[Hiring] General Counsel @Quidax Technologies Ltd

Role Description

As our General Counsel, you'll own legal and regulatory at Quidax. You'll keep us on the right side of the law, and help us move faster because of it, not in spite of it. You'll make sure we always know what the rules are, what's changing, and what it means for us.

• Own the legal side of every market we are in and will enter: licences, entities and local counsel.
• Report to the COO, with direct access to the CEO and the Board.

Why This Role Is Compelling

• Lead Legal at a licensed, eight-year-old crypto company that regulators already take seriously.
• Help shape how crypto gets regulated in Africa, not just react to it.
• Lead the legal and regulatory side of market entry.
• Direct line to the CEO and the Board on the calls that matter.
• A leadership team that sees Legal as a partner in building the business.

What You'll Be Owning

• Regulatory Strategy, Licensing and Market Entry
  • Lead licence applications, renewals and variations with the SEC, the CBN and other regulators.
  • Lead the legal and regulatory workstreams for new markets: licensing, entity setup, and choosing and managing local counsel.
  • Lead our response to new regulations for non-security virtual assets.
  • Own sandbox applications, no-objection requests and licensing-related correspondence.
  • Track new laws, regulations and circulars, and tell the business what they mean in plain English.
  • Represent Quidax in regulatory consultations, industry associations, and policy and government engagement.
  • Assess what each change means for Quidax, and brief leadership, Compliance and the teams affected.
  • Keep a regulatory obligations register.
  • Advise on cross-border operations and intercompany arrangements across the group.
• Commercial and Product Counsel
  • Draft, review and negotiate our commercial agreements.
  • Make sure third-party arrangements meet regulatory outsourcing and partnership rules.
  • Work with Product to build new crypto products that are compliant from day one.
  • Support Partnerships, Sales on deals and structuring new business lines.
  • Review terms of use, risk disclosures, customer communications and marketing materials.
• Law Enforcement, Disputes and Litigation
  • Advise on court orders, freezing orders, garnishee proceedings and information disclosure.
  • Review and respond to requests from the EFCC, NFIU, Nigeria Police Force, courts and foreign agencies.
  • Manage external counsel on all litigation, and keep the litigation register current.
  • Advise on chargebacks, account freezes, wrong-recipient transfers and fraud recovery.
  • Support Customer and Merchant Success on escalated customer complaints.
• Partnership with Compliance
  • Work with Compliance on Policy drafting and reviews.
  • Advise on escalated cases, including suspicious activity, sanctioned-jurisdiction exposure, frozen funds and restricted accounts.
  • Support responses to regulatory examinations and remediation plans.
• Data Protection
  • Advise on compliance with the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 and NDPC requirements.
  • Advise on data processing agreements, cross-border data transfers and data subject requests.
• Corporate Governance and Company Secretarial
  • Advise on corporate structure for Quidax and its affiliates.
  • Make sure registry filings, statutory registers and corporate records stay accurate and on time across every entity.
  • Support Board governance.
• Tax and Finance Support
  • Work with Finance on tax compliance, transaction reporting and the tax treatment of our operations.
  • Manage specialist tax advisers where needed.
• Leading the Legal Function
  • Own the legal budget and external counsel spend.
  • Keep contract templates, the contract playbook, the contract repository and the legal knowledge base in shape.
  • Train our people on the legal and regulatory things they need to know.
  • Build and lead the Legal team as Quidax grows.

The Biggest Challenge You'll Tackle

• Crypto regulation in Africa moves fast and doesn't always move clearly.
• Expansion plans are real, but they're still taking shape.
• You’ll be the most senior lawyer in the room, working alongside a Legal Counsel and an Associate.
• Law enforcement requests don't book meetings.
• You'll need to say "here's how we can do it" far more often than "we can't".

Qualifications

• Senior lawyer with legal and regulatory work experience in a regulated, fast-moving business.
• Called to the Nigerian Bar, with 10+ years' post-qualification experience.
• Significant in-house experience at a fintech, payments company, VASP, bank or similar regulated business.
• Hands-on experience with licence applications across more than one African jurisdiction.
• Track record of hiring and managing local counsel across several markets.
• Deep commercial contracting experience.
• Experience handling regulator relationships, examinations and law enforcement requests.
• Solid grounding in corporate governance, entity structuring and data protection.
• Clear, plain-English writer.
• Commercially sharp and calm under pressure.

Bonus

• Experience in crypto, digital assets or blockchain.
• Experience with regulators in other African markets.
• Company secretarial qualification (e.g., ICSAN or CIS).
• Tax advisory experience.

Reporting Line

You'll report to our COO, with direct access to the CEO and the Board. You'll work closely with Compliance, Finance, Product, Partnerships, Sales and Customer and Merchant Success.

Benefits

• Competitive salary based on your skills and experience; annual merit-based reviews.
• Annual performance reviews + clear promotion cycles; recognition for great work.
• Personal development fund (courses, books, conferences); study leave.
• Fully remote forever + flexible working hours.
• Unlimited paid time off + Nigerian national holidays.
• Parental, sick, compassionate, and life event leave.
• Quarterly remote team hangouts + annual offsite; interest-based communities (SIGs).
• Regular engagement surveys.
• Health & life coverage in select locations.

Why Quidax

At Quidax, we’re building the future of finance in Africa through crypto. You’ll have the freedom to innovate, the space to lead, and the backing to build something that truly scales.