Head of Legal (EU & GCC)

Cardoo is an international Series A fintech startup reinventing the rental industry. We help partners increase margins and conversion, while giving customers a smooth, modern deposit-free experience.

Our mission is simple: Replace outdated systems like deposits with smart, embedded infrastructure — and unlock a new standard of trust, speed, and access across the global rental economy. Cardoo issues guarantees/sureties that cover a renter’s obligations, letting partners unlock more bookings with less friction. We operate across the EU and GCC, serving customers from ~50 countries and rental partners in 10–15, and scaling toward 5–10x growth over the next 18 months.

This is your chance to join early and shape what could become a category-defining company (maybe even a future unicorn!) from the inside.

The role:

You’ll be our first in-house legal leader, reporting to a co-founder.Your goal is to enable fast, compliant growth across multiple jurisdictions. You’ll own regulatory strategy for guarantees/sureties, GDPR, high-velocity contracting (30–50 B2B agreements/month), outside counsel management, venture transactions (with external firms), and the build-out of a lightweight debt-recovery playbook for individual debtors.

What you’ll do:

• Regulatory (EU & GCC): Map requirements around guarantees/sureties; define where we can operate now, where we mitigate, and where we must not. Orchestrate local counsel and deliver clear, business-first guidance.
• GDPR & data: Stand up and maintain core privacy artifacts (ROPA, DPIA, TIAs, SCC/IDTA) and practical policies for cross-border transfers.
• Contracts at scale: Own and streamline a 30–50/month B2B flow with templates, playbooks, redline guardrails, and crisp SLAs.
• Venture & corporate: Coordinate external counsel on financings (e.g., SAFEs/convertibles/SPA), cap table hygiene, ESOP docs, and data room standards.
• Debt recovery: Launch a repeatable approach for individuals (starting with UK, UAE, KSA, EU) via a small network of local firms/collectors.
• Legal ops & team: Put in simple tooling (e-signature, task tracking), then hire 1 junior/paralegal once the system is humming.

What success looks like (first 6 months):

• Clear EU/GCC regulatory map with a 12–18-month path of actions/mitigations.
• Contract factory live: templates + review SLA that shortens deal cycles.
• GDPR baseline in place with key transfers documented and governed.
• Recovery pilots launched in 2 jurisdictions with defined metrics.

What you bring:

• 5+ years PQE across commercial/regulatory; mix of BigLaw and in-house at fintech/insurtech or adjacent (credit/guarantees/risk products).
• Hands-on multi-jurisdiction experience managing local counsel (EU plus at least one of UAE/KSA/UK).
• Strong GDPR execution (DPIA/TIA/SCC/IDTA).
• Proven ability to industrialize contracting for speed and quality.
• Pragmatic, solution-oriented judgment: you sort risks into ship / ship with seatbelt / hard stop—and bring options, not just flags.
• English C1. Russian a plus.

What we offer:

• Full-time, high-impact role — core to the company’s success, not advisory
• Global context — multi-market operation across MENA, Europe, LatAm, and Asia
• Preferred location: Limassol preferred (employment in Cyprus) — but we’re open to exceptional remote candidates or in Dubai

This is a rare chance to join early, help define a global company from within, and build with purpose and velocity.