Regulatory Affairs & Licensing Lead

Our client is a high-growth financial technology business operating across multiple markets with a strong focus on payments money movement and financial services innovation. The business is headquartered in Cape Town and operates in a fast-paced entrepreneurial environment. As it continues to scale regulatory strategy and licensing have become increasingly important to both existing operations and future market expansion.

As the Regulatory Affairs & Licensing Lead you will act as the senior in-house authority on legal regulatory and licensing matters.

The role will take ownership of the organisations regulatory permissions support expansion into new products and jurisdictions and manage engagement with key supervisory authorities. You will work closely with senior leadership and cross-functional teams to translate complex regulatory requirements into practical commercially workable solutions. This is a senior opportunity within a growing fintech environment where regulatory expertise will play a direct role in enabling the businesss next phase of growth.

• Licensing & Regulatory Permissions: Own and oversee regulatory licences authorisations and exemptions including future licensing initiatives across payments e-money FX and digital asset frameworks.
• Regulator Engagement: Act as a key liaison with relevant regulatory and supervisory bodies managing regulatory submissions examinations enquiries and consultations.
• Legal Interpretation & Strategic Advisory: Interpret financial services legislation and provide clear commercially practical advice to senior stakeholders.
• Product & Operational Alignment: Partner with Product Compliance Risk and Operations to ensure regulatory requirements are appropriately embedded into products controls and operating processes.
• Regulatory Horizon Scanning: Monitor local and international regulatory developments and assess their impact on the business.
• Governance & Regulatory Obligations: Maintain oversight of regulatory obligations and ensure requirements are effectively mapped to internal controls across relevant jurisdictions.

• LLB or equivalent recognised legal qualification.
• 10 years experience across financial services law regulatory affairs or regulatory compliance.
• Strong experience within fintech banking payments or another highly regulated financial services environment.
• Demonstrable experience managing regulatory licences approvals and regulatory change.
• Direct engagement with financial services regulators and supervisory authorities.
• Strong knowledge of financial services regulation including AML/CFT payments exchange control privacy and related regulatory frameworks.
• Ability to advise and influence executive stakeholders while balancing regulatory requirements with commercial objectives.

• Postgraduate qualification in Financial Regulation Compliance or a related discipline.
• Exposure to international payments or e-money regulatory frameworks.
• Experience with digital assets CASPs cross-border payments or alternative remittance models.