BNP Paribas is the European Union’s leading bank and a key player in international banking. We operate in 65 countries and employ 190,000 people, including nearly 145,000 in Europe. Our Group holds key positions in its three main fields of activity: Commercial, Personal Banking & Services; Investment & Protection Services; and Corporate & Institutional Banking (CIB) for corporate and institutional clients.

BNP Paribas’ CIB UK Legal department is a dynamic and integral part of the bank's activities, providing expert legal advice and support across a wide range of activities. Our teams work closely with the business on transactional, advisory and governance matters and on disputes. It is led by dedicated professionals who ensure that the bank's interests are protected while adhering to the highest legal, regulatory and ethical standards. The department is involved in various initiatives, including work experience programs, diversity and inclusion efforts, and legal technology advancements, reflecting its commitment to excellence, innovation and efficiency in the legal field.

Company purpose:

Our company purpose is to contribute to a responsible and sustainable economy by financing and advising clients according to the highest ethical standards.

Our employer promise is built around three pillars:

• Being a great place to work

• Committed to sustainability and having a positive impact

• Being dedicated to the development of our people

Business area

The EQD&CE UK Legal team is part of the Derivatives platform in Legal, primarily advising the Equity Derivatives and Cash Equity business lines within the Global Equities Global Business Line of BNPP Global Markets (“GM”). The Derivatives Platform is an organisation within Legal comprising legal professionals providing legal advice and transactional support to GM more broadly as well as other Legal teams, Functions and various stakeholders in BNP Paribas. 

The Quantitative Investment Strategies (“QIS”) business is a fast-paced and high-profile area of the Global Markets division.  QIS is responsible for the development, creation and maintenance of BNP Paribas proprietary indices across all asset classes traded within GM.  BNP Paribas proprietary indices employ a wide range of innovative methodologies, including active management, convexity, dispersion, multi asset efficient frontiers, option/swaption writing, rolling futures and stock selection including based on themes such as clean energy, climate care and other ESG topics.

Job purpose

Purpose: The EQD&CE Legal Executive supports other more senior members of the EQD&CE team in providing specialist legal and/or regulatory advice to the QIS business to ensure that the QIS business is effectively supported, and able to achieve its objectives, whilst effectively identifying and managing legal risk. 

Scope: EMEA and/or other jurisdictional advice provided ad hoc as needed

The EQD&CE Legal Executive will be involved in projects, develop relationships with stakeholders and undertake tasks focused on QIS coverage in order to assist more senior members of the team in providing high quality, timely, legal advice to the QIS business.

Key responsibilities

• Provide legal, regulatory and documentation support under the supervision of more senior lawyers within EQD&CE in relation to the range of BNP Paribas Indices administered by QIS, including in relation to tasks such as: 

• • reviewing index methodology supplements (“IMSs”), which are comprised of narrative and formulaic descriptions of the calculation and rebalancing algorithm used to determine an index and ancillary documents such as Technical Annexes; 
  • liaising with structurers and/or clients to negotiate comments on IMSs; 
  • preparing comments for internal approval committee meetings in respect of:

• • • new indices
    • events impacting the composition of an index requiring action by the committee;
    • errors occurring in the determination process,

• • attending the relevant committee meetings to determine the course of action to take, including any remediations to internal processes that may be needed;
  • assisting senior members of the team with updates to master documentation and templates when necessary; and
  • for actively managed indices, negotiating contracts with the relevant third party providing index compositions and weightings.

• Assist more senior members of the team with the provision of advice in relation to existing regulations or new regulatory developments and dealing with queries from other stakeholders in the Bank under appropriate supervision
• Assist more senior members of the team in identifying potential process improvements to ensure efficiency and effectiveness of the support provided
• Build internal working relationships with colleagues in EQD&CE to increase knowledge of relevant activities and with the wider LEGAL department

Requirements

• Non-qualified lawyer, paralegal, finance/mathematics professional, or recent graduate in law, mathematics or finance, showing an interest in and willingness to learn more about matters relating to QIS such as the algorithms and formulae used to calculate and rebalance indices, products in which indices are used, how these products are hedged and the implications when structuring an index 
• A university degree within a relevant subject as an indicator of an ability to understand and apply complex mathematical, trading and/or theoretical concepts, or equivalent relevant experience 
• Basic knowledge of derivatives considered helpful; interest in and willingness to learn about different types of derivatives and the behaviour of the various asset classes used essential.
• A strong personal focus on accuracy and attention to detail 
• Ability to prioritise and deliver workload based on shifting business needs under supervision and with guidance
• Able to conduct research in order to keep up to date with relevant legal and regulatory rules and procedures, and the internal policies of the Bank 
• Able to correctly apply knowledge in order to assist more senior members of the EQD&CE team in determining an appropriate course of action based on those guidelines or providing advice to the QIS business.
• Excellent written and oral language skills.
• Capable of working both autonomously (with senior support as required) as well as part of a cross-disciplinary team. 
• Skilled in the use of the latest Microsoft 365 software tools, with a working knowledge of Sharepoint and generative AI tools,
• Interested in developing knowledge of the Bank, the industry, and its products / services

And of course, we expect all our colleagues to embody and practice the Group values (alignment with the Bank’s strategy, commitment, work ethic, integrity and Code of Conduct).

A bit more about why you should join us

1. We’re a great place to work

We aim for optimal work/life balance (depending on role, this includes hybrid working, flexible working and agile)

We are proud of our award-winning flexible benefits and health & wellbeing strategy. Our flexible benefits include:

• Generous holiday allowance of at least 26 days (plus bank holidays) – with option to buy and sell holidays.

• Valuable financial plans – a 12% non-contributory pension which has been moved to sustainable investments*, life assurance*, income protection and personal accident insurance.

• Extensive wellbeing and mental health offering – one of the most advanced private medical schemes in the UK, dental cover, wellbeing app, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy support, subsidised gym memberships, bespoke health assessments including genetic testing, Private GP (including digital GP services to parents of employees), Employee Assistance Programme, menopause & fertility support (we are an accredited Menopause Friendly Employer), neurodiversity assessment and support.

• Key onsite services and facilities in Scotland – include free monthly massage and yoga, mental health first aiders and seasonal flu vouchers.

• Plus, emergency back-up care for dependants, green car leasing, season ticket loan, and a range of other benefits.

* Subject to relevant caps

2. As the eurozone’s largest bank, we are committed to having a positive impact in the world.

For example, we are committed to Net Zero in all of our financing and investment portfolios by 2050. By 2030, 80% of our energy production financing will be low carbon.

But impact for us means more than climate. It means empowering our people every day. Everyone gets four volunteering days each year - in 2023, we achieved over 18,000 hours of volunteering across the UK and reaching over 4,500 young people.

3. We believe in our people

We support our people to develop skills to adapt to the ever-evolving world of work and to prepare for the jobs of today and tomorrow. We do this through a comprehensive training offering, talent programmes, mentoring, career days and inhouse career tools.

We are proud of the number of our people who progress and secure new roles internally. In fact, in 2023, nearly half of our positions in UK CIB were filled internally.

Investing in our people also means we have a collaborative and inclusive culture:

• Direct feedback from our people shows that our internal culture sets us apart from our industry peers.

• Each year, nearly 30,000 employees globally are involved in professional networks that play an active role in promoting Diversity and Inclusion within the Group. These include our:

Pride Network, Ability Network (which supports disabled employees), MixCity (gender equality network), Women in Global Markets, Women in Global Banking, Women in IT, Diversity Equity & Inclusion in Technology, Early Careers Network, Multicultural Network and Parents & Carers Network.

Equal opportunities

BNP Paribas is committed to providing a work environment that fosters diversity, inclusion, and equal employment opportunity without regard to age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership status, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation, or any other legally protected status.

Adjustments

We don’t want anyone to be disadvantaged in our recruitment processes, so if you have a disability or health condition which may mean that you’d benefit from some adjustments or additional support, please let us know as early in the process as possible.

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