Description:

Job Description:
Work Location Options:Hybrid

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.

Director & Counsel – Amex Digital Labs

Where great legal minds influence business strategy.

Our mission is to protect and strengthen American Express through legal expertise and strategic advice that helps our business partners manage risk, identify opportunities, and deliver on the company's promise of exceptional products and services. Given the dynamic nature of the global payments industry and the valued partnership between our team and the business, we see it as imperative to attract and develop talented people by:
  • Providing rich work experiences and opportunities for professional development
  • Recognizing and rewarding those who drive and deliver results
  • Respecting and valuing diversity, integrity, and personal accountability

The U.S. Consumer, Digital Labs and Strategic Partnerships team of the General Counsel's Organization is seeking a Director & Counsel attorney to provide legal and strategic counsel to the Digital Labs Agentic Strategy & Partnerships team within Amex Digital Labs, a team focused on leading the strategy and execution of America Express' initiatives, partnerships and products in agentic commerce. This is a role that requires intensive partnership with business colleagues and other stakeholders.

Role & Responsibilities:
Help propel your team and its business partners to success.

Here's just some of what you'll do in this role:
  • Provide primary legal and strategic support to the Digital Labs team leading the evaluation and execution of the enterprise agentic commerce strategy
  • Be a thought leader on the evolving agentic and payments landscapes and help evolve the enterprise position on legal issues presented by agentic commerce, including refinement of enterprise policies and procedures
  • Counsel on the development of innovative products based on the enterprise agentic commerce strategy, working within a highly seasoned and collaborative team of lawyers and legal managers
  • Negotiate, draft, and provide ongoing support of agreements with agentic partners, working in close collaboration with legal and business colleagues
  • Partner closely with business colleagues to support the exploration and evaluation of potential partnership integrations and pilots, understand their concerns and challenges, and use your creativity and practical problem solving to quickly action solutions
  • Provide guidance on a broad range of legal, strategic, risk and policy matters, as well as relationship management and operational process questions, all within a dynamic business and regulatory environment
  • Engage in ongoing cross-functional collaboration to address privacy, consumer protection, compliance, bank regulatory, intellectual property, data security, data strategy and other issues to harness relevant expertise and ensure maximally effective support across all matters
  • Help identify and implement process improvements to streamline contracting and related business operations and to reduce operational and legal/regulatory risk
  • Engage in strategic projects to advance cutting-edge business opportunities and help mitigate strategic threats
  • Develop strategic partnerships across various business unit teams and control groups through relationship-building and effective communication

Are you ready for the challenge?

Minimum Qualifications:
  • Bachelor's degree & J.D.
  • Admitted to New York Bar or eligibility to do so
  • 6+ years of relevant legal experience in a law firm and/or in-house corporate legal environment
  • Extensive experience drafting, negotiating and reviewing complex commercial agreements
  • Substantial experience advising on new product development

Preferred Qualifications:
  • Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
  • Experience with (or strong interest in) digital ecosystems, data and technologies (including generative AI)
  • Passion for generating creative and innovative solutions to novel issues
  • Proven ability to communicate complex issues clearly and persuasively, in both written and oral format
  • Excellent collaboration, interpersonal and teamwork skills; ability to build relationships and partner with others to drive results
  • Capacity to be agile and pivot appropriately when presented with new information or evolving circumstances
  • Ability to understand and integrate details of the business operational environment in providing legal/policy advice
  • Ability to interact effectively at all levels of the organization and with external constituencies, and to drive consensus and exert influence in a cross-functional environment
  • Self-motivated, high level of personal energy and commitment
  • Strong leadership skills and strong customer focus

Salary Range: $144,250.00 to $256,250.00 annually + bonus + equity (if applicable) + benefits

The above represents the expected salary range for this job requisition. Ultimately, in determining your pay, we'll consider your location, experience, and other job-related factors.

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
  • 6% Company Match on retirement savings plan
  • Free financial coaching and financial well-being support
  • Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, life insurance, and disability benefits
  • Flexible working model with hybrid, onsite or virtual arrangements depending on role and business need
  • 20+ weeks paid parental leave for all parents, regardless of gender, offered for pregnancy, adoption or surrogacy
  • 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
 
For a full list of Team Amex benefits, visit our Colleague Benefits Site. (https://www.americanexpress.com/en-us/colleagues/benefits)

American Express is an equal opportunity employer and makes employment decisions without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, disability status, age, or any other status protected by law. American Express will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with arrest or conviction records, in accordance with the requirements of applicable state and local laws, including, but not limited to, the California Fair Chance Act, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, and the City of Los Angeles' Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance. For positions covered by federal and/or state banking regulations, American Express will comply with such regulations as it relates to the consideration of applicants with criminal convictions.

We back our colleagues with the support they need to thrive, professionally and personally. That's why we have Amex Flex, our enterprise working model that provides greater flexibility to colleagues while ensuring we preserve the important aspects of our unique in-person culture. Depending on role and business needs, colleagues will either work onsite, in a hybrid model (combination of in-office and virtual days) or fully virtually.

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Employment eligibility to work with American Express in the United States is required as the company will not pursue visa sponsorship for these positions.