Senior Legal Counsel (Investment Operations)

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)
• Post-Trade Depth: Hands‑on understanding of clearing, settlement, and custody mechanics across a range of investment products — at the level of a seasoned practitioner who has worked directly with CCPs, CSDs, or custodians
• 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

What the job involves

• As (Senior) Legal Counsel – Investment Operations, you are part of the legal infrastructure that keeps Upvest's post‑trade engine running
• You bring a granular understanding of clearing, settlement, and custody — and you use it to ensure that every transaction Upvest processes is legally sound, operationally resilient, and regulatorily defensible at scale
• Your mission is to safeguard Upvest's operating business as it scales across the EEA, UK, and Switzerland
• Working within a high‑performing legal team, you will be the go‑to legal voice for everything that happens after a trade is executed — ensuring our post‑trade infrastructure remains compliant, our counterparty relationships are properly governed, and our operational processes can absorb the demands of rapid growth
• Post‑Trade Legal Coverage: Be the legal authority on Upvest's post‑execution infrastructure. Advise on the legal framework governing clearing, settlement, and custody operations, ensuring our processes remain compliant with applicable regulation at every step of the transaction lifecycle
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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