Senior Managing Counsel, Commercial, BKNG Fintech Legal at Booking Holdings - in New York, NY

Job description

About Booking Holdings Booking Holdings (NASDAQ: BKNG) is the world leader in online travel and services that support the entire travel journey. Our platforms - including Booking.com , Priceline , Agoda , KAYAK and OpenTable - utilize advanced AI, machine learning and other innovative technologies to simplify and personalize the travel experience for consumers and partners in over 220 countries and territories. Our mission is to make it easier for everyone to experience the world. For more information, visit BookingHoldings.com and follow us on X @BookingHoldings. This role is eligible for our hybrid work model: Two days in-office. Booking Holdings is seeking an exceptional legal leader to join our international Fintech Legal Team to serve as Senior Managing Counsel, leading legal support for Fintech Commercial Partnerships across Booking Holdings brands in the US. This role will partner closely with Booking Holdings Fintech Commercial Partnership teams in the US on a cross brand portfolio spanning payments, financial services and critical third-party regulatory technology partnerships. You will operate as a trusted legal adviser to Fintech leadership, shaping legal and commercial strategy, influencing executive decision-making, and enabling scalable, compliant unit economic and revenue growth with significant P&L impact across a complex, multi-brand ecosystem. In this role, you will get to: Lead the negotiation, drafting and execution of complex, high value partnerships with financial institutions, payment networks, fintech providers, and strategic technology partners, securing strong commercial outcomes while protecting the business against foreseeable legal and regulatory risk. Act as a single point of contact for the US Fintech Commercial Partnership teams, independently advising on priority commercial initiatives and escalations, and making commercially grounded recommendations on complex deal structures, risk trade-offs and approval paths. Design pragmatic legal strategies and risk mitigations for new commercial models and product-linked partnership initiatives (including payments infrastructure, embedded finance, and alternative payment models), and coordinates input from external and internal subject matter experts. Support in establishing and standardizing global contracting frameworks, and risk allocation models across jurisdictions and brands including delegations of authority, decision-making frameworks and compliance with internal policies and controls. As a senior member of the Fintech Legal Team, drive strong ways of working, sets high standards for drafting, negotiation and risk calibration, strengthens collaboration and knowledge sharing, and drives cross-brand efficiency and velocity through AI- and automation-led process improvements. Manage external counsel and scopes support in line with business priorities and budget. What you have: Required Experience Qualified lawyer with 8 + years’ PQE (or equivalent experience) with a mix of in-house and big firm experience preferred. Law degree from a top law school, and excellent academic credentials. License to practice in New York. Exceptional drafting and negotiation skills, with a track record of leading high-stakes, complex commercial negotiations and producing clear, precise, and commercially effective agreements. Extensive experience advising on fintech, payments, financial services, and complex global commercial transactions. Good understanding of regulations that cover payments, Fintech, money transmission, EMI/PI frameworks, lending/BNPL, AML/CTF, fraud, sanctions, crypto/virtual assets, and data-driven financial services. Demonstrated ability to influence senior executives and drive decisions in a matrixed, global organization (whether inhouse or as part of private practice experience). Experience in a role with global scope and be capable of sourcing, critiquing and managing input from a range of internal and external stakeholders to form a view even out