Legal & Compliance Officer

To give the group a single, trustedinternal source of legal and compliance judgment - keeping every entity acrossSouth Korea, the USA, the UAE, Singapore, and Hong Kong lawfully compliant, contractually protected, and properly incorporated, and equipping management to make decisions on sound legal advice.

Scope:

Group-wide - all entities across SouthKorea, USA, UAE, Singapore, and Hong Kong (and future markets)

Experience level:

4-6 years, with demonstrated legalexpertise and aptitude

Travel:

International travel required,including for new company incorporations

Reports to:

Managing Director / Board

Requirements

We are hiring a Legal & Compliance Officer, based in the UAE, to be the internal legal and compliance authority for the group across all of these jurisdictions.

This is a substantive, hands-on legalrole for someone with genuine legal expertise and strong legal aptitude. You will research, interpret, and advise management and department heads on compliance, contracts, corporate governance, licensing, labour matters, and company incorporation - turning complex, multi-jurisdiction legal questions into clear, practical guidance the business can act on. You will own the legal and compliance operations end-to-end and be the first point of authority internally.

Key responsibilities

Legal research, interpretation &advisory (core)

• Serve as the internal first pointof authority on legal and compliance questions across the group.
• Research and interpret the applicable laws andregulations of South Korea, the USA, the UAE, Singapore, and Hong Kong,and advise management and department heads on compliance,contracts, licensing, labour, and incorporation matters.
• Translate multi-jurisdictionlegal complexity into clear, actionable guidance and written advisorynotes for the business.
• Track legal and regulatorychanges across all markets and proactively brief management on impact andrequired action.

Contracts - labour, supplier &client agreements

• Draft, review, and verify labour,supplier, client, agency, logistics, and NDA/non-compete agreements.
• Advise on governing law,jurisdiction, liability, IP, indemnity, and confidentiality terms, andnegotiate as required.
• Maintain the group contractregister with obligation, renewal, and expiry tracking.

Corporate governance, incorporation& entity management

• Own corporate governance andstatutory records for all group entities.
• Advise on and manage companyincorporation and the full entity lifecycle (formation, amendments, renewals,restructuring, closure), coordinating with registries, free-zoneauthorities, and local agents.
• Lead incorporation of the group'sentities in new countries as it expands - researching each newjurisdiction's incorporation, ownership, licensing, and compliancerequirements, advising management on the right structure and entry route,and driving the setup through to completion (including recent/activeexpansion such as South Korea).
• Travel internationally to supportand advise on new company incorporations and entity setup.

Licensing & statutory compliance

• Own the group-wide calendar oftrade-licence renewals, statutory filings, and regulatory submissions;ensure nothing lapses.
• Manage cross-border obligationsrelevant to a trading firm - UBO, economic substance, AML/KYC, and tradecompliance (sanctions, export controls, trade finance).
• Research, assess, and advisemanagement on legal cases, disputes, and risk exposure acrossjurisdictions.
• Prepare and manage mattersend-to-end: pre-litigation correspondence, evidence, strategy input, andthe dispute register.
• Coordinate and instruct externalcounsel where required.
• Build and maintain the group riskand compliance registers; run periodic assessments and remediation.
• Design and monitor compliancepolicies, internal controls, and training.
• Act as liaison with externalcounsel, auditors, banks, and regulators.

R esponsible authority for identifying and confirmingexternal-counsel review; The Officer owns the research, interpretation,drafting, and advice to qualify and engage external counsel licensed in therelevant jurisdiction before the company acts on them :

• Final enforceability opinions - the definitive confirmationthat a contract or structure is enforceable under the law of a specificcountry (Korea / USA / Singapore / UAE / Hong Kong).
• Live litigation - formal court filings,litigation strategy of record, and binding settlement decisions.

Requirements

• Legal expertise and strong legalaptitude - a law degree (LLB/LLM) or equivalent legal training, ordemonstrable equivalent legal experience.
• 4-6 years in a legal, compliance,governance, or company-secretarial role, ideally within a trading,commodities, logistics, or multinational group.
• Proven ability to research,interpret, and advise on legal and regulatory matters across more thanone jurisdiction.
• Hands-on contract drafting,review, and negotiation experience.
• Experience with, or a stronggrasp of, company incorporation in new/foreign jurisdictions - researching local requirements and setting up entities end-to-end.
• Working knowledge of UAEcorporate, licensing, and labour frameworks (mainland and free zone).
• Willingness and ability to travelinternationally , including for incorporations.
• Excellent written English, soundjudgment, and discretion with confidential information.

Preferred

• Qualified or part-qualifiedCompany Secretary (ICSI), or equivalent GRC certification (e.g. ICA,CAMS).
• Experience across the USA, Korea,Singapore, Hong Kong, and the GCC, and in coordinating external counsel.
• An Indian professional backgroundwith GCC experience is well suited to this role.
• Familiarity with AML/KYC,sanctions/export controls, ESR, and UBO regimes.
• A high-ownershipinternal legal & compliance role with group-wide visibility, directmanagement access, and international travel.