable Product Innovation

• Partner closely with Product, Engineering, Design, Compliance, Risk, and Business teams throughout the product lifecycle, from concept through launch and ongoing iteration.
• Provide practical legal guidance on new payment methods, payment service providers, financial services offerings, platform capabilities, and strategic initiatives.
• Develop scalable legal review processes that accelerate innovation while maintaining appropriate legal and regulatory safeguards.
• Translate complex legal and regulatory requirements into clear, actionable guidance for cross-functional stakeholders.

Advise on Global Payments & Financial Services

• Serve as the company's subject matter expert on payments law, money transmission, financial services regulation, AML/BSA, sanctions, fraud prevention, KYC/KYB, card network and ACH rules, and related legal frameworks.
• Advise on U.S. federal and state regulatory requirements, as well as international legal frameworks governing payments and financial services, including FINTRAC, TRACFIN, AMLR, and other evolving global regulatory regimes.
• Lead legal strategy for regulatory engagement, licensing initiatives, supervisory examinations, audits, and interactions with regulators, banking partners, payment networks, and financial institutions.
• Partner closely with the Chief Compliance Officer to ensure legal and compliance strategies remain aligned while maintaining clear first- and second-line responsibilities.
• Partner with Risk, Compliance, and executive leadership to identify, assess, and manage enterprise legal and regulatory risk across GoFundMe's payments ecosystem.

Build Governance & Legal Infrastructure

• Partner with the Chief Legal Officer, Chief Compliance Officer, and executive leadership to build the legal frameworks, governance, and regulatory infrastructure necessary to support GoFundMe's Platform Excellence strategy and global marketplace expansion.
• Develop governance frameworks that enable consistent legal decision-making across products, jurisdictions, and regulated activities.
• Build scalable legal processes that allow Product, Engineering, Payments, and Business teams to innovate responsibly while maintaining strong legal oversight.
• Foster effective partnership across Legal, Compliance, Risk, Product, and Engineering to create a durable operating model for a rapidly evolving global payments platform.

Lead Strategic Commercial Partnerships

• Structure, negotiate, and advise on strategic commercial partnerships with payment processors, financial institutions, banking partners, card networks, and fintech providers.
• Advise on legal considerations related to payment infrastructure, financial services partnerships, strategic commercial relationships, and emerging business models.
• Review customer-facing terms, disclosures, marketing materials, and communications related to payments products and financial services offerings.
• Develop scalable legal standards, templates, governance processes, and commercial frameworks that enable efficient execution as the business scales.

What You'll Bring

• 12+ years of legal experience with significant expertise in payments, fintech, or financial services.
• Experience serving as the senior legal advisor supporting payments products, regulated financial services, or complex payments infrastructure.
• Demonstrated success designing scalable legal operating models, governance frameworks, and regulatory strategies while advising executive leadership on product innovation, enterprise risk, and long-term business growth.
• Deep expertise in payments law, money transmission, financial services regulation, regulatory examinations, licensing, audits, AML/BSA, sanctions, fraud prevention, KYC/KYB, card network rules, ACH rules, and the legal infrastructure supporting regulated payments businesses.
• Proven success partnering with Product, Engineering, Compliance, Finance, Risk, and executive leadership to launch and scale payments products in highly regulated environments.
• Experience supporting organizations within payments platforms, marketplace businesses, cross-border payments providers, or global financial institutions, with expertise in payment infrastructure, regulated money movement, strategic financial partnerships, and complex multi-jurisdiction legal frameworks.
• Strong executive presence with the ability to translate legal complexity into practical, business-oriented guidance that enables responsible innovation.
• Proven ability to build scalable legal processes, governance models, and commercial frameworks that support a rapidly evolving global payments organization.

Additional Experience We Value

• Experience advising on international regulatory regimes, including Canada, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Australia, and Latin America.
• Experience supporting digital assets or emerging payment technologies.
• Experience within global marketplace platforms, Trust & Safety, consumer technology companies, or other highly regulated technology businesses.
• Experience supporting organizations through licensing strategies, new regulated activities, or evolving payments operating models.

Why you’ll love it here

• Make an Impact: Be part of a mission-driven organization making a positive difference in millions of lives every year.
• Innovative Environment: Work with a diverse, passionate, and talented team in a fast-paced, forward-thinking atmosphere.
• Collaborative Team: Join a fun and collaborative team that works hard and celebrates success together.
• Competitive Benefits: Enjoy competitive pay and comprehensive healthcare benefits.
• Holistic Support: Enjoy financial assistance for things like hybrid work, family planning, along with generous parental leave, flexible time-off policies, and mental health and wellness resources to support your overall well-being.
• Growth Opportunities: Participate in learning, development, and recognition programs to help you thrive and grow.
• Commitment to DEI: Contribute to diversity, equity, and inclusion through ongoing initiatives and employee resource groups.
• Community Engagement: Make a difference through our volunteering program.