Senior Legal & Trust Officer – Institutional Trustee Services at State Street

Role Purpose

This role provides legal, contractual, and governance support to the legal entity, acting as a local support for Cayman. The role focuses on institutional trustee structures, directed trustee models including those with operations or investor bases in Japan and other international markets. Additionally the role ensures all compliance by the legal entity with corporate governance board requirements and ongoing internal compliance obligations.

Following the recent expansion of the firm’s global custody and fiduciary platform, the role will also support the transition and onboarding of institutional clients and trust structures into the Cayman trustee business. This includes assisting with the review of legacy documentation, governance alignment, and regulatory readiness as clients migrate or restructure their arrangements.

The position works closely with the business unit and the second line of defense (including Legal, Compliance, and Risk) to support the review and implementation of trust deeds, contracts, and service agreements, ensuring appropriate oversight while enabling effective business execution.

The responsibilities outlined above reflect current business needs and may evolve as the trustee platform continues to develop.

Key Responsibilities

Legal & Contractual

• Provide legal and contractual support to trustee and fiduciary services, acting as a local point of contact for the business.
• Review trust deeds, administration agreements, investment management agreements, and related service provider agreements and service level agreements.
• Work in partnership with second line of defense functions to support contractual review, governance alignment, and risk considerations.
• Work with compliance on regulatory matters relevant to institutional investors, including structures involving offshore jurisdictions such as the Cayman Islands.
• Support legal analysis and documentation requirements associated with client onboarding, restructuring, or transition of existing trust or fiduciary arrangements.

Institutional Client & Transition Support

• Support current and future client transitions or migrations into the trustee platform, including review of legacy documentation and alignment with governance and regulatory standards.
• Work closely with internal stakeholders across the first and second lines of defense to ensure smooth onboarding and ongoing servicing of institutional trustee clients.
• Assist with initiatives involving new trust mandates, amendments to existing arrangements, or expansion of trustee responsibilities.

Corporate Services & Board Support:

• Manage all corporate governance and regulatory requirements pertaining to the legal entity.
• Deliver comprehensive corporate secretarial services to boards and legal entity committees, including organizing meetings, preparing agendas and minutes, compiling board packs, and ensuring accurate maintenance of statutory records.
• Coordinate board approvals, written resolutions, and corporate actions.
• Administer all government filings on behalf of the legal entity.
• Provide continuous support for internal corporate compliance obligations relating to the legal entity.
• Maintain relevant regulatory inventories and support responses to regulatory requests, surveys, and inspections.
• Support ongoing corporate compliance obligations for trustee-related entities.

Required Experience & Qualifications

Essential

• Applicants should be Caymanians (and/or persons married to Caymanian).
• Law degree with relevant legal qualification (admission to practice or equivalent).
• 5–7 years’ experience providing legal and contractual support within trustee, fiduciary, or administration servicing businesses.
• Experience advising on trust, fund, or fiduciary structures for institutional clients.
• Experience with directed trustee models.
• Strong background in reviewing legal and contractual documentation.
• Experience operating in cross-border regulatory environments.
• Ability to work directly with senior stakeholders and control functions.

Highly Desirable

• Experience supporting institutional clients with operations or investors in Japan or other international markets.
• Involvement in client transitions, integrations, or migration of fiduciary structures.
• Experience liaising with financial regulators, including CIMA.
• STEP qualification or progress toward STEP certification.
• Board-level corporate secretarial or governance experience.
• Proficiency in Japanese and/or French, particularly in a professional, legal, or institutional client context.

Key Competencies

• Strong legal and analytical skills with a pragmatic, commercial approach.
• Ability to work effectively across first and second lines of defense.
• High attention to detail, particularly in contractual and governance documentation.
• Strong organizational skills and ability to manage multiple priorities.
• Collaborative mindset across legal, compliance, risk, governance and trustee functions.

Compensation and Benefits

• The salary range is 70,000 KYD to 90,000 KYD

• We offer comprehensive health coverage, competitive vacation package, wellness program and pension.

About State Street

Across the globe, institutional investors rely on us to help them manage risk, respond to challenges, and drive performance and profitability. We keep our clients at the heart of everything we do, and smart, engaged employees are essential to our continued success.

We are committed to fostering an environment where every employee feels valued and empowered to reach their full potential. As an essential partner in our shared success, you’ll benefit from inclusive development opportunities, flexible work-life support, paid volunteer days, and vibrant employee networks that keep you connected to what matters most. Join us in shaping the future.

As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we consider all qualified applicants for all positions without regard to race, creed, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, ethnicity, age, disability, genetic information, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, citizenship, marital status, domestic partnership or civil union status, familial status, military and veteran status, and other characteristics protected by applicable law.

Discover more information on jobs at StateStreet.com/careers

Read our CEO Statement