Assistant General Counsel

About the Role:

Grade Level (for internal use): 13

The Business: S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI) is the largest global resource for essential index‑based concepts, data and research, and home to iconic financial market indicators, such as the S&P 500® and the Dow Jones Industrial Average®. More assets are invested in products based on our indices than products based on indices from any other provider in the world. Since Charles Dow invented the first index in 1884, S&P DJI has been innovating and developing indices across the spectrum of asset classes, helping to define the way investors measure and trade the markets.

The Team: Join a Best‑In‑Class Global Legal, Compliance, Risk & Government Affairs Team committed to delivering timely, practical and actionable advice to advance our business and safeguard our reputation, people and assets. We work with some of the world’s largest asset managers, banks, and financial institutions. Our legal team sits at the heart of the business, supporting a fast‑moving and technically complex operating environment. The position reports to the Associate General Counsel and Managing Director EMEA.

The team provides legal support to the S&P DJI business, including: legal advice and support to internal clients; drafting, reviewing and negotiating contracts and other legal documents related to licensing indices for use with investment products (including, without limitation, banks and insurance products), data licensing, joint marketing and co‑development collaborations, consulting agreements; review of marketing material; legal research; management and coordination of external legal resources; and training to employees on legal issues and contracting procedures.

We are looking for a commercially minded and highly organised legal counsel to join our in‑house legal team. This is a broad, hands‑on role covering the full spectrum of legal work arising in a regulated financial data and index business — from complex commercial and partnership contracts and intellectual property matters through to regulatory advice, corporate governance and dispute management. The successful candidate will work closely with senior stakeholders across the business and will be expected to work with a high degree of autonomy.

What’s In It For You

• You will work in a dynamic, global, client‑facing (both internal and external) environment and will have the opportunity to work independently and be part of a legal team that provides crucial support to the organisation.
• Excellent opportunities for growth and to work on a broad range of legal matters spanning regulatory, commercial, and governance disciplines.
• Involvement in commercial transactions, ad‑hoc business projects, as well as assisting with research, process review and innovation, and information review and analysis.

Impact

• Serve as a trusted legal adviser to product, innovation, and commercial teams.
• Help shape legal frameworks for index construction and licensing across the financial markets.
• Provide legal advice on obligations arising under European and UK financial regulations, including the EU and UK Benchmarks Regulation (BMR), UCITS, MiFID II, DORA, GDPR, and related regulatory frameworks.
• Support governance documentation, regulatory submissions, and engagement with supervisory authorities, including the FCA and relevant EU National Competent Authorities and ESMA.
• Anticipate regulatory and legal developments affecting the index business and translate them into actionable business guidance.

Responsibilities

• Partnering with business stakeholders to align product and commercial strategy, and drafting, reviewing, and negotiating a wide variety of commercial agreements on matters focusing on licensing indices for use with financial products (including insurance and bank hedging OTC products), index data subscription and distribution, inbound data and technology, custom calculation services, web‑based services, and consulting relationships.
• Advising on the creation and publication of thought leadership and marketing materials, factoring in various financial regulations that impact directly or indirectly the business strategy.
• Providing regulatory interpretation and guidance to the business on UK and European financial regulations, including the Benchmarks Regulation (BMR), UCITS, MiFID II, DORA, and GDPR, and monitoring regulatory developments across these frameworks.
• Supporting interaction and engagement with relevant policy and supervisory teams, including responding to regulatory consultations, preparing submissions, and liaising with the FCA, ESMA, and other applicable regulators.
• Supporting sales and other business teams including shared services groups across the UK, Europe, and other regions globally, advising them on legal risk, and providing business‑oriented legal solutions, including issues related to complex index licensing, insurance and bank hedging OTC products.
• Advising on corporate governance matters, including board and committee support, governance frameworks, corporate secretarial matters, and entity management.
• Collaborating with the S&P DJI Legal Team to provide strategic and legal input on matters across different business areas.
• Advising Compliance on the creation, maintenance and implementation of applicable policies and procedures (e.g., confidentiality, insider trading, and compliance).
• Supporting requests for proposal (RFPs), customer due diligence/risk questionnaires and audits.
• Special projects as assigned by manager.

What We’re Looking For:

Basic Required Qualifications

• Qualified solicitor or barrister in England and Wales, or equivalent qualification in a European jurisdiction (e.g., Irish, Dutch, German, or French qualified lawyer). Candidates with dual qualifications are particularly welcome.
• 4–7 years’ post‑qualification legal experience, including meaningful in‑house experience within a financial services institution (e.g., asset manager, bank, index provider, exchange, or financial data firm).
• Strong commercial contracts background, with demonstrable experience negotiating and drafting complex agreements.
• Solid understanding of UK and/or European financial services regulation, including experience with one or more of the following: the EU and UK Benchmarks Regulation (BMR), UCITS, and MiFID II/MiFIR.
• Experience of regulatory interpretation and the ability to provide clear, practical guidance to business stakeholders on regulatory obligations and developments.
• Experience of, or demonstrable willingness to engage with, policy and supervisory teams (e.g., the FCA, ESMA, or EU National Competent Authorities).
• Familiarity with data licensing, intellectual property principles, and business technology.
• Excellent drafting and negotiating skills.
• Clear, confident communicator, able to translate complex legal issues for non‑legal stakeholders.
• Highly organised, with the ability to manage a high‑volume and varied workload in complex environments with sound judgment and adaptability.
• Ability to recognise and accommodate internal and external client needs while adequately protecting S&P DJI’s interests and mitigating liability risk.
• Comfortable operating across multiple jurisdictions and legal systems.

Additional Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in corporate governance, including board and committee support, entity management, and governance frameworks.
• Familiarity with DORA, GDPR, and other pan‑European regulatory frameworks relevant to financial data and index providers.
• Experience with insurance‑linked or structured products.
• Prior experience working in or advising index providers, exchanges, or benchmark administrators.

Return to Work

Have you taken time out for caring responsibilities and are now looking to return to work? As part of our Return to Work initiative, Restart, we are encouraging enthusiastic and talented returners to apply, and will actively support your return to the workplace.

Equal Opportunity Employer

S&P Global is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to race/ethnicity, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, marital status, military veteran status, unemployment status, or any other status protected by law. Only electronic job submissions will be considered for employment.

If you need an accommodation during the application process due to a disability, please send an email to: EEO.Compliance@spglobal.com and your request will be forwarded to the appropriate person.

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