---
title: 'General Counsel (5-Month Fixed-Term Contract) at Ascenda'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/general-counsel-5-month-fixed-term-contract-ascenda-united-states-avys65jb6qpr'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-11'
---

# General Counsel (5-Month Fixed-Term Contract) at Ascenda

- **Company:** Ascenda
- **Location:** United States
- **Employment:** temporary
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-07-09
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-11
- **Apply:** https://jobs.gem.com/ascenda-loyalty/am9icG9zdDpKn5NhZEKBtoDbqvkuMaen

## Job description

Great to Meet You! We are Ascenda

Ascenda powers the growth of leading financial services brands worldwide with premium rewards programs that differentiate their products, drive profitable customer behaviors, and create sustained  engagement.

We are behind the world-class rewards propositions of major banks and fintechs around the globe, including brands like American Express, Capital One, Brex, Revolut, Ramp, HSBC, Bank of New Zealand, Virgin Money (Australia), Bradesco (Brazil), ANZ (Australia), HDFC (India) and many others.

We are a thriving global Loyalty as a Service company and experiencing rapid expansion. Join our dynamic finance team as one of its earliest leaders, contributing to the development of our financial planning strategies as we strive for hypergrowth. Our team spans 20 cities worldwide, with dual headquarters in Singapore and New York, totaling 250 team members.

## The Role

Ascenda is seeking an experienced, business-minded lawyer to serve as Interim General Counsel during a parental leave period. This individual will provide strategic legal leadership and hands-on support across commercial, regulatory, and corporate matters, ensuring continuity of legal operations and alignment with business objectives in a fast-growing fintech environment.

This is a full-time, fixed-term contract covering parental leave from October 2026 through March 2027.

## Key Responsibilities

Legal Leadership & Strategic Advisory

- Act as the primary legal advisor to senior leadership on day-to-day legal matters and strategic initiatives
- Provide practical, solutions-oriented guidance balancing legal risk with commercial objectives
- Operate as a hands-on generalist who can roll up their sleeves and connect the dots across commercial, product, partnerships, finance, and HR teams

Commercial & Transactional Work

- Draft, review, and negotiate a wide range of commercial agreements, including:- MSAs with banks and card issuers
- Strategic partnership agreements with airlines, loyalty partners, content providers and other complementary partners
- DPAs, IDTAs and data sharing agreements
- Advise on structuring complex global partnerships and revenue-generating arrangements
- Review and maintain customer-facing product terms, participation agreements, and service-specific terms

Regulatory & Compliance

- Oversee legal and regulatory compliance across relevant jurisdictions (payments, data privacy, loyalty frameworks as applicable)
- Provide guidance on emerging regulatory developments impacting fintech and data-driven platforms
- Advise on AI governance, including responsible AI policies and contractual restrictions on AI/ML model training using company or client data

Employment & HR

- Support global employment matters, including employment agreements, workplace policies, and workforce actions across multiple jurisdictions

Corporate & Governance

- Support corporate governance matters, including board materials, shareholder agreements, resolutions, and entity management
- Advise on international expansion, entity structuring, and cross-border considerations
- Engage and manage external counsel on an as-needed basis for specialized matters, including litigation, dispute resolution, and jurisdiction-specific regulatory advice

Operational Continuity

- Step into ongoing matters and ensure seamless continuation of legal workflows
- Assess and triage litigation and pre-litigation matters, including conducting initial investigations and managing responses to counterparty claims
- Identify and prioritize key legal risks and urgent issues during the coverage period
- Maintain and improve legal processes, templates, intake workflows, and playbooks; leverage legal technology tools where appropriate

## Who You Are

- JD or equivalent; Admitted to the bar in at least one U.S. state
- 10+ years of legal experience, including:- Prior General Counsel, Deputy GC, or senior in-house leadership role
- Strong background in B2B fintech, SaaS, or technology-driven businesses
- Demonstrated experience handling complex commercial transactions and global partnerships
- Working knowledge of international data protection frameworks, including GDPR, and experience negotiating DPAs, IDTAs, and cross-border data sharing agreements- Familiarity with APAC regulatory environments, particularly Singapore (PDPA) and Australia (Privacy Act, APRA prudential standards); UK exposure is a plus
- Experience with data privacy programs, including GDPR, CCPA, and PDPA compliance; CIPP/US or CIPP/E certification preferred
- Comfortable managing workflows and stakeholder communications across multiple time zones (US, APAC, EU)
- Proven ability to operate independently in a lean, fast-paced environment
- Strong executive presence with the ability to advise senior stakeholders

## Preferred Qualifications

- Experience in loyalty, rewards, or points-based ecosystems
- Familiarity with financial services regulatory standards (e.g., APRA CPS 230/234, PCI DSS)
- Experience advising on AI/data governance for product launches

The salary range for this position is between $196,000 to $264,000 per year, depending on experience and location.

Why Join Ascenda? Ascenda offers the unique opportunity to lead in the loyalty ecosystem space, shaping the future of rewards programs. We are passionate, we keep things simple, we focus on results, we work together & we innovate!

Ascenda is dedicated to diversity and inclusion, welcoming candidates from all backgrounds. Join us on our mission to make loyalty simple and rewarding for everyone, everywhere.

Ready to power growth for the financial services industry? Apply now! Together, we'll redefine what's possible.

## About Ascenda

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Ascenda delivers loyalty-as-a-service, powering rewards programs and customer engagement for leading financial services brands through a global, API‑connected rewards ecosystem.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Growth Equity stage; last disclosed round $7M from Claret Capital Partners in 2015)
- **Headquarters**: New York, New York, United States (office also in Singapore)
- **Founded**: 2014 (originated as Kaligo Solutions in 2013)
- **Founders**: Not publicly disclosed (CEO: Kyle Armstrong)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Financial technology (fintech) / Loyalty & Rewards Infrastructure
- **Target customers**: Banks, fintechs, digital wallets, and financial services brands (B2B, enterprise)
- **Mission statement**: “Deliver loyalty as a service, and make customer engagement effortless for leading brands, with the world’s most connective rewards ecosystem.”

## Products & Services
- **End‑to‑End Rewards Platform**: An API + white‑label UI that gives banks a complete rewards program “in a box”. Includes rewards calculation and trigger‑based campaign engine, rewards currency ledger, user‑facing rewards portal, and a broad marketplace of rewards content (gifts cards, merchandise, travel booking, points exchange, carbon offset, crypto, purchase eraser, cash out to digital wallets, premium benefits). Type: SaaS/API.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed (private)
- **Key Metric**: Annual Revenue estimated at $50M (source: company profile database)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Claret Capital Partners (lead investor); strategic partners include Hilton Honors, HSBC, Capital One, American Express, Virgin Money Australia.
- **Growth Signals**: 
  - Announced strategic partnership with Hilton Honors (Sep 2025)
  - Hired Abeer Bhatia as President of Strategy & Growth (Jul 2025), former senior roles at American Express, Chase, Wells Fargo
  - Active job postings: 14 as of search date; yearly job posting trend +40%
  - Workforce distributed across 12 countries; technical staff ~24% of total

## Competitive Advantages
- **Two‑sided network effect**: Connects financial institutions to a global network of merchant, travel, and content partners through a single API – creates switching costs and scaling benefits.
- **White‑label + API approach**: Banks can embed a fully branded rewards experience without building from scratch, reducing time‑to‑market.
- **Deep industry relationships**: Long‑standing deals with major global banks (HSBC, Amex, Capital One) and recent win with Hilton demonstrate trust and incumbency.

## Strategic Focus
- **Current priorities**: Expanding the lifestyle merchant network (pets, fitness, beauty, wellness, gaming) through a VP of Lifestyle Content Business Development role; deepening partnerships in the Americas; scaling the technical platform (hiring Senior DevOps, Platform Engineers) and enabling personalized, data‑driven rewards.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Described as a “Most Loved Workplace®”; emphasis on building deep customer relationships. Hybrid/office policy (NYC HQ with on‑site presence expected; also Singapore offices).
- **Engineering culture**: Technical team makes up ~24% of workforce; roles include Senior Analytics Engineer, Senior DevOps, Software Engineers, and Platform Engineering – suggests a modern cloud‑native, microservices environment.
- **Notable perks & growth**: Opportunity to work on loyalty infrastructure used by top global financial brands; recent hires from Amex, Chase, Wells Fargo indicate a high‑caliber peer group; cross‑functional collaboration between product, engineering, design, and business development.
- **Talent sources & alumni**: Many employees come from American Express, DBS Bank, Standard Chartered, and local Singapore institutions; alumni move to PayPal, OCBC, Visa, TikTok, Shopee – signaling strong talent mobility.

## Sources
1. [LinkedIn – Ascenda](https://linkedin.com/company/ascenda-loyalty)
2. [Built In – Ascenda](https://builtin.com/company/ascenda)
3. [Built In – Ascenda Jobs](https://builtin.com/company/ascenda/jobs)
4. [Most Loved Workplace – Ascenda](https://mostlovedworkplace.com/companies/ascenda/)
5. [CBInsights – Ascenda](https://www.cbinsights.com/company/ascenda-1)

## Other roles at Ascenda

- [Strategic Clients & Partnerships Manager, Americas](https://feeny.ai/job/strategic-clients-partnerships-manager-americas-ascenda-new-york-d6s0vvtjkesz) — New York, NY
- [DevOps Engineering Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/devops-engineering-manager-ascenda-singapore-5krzp70w6rfx) — Singapore
- [Strategic Clients & Partnerships Executive, Americas](https://feeny.ai/job/strategic-clients-partnerships-executive-americas-ascenda-new-york-9qykgr1dbfht) — New York, NY
- [VP Lifestyle Content, Business Development](https://feeny.ai/job/vp-lifestyle-content-business-development-ascenda-new-york-a39qjfhnydfh) — New York, NY
- [Customer Service Executive (1 Year Contract)](https://feeny.ai/job/customer-service-executive-1-year-contract-ascenda-singapore-868xwrvysbr9) — Singapore