Sr. Financial Services Legal Counsel

Are you looking to have an impact on the daily life of millions of entrepreneurs in France (and tomorrow in Europe)?

Are you looking for a work environment that values trust, proactivity, and autonomy?

Are our Engineering principles aligned with your vision?

Then Pennylane is the right place for you !

We aim to become the most beloved financial Operating System of French SMEs and Accounting Firms (and soon, European ones).

We help entrepreneurs rid themselves of time-consuming tasks related to accounting and finance while providing them with access to key financial information to assist in making the best decisions for their business.

Pennylane is one of the fastest growing Fintechs in France (and soon to be in Europe!)

In 5 years of existence, we’ve managed to :

💻 Make ourselves known as a groundbreaking accounting and financial software for small businesses and their accountants

💰 Raise a total of €400 millions, including from Sequoia, the famous fund from the Silicon Valley who invested early in companies like Google, Facebook, Airbnb, Stripe, Paypal and much more...

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Grow from 7 cofounders to 1000 happy Pennylaners : we’re now recognized as one of the greatest places to work in France (and also remotely), with a 4.6/5 rating on Glassdoor.

🌍 Build an international environment with more than 25 nationalities, with a strong remote-friendly culture, where 30% of the employees are already working from all parts of Europe

🤝 Earn the trust of thousands of customers and accounting firms and obtain outstanding ratings

🚀 Already more than 800,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and over 6000 accounting firms use Pennylane in France!

We are looking for our Senior Financial Services Legal Counsel to help structure and drive the legal framework of financial services within Pennylane.

In a context of strong growth and increasing product complexity, this role sits at the intersection of product, contracts and business, working closely with Product, Compliance, Ops and Tech teams.

This is a senior, transversal and highly structuring role within a growing Legal team, where your impact and ownership will be clearly visible.

You will be part of Pennylane Legal Department. Your reporting line will be Stanislas, General Counsel.

You will work in close collaboration with:

- the Contracts team

- Product and Operations teams,

- Compliance, Security and Finance stakeholders.

Financial services play an increasingly important role in Pennylane’s product strategy and customer value proposition, serving hundreds of thousands of professional users.

The objective of this role is to:

- structure and secure the legal framework of financial services products,

- support product development in a pragmatic and business-oriented way,

- ensure robust contractual and operational foundations in a fast-moving environment.

You will work on high-impact topics where Legal is expected to act as a business enabler, not just a support function.

- Define and own the legal architecture of financial services products.

- Work closely with the Contracts team on the associated contractual framework, including:

- customer terms and conditions,

- product documentation and disclosures,

- complaint handling and customer communications,

- alignment between contracts, operational processes and product reality.

- Partner with Product and Ops teams to design legally robust solutions while preserving speed and innovation.

- Lead legal matters related to partnerships and critical third-party relationships:

- contract drafting and negotiation,

- allocation of responsibilities,

- audit, continuity and exit mechanisms,

- coordination with data protection, security and operational resilience requirements.

- Contribute to the standardisation and continuous improvement of contractual practices in these areas

- In close coordination with the DPO and security stakeholders, ensure that operating models and contracts:

- clearly define data processing roles,

- address security, incident management, retention and traceability,

- remain aligned with internal standards and external commitments.

- Operate with an owner mindset: identify risks, frame options and help teams make informed decisions.

- Actively contribute to building a pragmatic, product-oriented legal culture.

- Participate in structuring legal practices through principles, internal guidelines and best practices.

- At least 8 years of experience in legal roles, including:

- in-house experience in fintech, financial services or tech environments,

- or experience in organisations operating in regulated or complex product contexts.

- Proven experience working on financial services products, complex contracts and operational topics.

- Comfortable operating in fast-growing, scaling organisations.

- Strong background in complex B2B contracting.

- Ability to structure legal frameworks in evolving product environments.

- Solid understanding of outsourcing, partner and operational legal topics.

- Strong structuring and prioritization skills.

- High level of pedagogy: able to make complex legal topics accessible and actionable.

- Pragmatic, impact-driven approach.

- Excellent written and verbal communication skills in both English and French.

- Join a Legal team in build-up mode, with strong visibility and influence.

- Work on high-impact, structuring topics at the heart of product and business strategy.

- Collaborate closely with top-tier Product and Engineering teams.

- Contribute to products used by hundreds of thousands of professionals across France and Europe.

Regular on‑site presence in Paris is expected; partial remote is possible, but this is not a fully remote role.

- Screening Interview with Nathalie - Sr Business Recruiter for 30 mins

- Manager Interview with Stanislas - General Counsel & Roland - Lead Legal Counsel for 1 hour

- Case Study with Stanislas & Maxime - General Manager Financial Services for 1h30

- Last Round Interview with Felix - COO & Léa - DPO

🌴 Wherever you are based, you will get 25 vacations days paid by Pennylane

💵 You’ll have a competitive compensation package

📈 You'll get company shares to enjoy a piece of the success story you're building with us

🏡 You’ll have a budget to turn your home into a more comfortable workspace, as well as a monthly allowance to work from a coworking space whenever you feel like it

⛹️ Through our partner Gymlib, you’ll have access to 8000 fitness spaces in Europe and more than 300 activities related to wellness

🇬🇧 You’ll have access to Busuu to perfect your English or your French

💻 You’ll get the latest Apple equipment

🏢 Depending on the teams and the requirements of the position - you'll be able to work remotely from your country of residence, as long as it is in Europe and within a maximum time difference of two hours from the CET time zone

🎉 We are committed to regularly coming together for company events such as Tech Days (which bring remote Pennylaners together every 3 months) or our annual company seminar, fostering significant moments of cohesion for everyone.

If you are based in France, you will have a French contract following French regulation on top of the additional perks : 6 to 12 RTT, 5 weeks PTOs, lunch credits (Swile), Alan Blue healthcare cover and regular events in cities where Pennylaners are mostly presents (Lyon, Bordeaux, Nantes…)

To thrive at Pennylane, you need :

-To speak English (level is assessed and appreciated according to the department you’re applying to)

-To be energized by an ever-shifting work environment

-To be highly collaborative (within your team or other stakeholders)

-Sufficiently experienced to prioritize business-led actions on your day to day activity

We know that some people are less likely to apply than others, if they don’t feel like they meet the full list of criteria.

If you’re hesitating, we encourage you to apply : who knows, it might be the start of a meaningful and long-lasting collaboration.

Recruitment scam attempts are on the rise. We invite you to remain vigilant during your exchanges.

Applications through official channels only : apply exclusively through our job postings published on our official platforms (career site, official partner pages).

Always verify the sender's email address: our communications are sent from professional email addresses with the domains @pennylane.com or @pennylane-partners.com

(bank details, payment for an interview, equipment purchases, etc.) as part of the recruitment process. If such a request is made to you, it is fraudulent. We invite you to not respond and to report it to us immediately.

We also want to emphasize that we fully embrace diversity, equity and inclusion and that we’re doing our best to create a safe and inclusive environment.

We are committed to providing an equal employment opportunity regardless of gender, sexual orientation, origin, disabilities, or any other traits that make you who you are. If anything, diversity makes us a more fun place to work at.