Director & Assistant General Counsel- Payment Network Operations

Discover. A brighter future.

With us, you’ll do meaningful work from Day 1. Our collaborative culture is built on three core behaviors: We Play to Win, We Get Better Every Day & We Succeed Together. And we mean it — we want you to grow and make a difference at one of the world's leading digital banking and payments companies. We value what makes you unique so that you have an opportunity to shine.

Come build your future, while being the reason millions of people find a brighter financial future with Discover.

Job Description:

Position Overview:

Under the direction of a Legal Officer, the Director and Assistant General Counsel- Payment Network Operations manages a team of lawyers that advise on regulations impacting Discover’s three Networks (Discover Network, Diners Club, and Pulse). The incumbent will serve as the point of contact for the end-to-end network operations and will advise on marketing, pricing, and risk management.

This role handles complex legal matters and projects by providing legal advice, direction and training to in-house business partners, supporting a risk-aware culture and ensuring effective risk management practices in accordance with relevant laws, regulations, and company policies. Incumbents of this role identify, assess and communicate legal, regulatory requirements and industry best practices relevant to the Company and its businesses, and manage assigned resources and budgets, including outside counsel budget. There is emphasis on proactive monitoring, governance, risk identification and escalation, as well as making sound risk decisions commensurate with the business units risk appetite and all risk and compliance program requirements. The incumbent consistently provides strong and valuable coaching to team members and fosters development of individual team members and team cohesion.

Creates a culture of effective risk management, accountability, and demonstration of risk awareness across the organization.

Responsibilities:

• Provides legal and risk-mitigation advice on complex matters related to payment networks and the services they provide.

• Exercises prudent discretion and decision-making skills by advising business clients on strategic and complex issues and requirements applicable to Discover’s operation of its payment networks, such as on new initiatives, business process reviews, compliance with laws, regulations, policies and procedures, contract review and analysis, training, corrective actions, risk and issues raised in governance committees.

• Identifies, assesses, communicates, and provides oversight and strategic guidance on new or proposed legal and regulatory requirements, emerging legal and regulatory risks and trends relating to Discover’s payment networks.

• Exercises prudent discretion and decision-making to represent and/or advocate on the company’s behalf before regulatory bodies, as necessary, or in dealings with counterparties on matters such as litigation, commercial transactions, regulatory examinations and supervisory matters, comment letters and  position papers on proposed regulations, and legislation that may impact the company.

• Leads, coaches and develops teams, as assigned and required by role at management’s discretion, to achieve legal's Mission and Discover’s business objectives

• Manages resources, as assigned, including overhead, outside counsel and other budgets to achieve legals financial goals.

Minimum Qualifications

At a minimum, here’s what we need from you:

• J.D. from Accredited law school or equivalent

• 8+ years of legal experience supporting financial services products and services, or job related

Preferred Qualifications

If we had our say, we’d also look for:

• 10+ years of legal experience supporting financial services products and services, or job related

• Experience in the payment’s ecosystem, preferably with a network or payment processor

• Prior people management experience highly preferred

Application Deadline:

The application window for this position is anticipated to close on Dec-26-2023. We encourage you to apply as soon as possible. The posting may be available past this date, but it is not guaranteed.

Compensation:

The base pay for this position generally ranges between $173,000.00 to $263,400.00. Additional incentives may be provided as part of a market competitive total compensation package. Factors, such as but not limited to, geographical location, relevant experience, education, and skill level may impact the pay for this position.

Benefits:

We also offer a range of benefits and programs based on eligibility. These benefit