Our Purpose
Mastercard powers economies and empowers people in 200+ countries and territories worldwide. Together with our customers, we’re helping build a sustainable economy where everyone can prosper. We support a wide range of digital payments choices, making transactions secure, simple, smart and accessible. Our technology and innovation, partnerships and networks combine to deliver a unique set of products and services that help people, businesses and governments realize their greatest potential.
Title and Summary
Senior Counsel, Regulatory & Privacy
Overview
Mastercard is seeking an experienced and commercially minded Senior Counsel, Regulatory & Privacy to serve as a trusted legal and regulatory advisor to Mastercard Payment Services Norway and Mastercard Payment Services Infrastructure Norway (collectively MPS Norway).
This role offers a unique opportunity to support one of Norway's most critical financial market infrastructures. At the centre of the role is the Norwegian Interbank Clearing System (NICS), a cornerstone of Norway's payment ecosystem that enables the secure and efficient movement of money between banks, businesses, and individuals across the country. In addition, MPS Norway delivers the technology infrastructure for some of the most widely used payments solutions in Norway, including Avtalegiro and E-faktura.
The successful candidate will provide strategic advice on regulatory, privacy, data governance, operational resilience, and payment systems matters, helping ensure Mastercard continues to meet its regulatory obligations while supporting innovation and business growth.
You will work closely with business stakeholders, colleagues across Mastercard's Legal, Regulatory, Privacy, Compliance, Risk, Product, and Technology teams, as well as external regulators and industry participants. The role also forms part of Mastercard's global Regulatory & Privacy organisation, a team of specialists supporting regulatory engagement and compliance across more than 210 countries and territories.
This position is based in Oslo, Norway, with an expectation of regular office attendance (currently a minimum of three days per week on average).
The role reports to the Senior Counsel, Regulatory, MPS, based in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Why Join Mastercard?
This is an opportunity to:
• Play a key role in supporting Norway's critical national payments infrastructure.
• Advise on complex and evolving areas of law and regulation, including payments, privacy, operational resilience, technology risk, and AI governance.
• Engage with regulators, policymakers, and senior business leaders.
• Influence strategic decisions within one of the world's leading payments technology companies.
• Collaborate with a global network of legal, privacy, and regulatory professionals across multiple jurisdictions.
• Work at the intersection of regulation, technology, and innovation in a fast-evolving industry.
The Role
Privacy, Data Governance & Operational Resilience
• Provide legal and regulatory support on matters relating to:
o Privacy and data protection
o Payment data governance
o Data sovereignty and localisation requirements
o Artificial intelligence and emerging technology regulation
Regulatory Advisory
• Serve as a trusted advisor to business leaders on regulatory developments affecting payment systems, financial services, technology infrastructure, privacy, and data governance.
• Analyse new regulatory requirements and assess their impact on Mastercard's products, services, operations, and control environment.
• Provide practical, risk-based guidance on the implementation of regulatory change, including changes to processes, controls, governance, and business models.
• Support MPS Norway in relation to local national security regulation and related requirements applicable to critical infrastructure, including the EU Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA).
Commercial & Product Support
• Partner with commercial and product teams to support strategic initiatives, product launches, and customer engagements.
• Provide regulatory and privacy advice in relation to commercial contracts, customer arrangements, and business opportunities.
• Support contract drafting, review, and negotiation as required.
Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Work closely with Mastercard Payment Services teams across Norway, Denmark, and the wider organisation.
• Partner with Legal, Compliance, Risk, Privacy, Technology, Security, and Product functions to ensure consistent and coordinated regulatory support.
• Manage external counsel where appropriate and oversee the delivery of high-quality legal advice.
• Contribute to the ongoing development of Mastercard's Regulatory & Privacy function in Europe and globally.
All About You
Required Experience & Qualifications
• Qualified lawyer with a law degree and the right to practise in Norway or a comparable legal qualification.
• Post-qualification experience gained within a leading law firm and/or in-house legal department.
• Fluent Norwegian and English, both written and spoken.
• Familiarity with privacy and data protection frameworks.
Preferred Experience
• Understanding of financial services regulation, e.g. operational resilience, outsourcing, technology risk, and third-party risk management requirements.
• Experience supporting commercial contracting and product launch activities.
Skills & Capabilities
• Strong strategic thinking combined with a pragmatic, commercial approach to problem solving.
• Excellent analytical, drafting, communication, and stakeholder management skills.
• Strong project management skills, including the ability to lead regulatory initiatives involving multiple stakeholders.
• Ability to manage competing priorities and work effectively in a fast-paced, evolving environment.
• Collaborative and relationship-oriented, with the confidence to work independently and exercise sound judgement on matters of significant importance.
Corporate Security Responsibility
All activities involving access to Mastercard assets, information, and networks comes with an inherent risk to the organization and, therefore, it is expected that every person working for, or on behalf of, Mastercard is responsible for information security and must:
Abide by Mastercard’s security policies and practices;
Ensure the confidentiality and integrity of the information being accessed;
Report any suspected information security violation or breach, and
Complete all periodic mandatory security trainings in accordance with Mastercard’s guidelines.