Compliance and Licensing Paralegal

Prodigy Finance - who are we?

Founded in 2007, Prodigy Finance is an international student lender that has helped 45,000+ international master's students attend the world’s top universities. To date, Prodigy has disbursed over $2.3 billion in funding to students from more than 120 countries.

Prodigy Finance is fueled by impact investors and global financial institutions who invest in tomorrow's leaders while earning a financial and social return. Prodigy’s borderless lending model enables students to apply for an educational loan based on their future earning potential and not just their current circumstances and credit history.

Prodigy Finance is a UK-based and UK FCA-regulated financial services provider, with offices in both London and Cape Town, and teams spread across the world.

What will you do in the role?

We are looking for an experienced and self-motivated legal professional (junior lawyer, compliance professional or qualified paralegal) to assist Prodigy Finance’s in-house Legal & Compliance Team. This person will be responsible for managing and coordinating a number of legal and compliance administrative and logistical functions. The role is based in Cape Town, although Prodigy Finance’s Legal & Compliance Team is spread across Cape Town and London. The candidate will report to the Head of Legal  and Compliance. This is a remote working position, however the successful candidate will be expected to come into the Cape Town office (situated in the city bowl) at least once a week.

What are some of the responsibilities of this role?

General:

Manage the systems that support the Legal & Compliance Team including workflow processes, diary systems and management of meetings

Manage the document and information systems including the contract database, document storage systems, electronic archiving and knowledge database

General administration, including arranging for signing and notarisation of documents

US Licensing

New license applications - Assist the team to collate all information and documents to prepare for the applications and address queries and additional requirements of US state regulators 

Renewal of licenses  - Keep track of when and how renewals should be done, record the requirements for the renewals, assist the team to prepare and submit the renewal applications, track the approval process and file the renewal certificates and confirmations

Reporting - Keep track of when and how periodic reporting should be done, record the requirements for each report including sourcing the relevant forms and assist the team to complete and submit the reports

Examinations - Assist the team to source and collate the information & documents requested by the US state regulators, prepare presentations (when required) and address any follow-up queries

Manage communications and enquiries with state regulators and licensing vendors

Compliance

Compliance Training - develop training with the help of AI on various compliance topics and internal compliance policies, manage the roll-out of training and prepare reports.

Suspicious transactions - daily monitoring and investigation of identified transactions, and  preparing of escalation and management reports.  

PEP and sanctions screening - daily monitoring and investigation of positive matches, escalation of high risk cases,  and preparation of reporting.

Data protection - data breach investigations and reporting, preparing transfer risk assessments and data process agreements.

Monitor, investigate and escalate reporting on compliance registers (e.g. whistleblowing, gifts and entertainment, conflicts and data breaches). 

FCA (UK Regulator) reporting - deadline management and assistance with compilation of reports. 

Implementation of UK and US state & federal law compliance obligations - assist the team with gap analysis, set-up workshops with business partners and monitor implementation of the compliance obligations.

Conducting compliance and legal research on various topics.

What would the ideal candidate be great at?

Excellent organisational, management and administrative skills with strong attention to detail and an ability to understand and identify any potential problems or errors.

Be proactive, innovative, able to work independently and self-motivated. 

High levels of confidence and the ability to take initiative and work autonomously in a high-performing, professional and global team.

Manage a variety of tasks and functions concurrently.

Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, both verbal and written, with a proven ability to draft exceptional communications. 

A strong team player who has a desire to excel, provide consistent feedback and updates on matters and make an impact wherever they can.  

Excellent research and analytical skills to digest and summarise legislation and regulations.

Thrive on high-energy work with the ability to remain calm under pressure and work to tight deadlines.

Demonstrate an ability to multitask and quickly adapt to changing circumstances and priorities.

IT proficient with an excellent understanding of Google Docs Editors Suite (Google Docs, Slides and Sheets) and MS Office and AI tools (Gemini and ChatGPT).

Qualifications and experience

Tertiary level / post matric qualification is required in the form of a paralegal qualification, compliance qualification, law degree or other suitable qualification.

Fluent in English and with strong verbal and writing skills.

Minimum of 3 years experience as a paralegal, compliance professional or junior lawyer at an established financial institution, fintech business or law firm.

Prodigy Finance benefits

Competitive remuneration package

Company contribution to healthcare/medical aid scheme

Remote / hybrid working

Generous leave policy (24 days annual leave + 1 day for every year worked to a max of 29 days, birthday leave, 6 months’ primary caregiver / 2 months’ secondary caregiver parental leave, 4 weeks sabbatical leave after 5 years of continuous service)