Legal Assistant Paralegal at Prodigy Finance

Job description

Why this is an amazing opportunity

This role is perfect for a legal support professional who thrives in a complex environment, who wants to supercharge their career by experiencing first-hand what it is like to be part of an energetic, extremely fast growing company.

The sense of impact and reward will be huge. You will help to build a business which makes a very real difference in the world. Be a part of delivering socially responsible financial services to tomorrow’s leaders; make it possible for students from more than 100 countries to obtain the finances to fulfil their dream of studying at the world’s top universities and schools.

We are a non-hierarchical team; this means that you are going to get exposure to all aspects of our business immediately. You’ll own the role and its responsibilities and will work closely with the broader team. The opportunity to gain as much accountability as you can handle, and to have a huge influence on scaling the company, is completely in your hands.

Our team is very international and very sociable; you will interact with stakeholders in the business around the world on a regular basis. Being an organisation that’s passionate about education, we place a high value on learning and personal growth.

One of our goals is to build one of the top FinTech teams and cultures anywhere in the world. This means putting a lot of time into ensuring we only hire people with exceptional potential, and creating the best working environment possible. If you want to work somewhere where you're learning from some of the best brains in Fintech, this would be a good fit.

Why join Prodigy Finance

• Be a part of a pioneering global growth company
• Experience the excitement and learn from being part of an incredibly fast-growing young company. No kidding - exponential growth. Happening right now
• Be pivotal in scaling the business by identifying smart solutions and partners with tech at the heart of it
• Enjoy the agility and flexibility offered by a startup culture. A sociable, relaxed and friendly work environment (with a serious coffee culture where you can wear shorts to work)
• We will help you make your mark. Make a real impact on the business and experience a steep learning curve with huge opportunities to grow and develop
• Gain an inside perspective on the functioning of a venture-backed Fintech startup, backed by top VCs, learn day-to-day management and build functional expertise
• Build a platform that helps to make a very real difference in the world

What you will do in the role

As our Legal Assistant/Paralegal in our Legal Team, you will assist with enforcing our legal collection processes, and providing legal and administration support to General Counsel.

Specific responsibilities include:

• Legal enforcement process:
• Attend to the administration of the legal enforcement process by working closely with our Collections Team
• Ensure enforcement folders are populated with the requirement information and documentation for all stages
• Recordkeeping for all correspondence with our borrowers, law firms and tracing agencies
• Recordkeeping of credit risk and operational committee decisions regarding enforcement matters
• Prepare reports for credit risk and operational committee decisions
• Record and prepare minutes for monthly meeting to discuss movements thought the enforcement stages
• Respond to requests for information from law firms
• Monitor external legal costs against agreed capped fees
• Keep the legal enforcement database up to date, in respect of status updates, external legal fees and other costs
• Prepare reports for General Counsel to decide on the next steps in the enforcement stages
• Manage reports with tracing firms and conduct social media and desktop searches to trace and confirm location of delinquent borrowers
• General:
• Conduct legal, factual and records research in respect of all enforcement files.
• Organise and analyse information
• Cross-check and validate information
• Prepare written reports and correspondence
• Check and edit legal forms and documents for accuracy
• Build and maintain databases and organise and track case files
• Create, maintain and organise a legal library for all legal options, guidance and other responses from external legal resources, pertaining to enforcement
• Assist the Legal Team with legal enforcement projects – attending to the administration, management and setting up of meetings, etc.

What you need to be great at

• Strong research and analytical skills
• Aptitude and preference for high administrative element
• Problem solving aptitude and critical thinking ability
• Highly organised, able to prioritise and anticipate future obstacles
• Excellent communication skills
• Stress tolerant and calm under pressure
• Meticulous attention to detail and accuracy
• High degree of confidentiality
• Strong time management skills
• Ability to work independently

Who we are looking for; track record must haves

• Certificate program/diploma in paralegal studies, with a preference for specialisation in litigation or collections
• Experience in litigation experience and thorough knowledge of legal enforcement processes
• Experience working within a financial services regulatory environment
• Broad knowledge of legal research techniques, legal terminology and legal communication principles and practices
• Fluent in English
• Computer literate and highly proficient on MS Excel, Word and Outlook

Experience that would be nice to have (but we’ll trade off if everything else fits)

• Law qualification preferred or studying toward such a degree
• Fintech experience
• Startup experience. Sometimes the earth moves beneath your feet at Prodigy Finance so you've got to be comfortable with ambiguity, able to wear lots of hats, and adapt easily as we continue to grow