Head of Legal

At Alma, we believe sustainable commerce depends on fair, well‑balanced trade. Because finance plays a pivotal role in business, our mission is to put it back in its rightful place - serving merchants and consumers.

Our installment and deferred payment solutions help merchants boost sales by 20% or more, increase customer loyalty, and deliver a seamless shopping experience - without encouraging bad debt.

As the buy now pay later leader in France and active in 10 European countries, we've empowered over +25,000 merchants and 10 million consumers.

With 400+ Almakers and €100M+ ARR, Alma is scaling rapidly across Europe as a member of the Next40, and we're just getting started

About the team

The Head of Legal & DPO supports Alma to grow safely and sustainably by anticipating and managing legal risk, providing pragmatic advice, negotiating contracts, and supporting teams across the company; in a strongly regulated environment.

The Head of Legal & DPO reports to Alma’s General Secretary and lead the Legal function. You will be a trusted partner to the Director’s Committee and work closely with Product, Tech, Sales, Operations, Finance, Risk, Compliance, Information Security and People.

You will also act as Alma’s Data Protection Officer, with the independence, resources and direct access to senior management required to perform the role effectively.

This is a permanent position based in Paris.

About the job

As Head of Legal & Data Protection Officer, you will define Alma’s legal and privacy strategy and ensure that it supports the company’s business ambitions, regulatory obligations and risk appetite.

Your main responsibilities will include:

Define and lead Alma’s legal strategy

• Develop and execute a clear legal roadmap aligned with Alma’s business and international strategy.
• Identify, assess and manage Alma’s main legal risks, escalating material matters to executive management and governance bodies when appropriate.
• Provide clear, pragmatic and business-oriented advice to the Executive Committee and teams across Alma.
• Translate complex legal requirements into actionable recommendations, policies and scalable operational processes.
• Monitor relevant legal developments across Alma’s markets and anticipate their impact on the company’s products and activities.

Support Alma’s business, products and partnerships

• Advise Product and Tech teams throughout the design and launch of new products and features, embedding legal and privacy considerations from the outset.
• Support Sales, Account Management, Operations and other business teams on strategic projects and complex legal questions.
• Oversee the drafting, review and negotiation of commercial agreements, including agreements with merchants, partners, suppliers and technology providers.
• Establish scalable contracting standards, templates, playbooks and approval processes that enable teams to move quickly while controlling legal risk.
• Advise on strategic transactions, partnerships, outsourcing arrangements and international expansion projects.

Oversee corporate and governance matters

• Manage Alma’s corporate legal matters and ensure that its legal entities comply with applicable governance and corporate requirements.
• Support executive management and governance bodies in preparing decisions and maintaining appropriate corporate documentation.
• Advise on financing, corporate transactions, intellectual property, competition law and other strategic legal matters.
• Coordinate external counsel and manage the legal budget, ensuring that external expertise is used effectively.
• Oversee litigation, pre-litigation, claims and other disputes, defining the appropriate strategy and protecting Alma’s interests.

Act as Alma’s Data Protection Officer

• Define and oversee Alma’s data protection framework in accordance with the GDPR and other applicable privacy laws.
• Inform and advise Alma and its employees on their data protection obligations.
• Monitor compliance through appropriate policies, processes, controls and reporting.
• Maintain and continuously improve Alma’s privacy governance, including records of processing activities, privacy notices, retention standards and procedures for handling data‑subject requests.
• Establish a robust framework for data protection impact assessments and ensure that DPIAs are conducted when required.
• Advise Product, Tech, Data, Risk, Operations, Marketing and People teams on privacy‑by‑design and privacy‑by‑default principles.
• Work closely with Information Security on personal‑data breaches, incident response, security measures and regulatory notifications.
• Act as Alma’s primary