Senior Manager - Legal & Compliance, Japan

About the role

Fiserv, a global leader in fintech and payments, is seeking an experienced Legal & Compliance Manager to support the establishment of its Japan operations. The role drives legal, regulatory and compliance activities around entity management, corporate governance, day-to-day commercial transactions, licensing requirements, regulatory engagement and the development of a robust legal and compliance framework aligned with local and global expectations. The ideal candidate has hands-on experience supporting the launch or expansion of a payments, fintech, financial services or regulated financial institution in Japan.

Key responsibilities

• Lead legal and compliance advisory work, support corporate and commercial transactions, licensing applications, regulatory approvals and business expansion in Japan.
• Serve as the primary legal and compliance advisor on payments, merchant acquiring, fintech and financial services matters.
• Develop, implement and maintain compliance frameworks, policies, procedures, governance structures and internal controls for Japan operations.
• Liaise with Japanese regulators, including the Financial Services Agency (FSA), managing submissions, inquiries, examinations and audits.
• Monitor changes in laws, regulations and industry requirements and advise business stakeholders.
• Draft, review, negotiate and manage commercial, customer, vendor, partnership and corporate agreements.
• Lead compliance risk assessments and oversee AML/CFT, sanctions, data privacy, consumer protection and third-party risk management programs.
• Partner with business, finance, HR, operations and technology teams, manage external legal counsel and deliver compliance training.

Required profile

• Bachelor's degree in Law, Business, Finance, Compliance or a related discipline; legal qualification preferred.
• 10-15 years of legal and/or compliance experience in payments, fintech, merchant acquiring, banking or financial services.
• Experience establishing and managing legal, compliance, risk and governance frameworks in a regulated environment.
• Business-fluent Japanese and English, able to manage regulators, external counsel and senior stakeholders in a multinational organization.