Corporate Legal Vice President
London, LND, GB, EC2M 2AT
SMBC: A trusted partner for the long term
Here at SMBC Group, we want to help you find the next step in your career so read on to discover if this opportunity is the one for you. We like to recognise potential in our people, so we welcome your application even when your experience doesn’t perfectly align with the job description. Whilst we’ll always strive to be better, we’re proud of our inclusive culture, and encourage our applicants and colleagues to be their authentic, unique selves.
Who we are
United by a sense of purpose towards our customers – to be a trusted partner for the long-term – and our universal banking platform in EMEA, SMBC Group has an international growth agenda and award-winning products, meaning we provide exciting opportunities to work on a diverse range of projects and initiatives. We deliver a full suite of corporate finance products and solutions to our customers as well as investment banking and advisory services, and a range of innovative solutions in global capital markets. Read on to find out how you could enhance your skills and gain valuable experience, by joining us to support our clients transition to a sustainable future.
Role Summary
Is the next step in your career at SMBC Group EMEA? We’re looking for a Vice President for our Technology, Operations and Procurement Legal team, within the Corporate Legal department.
Corporate Legal is responsible for providing legal advice on a broad range of technology, operations and procurement (“TOP”) matters across the EMEA region.
The role:
- focuses on managing legal and regulatory risks in third‑party and intra‑group arrangements, including outsourcing, ICT services, and emerging technology use cases.
- supports SMBC EMEA entities in delivering strategic initiatives through pragmatic, risk‑based legal advice, ensuring compliance with applicable regulatory frameworks (including outsourcing, operational resilience and AI regulation).
- supports the efficient execution of contracts, the development and consistency of legal standards, policies, procedures and templates, and the embedding of compliant, scalable third‑party frameworks through close partnership with business and control functions (including the Third Party Management (“TPM”) and Procurement teams), ensuring effective management of contractual and regulatory risk in line with SMBC’s strategic objectives.
Business Area
The person will be an integral member of the Legal Department and must be capable of handling complex work.
The role supports SMBC’s EMEA operations across multiple jurisdictions, with exposure to UK, EU and local regulatory frameworks. The individual will typically manage 20–30 concurrent matters per month, spanning ICT, outsourcing, procurement and intra‑group arrangements, contributing to hundreds of matters annually.
The role interfaces regularly with senior stakeholders across Legal, TPM, Procurement, IT, Operations and business teams, and contributes to regional and global projects, ranging from short‑term BAU contract execution to longer‑term regulatory and strategic initiatives (e.g., DORA implementation, AI governance frameworks).
Position Description
Key Accountabilities & Responsibilities
- Draft, review and negotiate a broad range of TOP contracts (including ICT services, outsourcing, SaaS, and intra‑group arrangements), ensuring alignment with internal policies and regulatory requirements.
- Advise and collaborate with TPM, Procurement and business stakeholders on legal and regulatory risk, including outsourcing, operational resilience and AI‑related considerations.
- Assess and determine applicability of regulatory frameworks (e.g., DORA, EBA outsourcing, data protection, AI regulation) and escalate material risks.
- Lead or support negotiations on complex vendor arrangements, including critical/important outsourcing and strategic vendor contracts.
- Develop and maintain standard templates, playbooks and guidance to improve consistency, efficiency and auditability of contract review processes.
- Provide training to TPM, Procurement and business stakeholders, as and when required.
- Monitor and interpret legal and regulatory developments impacting TOP arrangements, and advise on implementation within SMBC.
- Support dispute management and provide risk‑based recommendations on vendor and contractual issues.
- Collaborate cross‑regionally with Legal teams in EMEA, Tokyo, APAC and the Americas on global initiatives and vendor frameworks.
Knowledge, Skills & Experience
- Qualified lawyer with at least 5-8 years post‑qualification experience, of which at least 3 years’ experience in drafting, advising on and negotiating a broad range of ICT contracts and technology-related legal work which has been gained at a reputable law firm and/or bank/corporate institution.
- Experience in commercial law, general procurement law, data protection (including GDPR), data licensing and intellectual property rights, information technology and cyber security legal issues and UK/EBA outsourcing requirements, EU DORA requirements and the EU AI Act.
- Experience working on cross-border contracts and with global legal teams (e.g., Tokyo, Americas) is a strong plus.
- Experience advising on AI-enabled services, model risk and AI governance frameworks is desirable.
- Experience in products offered by banks and financial institutions and relevant financial services regulations is preferable.
- Individual will be expected to attend Continuing Professional Development (“CPD”) training courses in order to stay up-to-date in relation to regulatory developments and new and emerging legal issues relating to TOP contracts.
- Good competence around drafting documentation and using bank wide systems, including Microsoft Co-Pilot and Microsoft office.
- Ability to build good interpersonal relationships with stakeholders and to be a team player.
- To be open and approachable and operate with a high degree of autonomy.
To be successful in the role, the candidate would expect to be able to:
- Develop an understanding of the Bank’s commercial operations and policies to provide pragmatic advice.
- Manage legal risk in accordance with the constantly changing regulatory requirements which apply to financial institutions.
- Assist stakeholders to understand applicable legal risks, particularly in the context of complex IT and technology-related initiatives.
- Deliver timely, risk‑based legal advice across a high volume of matters and competing priorities, including complex technology, outsourcing and AI‑related initiatives across multiple business areas.
Competencies
What we offer
For all the expertise and experience you bring to help us make a difference, it’s only sustainable if we support you to build your career and be your best self so we offer competitive company benefits, centred around promoting positive well-bring and work-life balance. We also believe in fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment, where all team members perspectives and contributions are valued. Initiatives in place which promote a diverse and inclusive culture and healthy work life balance include hybrid working, Sport & Social Clubs and Diversity and Inclusion networks.
As an employee of SMBC you have access to a host of both useful and exciting benefit offerings. See below some of the benefits on offer to you:
- Hybrid and flexible working
- Competitive paid leave days
- Benefits to support your physical wellbeing, including private medical insurance and life and invalidity insurance
- Various policies to support your mental wellbeing, including a robust behavioural health network with counselling and coaching services
- Access a wide range of learning and development opportunities and career progression opportunities
- Ambitious remuneration package
So, if you like a challenge and want to continuously grow and develop in a role where you will be supported along the way by a dynamic and diverse team, apply today!!
We recognise our role as a bank to support social change and welcome all applications, including those from groups often under-represented in financial services. We value the uniqueness of professional and personal, backgrounds and perspectives as they play a vital role in continuing the sustainable growth of our organisation. We’ll ensure reasonable adjustments to our recruitment process are offered due to a disability or long-term condition whenever requested.
We are committed to transparent and equitable pay practices. Compensation is determined using objective criteria, including skills, experience, and role responsibilities, and applied consistently throughout our recruitment processes. We do not request candidates' pay history and are committed to preventing unjustified pay disparities.