General Counsel

Aspire is the leading all-in-one finance operating system for growing businesses in APAC. We are on a mission to reinvent business finance for a new generation of entrepreneurs and business owners, empowering startups and MSME to realise their full potential.

Founded in 2018, Aspire has raised over USD 300M+ across equity and debt from world-class investors. In 2023, we successfully closed an oversubscribed USD 100 million Series C equity round led by Sequoia Capital and Lightspeed Ventures with participation of Tencent, Paypal Ventures, LGT Capital Partners, Picus Capital and MassMutual Ventures. To power our solutions, we have partnered with some of the best companies in the world such as Visa and Wise and helped more than 15,000 businesses using our suite of products.

In 2022, we were awarded Best Employer of the Year and Payments Tech of the Year by Asia Fintech Awards, ranked #1 on LinkedIn's 2022 Top Startups list and were listed on YC Top Companies 2022. In 2023, we ranked Top 10 on The Straits Times Fastest-Growing Companies.

You will be amazed by the energy and experience of our team. We are a team of ex-entrepreneurs, ex-founders, and high-achievers with international backgrounds. We team up to reach the highest standards in what we do, and don't take NO for an answer.

We are expanding rapidly. Are you a top talent? Are you passionate about entrepreneurship? Join us and make an impact in the fintech space.

About the role:

We are looking for a General Counsel to join our team and lead our legal department. As our General Counsel, you will be responsible for managing all legal matters related to our business operations, including corporate governance, regulatory product, litigation, and contract negotiation. You will work closely with our executive team and other departments to provide legal advice and ensure that our business practices are in line with legal and ethical standards.

At Aspire, we pride ourselves on building an amazing team. Reporting to Chief Executive Officer, this position will primarily support Aspire's business team throughout the APAC region. We are looking for one AAA candidate that is able to handle great responsibility in driving the legal strategy for the venture.

What will you be doing?

• Develop and implement legal strategies and policies that align with the company's goals and objectives.
• Provide legal guidance to the executive team and other departments on matters related to corporate governance, regulatory product, intellectual property, data privacy, and other legal issues.
• Stay up-to-date on legal and regulatory developments that may impact the company's business operations and advise the executive team accordingly.
• Manage the company's litigation matters, including working with outside counsel as necessary.
• Negotiate and review contracts with vendors, customers, and partners to ensure compliance with legal and business requirements.
• Develop and manage the legal department budget and outside legal spend.
• Collaborate with the compliance team to ensure that the company is meeting all regulatory requirements.

We would love to get to know you if you have the following:

• 10+ years of legal experience, with at least 5 years in-house experience in a fintech or financial services company;
• Experience in providing regulatory advice related to payment services and financial products, either in-house or at a reputable law firm;
• Proven hands-on experience working with regulators in the financial services sector, or have experience working for a financial regulatory authority;
• Able to understand complex product and regulatory challenges and convert them into structured, practical and actionable solutions;
• Strong written and verbal communication skills and have the ability to communicate the solutions you designed to both internal and external stakeholders;
• Awareness of relevant risks, the ability to determine the impact of these risks and are able to consider these when making decisions with product teams;
• Excellent analytical, negotiation, and communication skills;
• Ability to work independently and manage multiple projects simultaneously;
• Experience managing a legal team and outside counsel;
• LLB or LLM degree from a top tier university.

Please note: by submitting your application, you acknowledge that you have read and understood Aspire's Data Protection Policy for Employees, Freelancers, Contractors and Job Applicants (the " Policy") , and consent to the collection, use and disclosure of your personal data by Aspire for the purposes set out in the Policy. You may withdraw consent for such collection, use and disclosure, and make an access or correction request in respect of your personal data, in accordance with the Policy by emailing people@aspireapp.com .