Caruso is the AI-native fund administration platform for private markets. We replace legacy systems with modern software and integrated services, helping fund managers save time, impress investors, and grow AUM.
Since launching just over two years ago, Caruso has grown to $50B+ in assets, 500+ funds, and 75,000+ investors on the platform. We're growing 4x year-on-year, backed by committed investors, and expanding fast across Australasia and the United States.
Learn more at getcaruso.com.
Role summary
As Caruso scales across jurisdictions and deepens relationships with institutional fund managers, the volume and complexity of our legal, governance, and risk obligations is growing fast. We need someone who can own this function with the same rigour and pace we apply to everything else.
As Head of Legal and Risk, you'll be responsible for corporate governance, board secretarial duties, commercial legal management, and the company-wide risk register. You'll manage external legal counsel, oversee company insurance, maintain our terms and conditions, and ensure Caruso's governance frameworks keep pace with our growth. Reporting to the CEO, you'll work across every part of the business and act as a trusted advisor to the leadership team on legal and regulatory matters.
What you'll do
- Own the company-wide risk framework, ensuring risks are identified, assessed, mitigated, and reported to the board and leadership team on a regular cadence.
- Manage all relationships with external legal counsel across New Zealand, Australia, and the US, including scoping work, managing costs, and ensuring timely delivery.
- Oversee company terms and conditions, customer agreements, partnership contracts, and other commercial documents, ensuring they are current, enforceable, and fit for purpose.
- Manage company insurance policies, including renewals, coverage reviews, broker relationships, and claims.
- Oversee data privacy compliance, including privacy impact assessments, data subject requests, and alignment with privacy regulations across NZ, Australia, and the US.
- Act as company secretary, managing board meeting logistics, preparing agendas and board packs, recording minutes, and maintaining statutory records and filings.
- Monitor the regulatory landscape across all jurisdictions Caruso operates in, identifying new legal and compliance obligations early and advising the business on their impact.
- Support customer due diligence processes by coordinating legal and governance responses for RFIs, DDQs, and vendor assessments.
- Develop and maintain corporate governance policies and frameworks appropriate for a high-growth company.
What we're looking for
- 8+ years of experience in legal, governance, risk, or compliance roles, ideally within financial services, fintech, or SaaS.
- Experience as a company secretary or in a board governance capacity, including preparing board packs, minutes, and statutory filings.
- Strong commercial legal acumen: you're comfortable reviewing and negotiating contracts, managing external counsel, and making pragmatic legal decisions without needing to escalate everything.