You Lead the Way. We’ve Got Your Back.

With the right backing, people and businesses have the power to progress in incredible ways. When you join Team Amex, you become part of a global and diverse community of colleagues with an unwavering commitment to back our customers, communities and each other. Here, you’ll learn and grow as we help you create a career journey that’s unique and meaningful to you with benefits, programs, and flexibility that support you personally and professionally.

At American Express, you’ll be recognized for your contributions, leadership, and impact—every colleague has the opportunity to share in the company’s success. Together, we’ll win as a team, striving to uphold our company values and powerful backing promise to provide the world’s best customer experience every day. And we’ll do it with the utmost integrity, and in an environment where everyone is seen, heard and feels like they belong.

Join Team Amex and let's lead the way together.

This role is for an experienced lawyer to join the General Counsel’s Organization (GCO) to act as a Vice President and Senior Counsel, leading a team supporting all lines of business in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region on financial services and financial crime matters. Additionally, your remit will include overseeing financial crime legal advice provided by your team in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region.

A core responsibility of your role will be to lead the International AML Centre of Excellence:

• providing global thought leadership in the area of financial crimes,
• monitoring and advising on the implications of trends in evolving regulation and enforcement,
• ensuring the experiences, insights and best practices of AML lawyers across International are shared and leveraged,
• driving the delivery of commonly grounded technical advice across jurisdictions,
• ensuring a robust legal approach to financial crime issues within the global organisation, and
• providing technical and strategic advice to Compliance and the business on regulatory interactions in this area.

Based in London in the Global Legal Policy & Strategy team, which comprises both competition and financial services lawyers, responsible for dealing with payments systems regulation and leading a Centre of Excellence on this globally. You will report directly to the Group Counsel who leads the team.

You will be leading an established international team of 7 other qualified lawyers based in the UK, Spain, Germany and Singapore and will need to support your team members’ development and growth in the organisation. This will involve facilitating visibility of the team’s work and appropriate information sharing, seeking out opportunities to harness the team’s collective expertise and proactively deliver value for the Company.

Interfacing with other GCO lawyers, senior business personnel, Compliance, Operational Risk, Government Affairs, external bodies and regulators on core, strategic issues for the Company.

A typical day could involve you overseeing the team to do any or all of the following:

• Supporting compliance with the requirements of key payments legislation such as the revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2) and helping to shape external engagement strategy in this area. Advising generally on licensing, prudential regulation, ongoing governance and conduct regulation under the regimes established by PSD2, Interchange Fee Regulation and the AML Directives, including the upcoming EU AML Package. Responding to consultations on such payments regulatory matters.

• Advising on AML, counter-terrorist finance, anti-corruption and financial sanctions legislation, examinations, or issues and helping to develop American Express global policy, strategy and approach in these critical areas. Briefing senior stakeholders on significant developments or external trends.

• Advising on FCA and Bank of Spain authorisation and supervision generally, requests for information, applications for new authorisations, variation of existing licences, relinquishing licences, passporting submissions, appointment of agents. Advising on cross-border structures, passporting and arrangements with third parties (group companies and external partners), including outsourcing and agency arrangements. Advising on management of potential regulatory breaches or compliance failures. Supporting regulatory aspects and overall strategy on re-organisation projects, structuring considerations, new product launches and new market entry.

• Chairing and overseeing EU and UK Regulatory Change Monitoring processes. Monitoring regulatory developments at UK, EU and global level relating to financial services, AML, payment services, and payment schemes through internal, external and desktop resources and reporting these developments internally. Assisting external engagement efforts at EU and national level to ensure regulation is proportionately tailored according to different business models. Assisting in the development of American Express strategy in response to and anticipation of regulatory developments in the payments industry.

Specific Experience Required

• The ideal candidate would be someone with leadership experience who has significant expertise in financial services and payments regulatory matters and/or has proven an aptitude for interpreting and applying technically complex regulation.
• Strong presenting, drafting, research and negotiation/influencing skills.
• Solid analytical skills and high attention to detail.

We back our colleagues and their loved ones with benefits and programs that support their holistic well-being. That means we prioritize their physical, financial, and mental health through each stage of life. Benefits include:

• Competitive base salaries
• Bonus incentives
• Support for financial-well-being and retirement
• Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, life insurance, and disability benefits (depending on location)
• Flexible work arrangements and schedules with hybrid and virtual options with Amex Flex
• Generous paid parental leave policies (depending on your location)
• Free access to global on-site wellness centers staffed with nurses and doctors (depending on location)
• Free and confidential counseling support through our Healthy Minds program
• Career development and training opportunities

At American Express, you’ll be recognized for your contributions, leadership, and impact—every colleague has the opportunity to share in the company’s success. Together, we’ll win as a team, striving to uphold our company values and powerful backing promise to provide the world’s best customer experience every day. And we’ll do it with the utmost integrity, and in an environment where everyone is seen, heard and feels like they belong.

Offer of employment with American Express is conditioned upon the successful completion of a background verification check, subject to applicable laws and regulations.