Head of Legal (Francophone Region)
Wave
Head of Legal (Francophone Region)
Dakar, Senegal • View all jobsOur 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 November 2017, we launched a mobile app in Senegal for cash deposit, withdrawal, and peer-to-peer and business payments.
In 2019, we expanded to Cote d'Ivoire. Now, we have millions of users 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
We’re looking for a Head of Legal (Francophone Region) who can help us build Wave’s legal processes and systems as we scale our business across Africa. You’ll be responsible for legal operations across specified Francophone countries, leading a growing team.
In this role, you’ll:
- Be responsible for drafting and negotiating contracts for all Wave products and services to protect the commercial and legal interests of the business and maximize value.
- Provide proactive legal advice on structuring new products in payments, banking, and mobile money services by regulations and best practices.
- Work closely with other teams on entry into new markets.
- Proactively engage and work alongside local regulators across the region.
- Be responsible for implementing Wave’s corporate governance framework and group legal team policies and procedures, proposing periodic modifications based on practical experience, legal developments, and industry best practices.
- Manage claims and disputes, including pre-action case management, mediation, arbitration, and litigation.
- Provide legal support to the People team on employment contracts, disciplinaries, and terminations.
- Build and manage relationships with our external law firms in your region.
- Lead your team by living Wave’s values and ensuring they are deeply ingrained in your group.
Key details
- Location: Can work from Wave’s locations in Senegal or Cote d’Ivoire. Remote candidates in the WAEMU region willing to travel will also be considered.
- Travel: Plan to travel 10-25% of the time to operating markets
- Our salaries are competitive and are calculated using a transparent formula, depending on your level of experience and location. We run performance reviews twice a year and award bonuses or promotions to strong performers who have been with the company for more than six months
- We pay 100% of your health care insurance premium cost 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
- Free food and a beautiful office space
Requirements
- 10+ years experience with 5+ years in a senior legal management role, managing other lawyers
- A law degree from an accredited and leading law school
- Fluent in French and English
- Experience in technology, finance, fintech, or mobile money in a regional or global organization
- Strong communication skills (both written and oral) and ability to communicate knowledge of the law in a manner that is easily understood and applied
- Excellent legal drafting
- Strong planning, organizational, and management skills and the ability to meet deadlines
You might be a good fit if you
- Are a self-starter and proactive about achieving ambitious targets
- Are a good troubleshooter/problem solver who works well under pressure
- Are willing to go the distance to get something done
- Adjust quickly to changing priorities and conditions
- Build strong relationships and bring out the best in people
Our team
- We have a rapidly growing in-country team in Senegal, Côte D'Ivoire, Mali, Burkina Faso, Gambia, and Uganda, 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’re backed by world-class investors, including Founders Fund, Sequoia Heritage, Stripe, Ribbit Capital, Y Combinator, and Partech Africa.
How to apply
Fill out the form below, and upload a resume in English.
Please add a cover letter describing your interest in Wave and the role.
Wave is an equal-opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.