Director of Legal (Product & Regulatory)

Join KOHO, a fast-growing fintech company, as the Director of Legal - Product and Regulatory. In this role, you will lead legal support for product development and regulatory strategy, working closely with various teams to provide practical legal advice that enables innovation while maintaining strong regulatory standards. You will also play a key role in establishing and operationalizing a regulated bank, supporting engagement with regulators, and building scalable legal and regulatory processes. This position offers a range of benefits, including stock options, generous PTO, and a remote work option.

• Assurer le soutien juridique pour le développement de produits et la stratégie réglementaire de KOHO, en travaillant en étroite collaboration avec les équipes de produit, de technologie, de marketing, de risque et de conformité.
• Jouer un rôle clé dans l'établissement et l'opérationnalisation d'une banque réglementée, y compris le soutien à l'engagement avec les régulateurs tels que l'OSFI, la FCAC et la Banque du Canada.
• Aider à la conception et au lancement de nouveaux produits et fonctionnalités financières, en identifiant les risques réglementaires tôt et en aidant les équipes à construire des solutions conformes.

• This role is ideal for a lawyer who enjoys rolling up the sleeves and building new things, solving complex regulatory questions, and taking ownership of outcomes in a fast-moving, flat organization
• Demonstrated ability to operate with significant autonomy and deliver practical, business-oriented legal advice to senior stakeholders
• 10+ years of post-call experience as a lawyer practicing in Canada (in-house and/or at a law firm), with substantial in-house experience
• Direct experience advising on the launch of retail banking products, as well as related financial services regulation, banking law, and consumer protection frameworks
• A track record of leading complex legal or regulatory initiatives with minimal oversight
• Technically curious: You’re excited by technology and AI and look for ways to use them to make legal work and business processes more effective
• A builder: You don’t just solve the problem in front of you. You also look for ways to turn recurring problems into better processes, playbooks, tools, and systems
• Collaborative and influential: You build strong relationships with Product, Compliance, Risk, and other teams and can bring people along without relying on hierarchy or formal authority
• High-agency and entrepreneurial: You take ownership, figure things out, and move problems forward without waiting for perfect instructions or established processes
• Comfortable with ambiguity and speed: You can make progress with incomplete information, prioritize effectively, and operate calmly when the roadmap changes
• Curious and solutions-oriented: You enjoy getting into the weeds of how products and technology actually work, asking the right questions, and finding creative paths through ambiguity
• Low-ego, high self-awareness: You’re confident in your judgment but genuinely open to being challenged, changing your mind, and learning from others
• Commercial and pragmatic: You understand that Legal’s job is to help the business achieve its goals while making smart, risk-calibrated decisions (not simply identify what could go wrong)
• Experience working at both a large bank and a smaller tech startup or fintech, ideally through a bank charter or launch process
• Lobbying or government relations experience
• Experience engaging directly with regulators
• Experience mentoring or managing junior legal counsel
• Familiarity with the RPAA and the Financial Consumer Protection Framework (FCPF)
• AML advisory experience at a bank
• Experience implementing privacy laws
• Fluent in French