At American Express, our culture is built on a 175-year history of innovation, shared values and Leadership Behaviors, and an unwavering commitment to back our customers, communities, and colleagues. As part of Team Amex, you'll experience this powerful backing with comprehensive support for your holistic well-being and many opportunities to learn new skills, develop as a leader, and grow your career.

Here, your voice and ideas matter, your work makes an impact, and together, you will help us define the future of American Express.

How will you make an impact in this role?

Serve as the primary legal advisor on AML/CTF, sanctions, and anti-corruption matters across all lines of business in the European Union. Key business areas relevant to this role include card issuing, merchant acquiring, 3-party card schemes and outsourcing. Work closely with key stakeholders in the business, Compliance, Operational Excellence, Government Affairs and lawyers in GCO.  Draft or review correspondence and responses to external bodies and regulators; participate in trade association, consultation processes and support lobbying efforts. Advise on regulatory interactions, support successful management of regulatory examinations and requests; conduct regulatory horizon scanning.   Interpret new and existing regulations and guidance; apply requirements to new/existing products. Collaborate with stakeholders to determine compliance strategies and internal policies; help manage responses to potential breaches.  Handle complex cross-border and multi-regional matters requiring strong grasp of legal frameworks and commercial pragmatism.   Provide briefings to senior management; communicate clearly in writing and confidently participate in meetings.  Comfortably navigate the organization to understand processes; work closely with Compliance and Operational Excellence teams to critically assess and identify AML program enhancements.  Instruct and manage outside counsel and associated budgets. Demonstrate sound judgment in grey areas where law and interpretations may be unclear; understand regulatory perspectives.   Contribute actively to the Global Financial Crimes Centre of Excellence through agenda setting, organizing and presenting briefings to global stakeholders, leading knowledge sharing initiatives including information share sessions, delivering internal training, defining and sharing best practices in areas of financial crimes. This role will report to the Global Financial Crimes lead lawyer in the US. This role requires effective collaboration with regional heads, senior lawyers, subject matter experts and line of business lawyers based in International (outside of the US), as well as legal colleagues in the US. The success of this position is dependent on building strong working relationships and coordinating seamlessly across these global legal teams.  

Minimum Qualifications

Qualified lawyer Minimum 8 years of relevant work experience (PQE) Qualified to practice law in an EU jurisdiction (preferably Spain, France, Italy, Sweden, or Germany) and/or UK.  Significant experience in a law firm and/or in-house corporate legal environment, ideally with a considerable body of relevant AML experience. Experience advising on AML, CTF and financial crime regulation. Familiarity with card payments would be an advantage.  Fluent in English. Intellectually strong with sound judgment. Solid communication and influencing skills, comfortable speaking up. Able to work autonomously and collaborate effectively. 

We back you with benefits that support your holistic well-being so you can be and deliver your best. This means caring for you and your loved ones' physical, financial, and mental health, as well as providing the flexibility you need to thrive personally and professionally:

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 working model with hybrid, onsite or virtual arrangements depending on role and business need 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

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