Lead Legal Counsel, Employment – EMEA

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in United Kingdom, +1 more country.

📋 Description

• Deliver senior, practical employment law guidance to GitLab team members and stakeholders.

• Provide advice throughout the employment lifecycle, including recruitment, onboarding, compensation, performance management, leave, employee relations, works councils, organizational changes, separation, and post-employment issues.

• Offer counsel to People Business Partners, Team Member Relations partners, and business leaders on intricate team member relations matters.

• Draft, maintain, and review employment agreements, separation agreements, policies, templates, and related documentation across various jurisdictions.

• Advise on EMEA employment compliance and coordinate with local counsel as necessary.

• Monitor developments in employment, privacy, and related legal fields and translate them into actionable guidance.

• Provide insights on employment law and privacy considerations regarding team member data, including GDPR compliance.

• Support employment litigation, appeals tribunals, agency investigations, disputes, and other contentious issues.

• Oversee and manage outside counsel matters across jurisdictions.

• Offer employment advice outside of the EMEA region as required.

• Lead scalable employment law processes, systems, playbooks, templates, and documentation.

• Establish consistent approaches for recurring employment issues and escalate complex or high-risk matters as necessary.

• Act as a subject matter expert for legal colleagues and cross-functional partners.

• Mentor junior legal team members and contribute to training and knowledge-sharing initiatives.

• Collaborate openly and work asynchronously using GitLab in a globally distributed setting.

⛳️ Requirements

• Extensive experience providing guidance to a multinational corporation with works councils across various regions on employment matters throughout the employment relationship.

• A Juris Doctor (JD), Bachelor of Laws (LLB), or equivalent local qualification, with admission to an appropriate governing body in an EMEA jurisdiction.

• In-depth knowledge of employment compliance requirements across the EMEA region.

• Experience in advising People Business Partners, Team Member Relations partners, and business leaders on sensitive and complex team member relations issues, including investigations, litigation, compensation, and works council strategies.

• Proven experience in drafting, reviewing, and negotiating employment agreements, separation agreements, policies, templates, and related documentation across multiple jurisdictions.

• Experience in creating employment policies applicable across various EMEA jurisdictions.

• Familiarity with GDPR and other local privacy regulations pertaining to team member data.

• Track record of managing employment disputes, litigation, appeals tribunals, agency investigations, works council relationships, and outside counsel matters.

• Proven ability to build or significantly enhance legal processes, systems, playbooks, templates, and documentation that yield consistent results at scale.

• Strong skills in issue-spotting, risk assessment, and sound judgment.

• Capability to handle a high volume of complex legal matters independently with minimal supervision.

• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills with senior stakeholders across Legal, People, and business domains.

• Practical and innovative problem-solving abilities, sound business judgment, attention to detail, and the ability to work across functions, time zones, and cultures.

• Comfort in a remote, globally distributed, and asynchronous work environment.

• Willingness to learn and utilize GitLab in daily operations.

🏝️ Benefits

• Comprehensive benefits to support your health, financial stability, and overall well-being.

• Flexible Paid Time Off policy.

• Participation in Team Member Resource Groups.

• Equity compensation and Employee Stock Purchase Plan.

• Growth and Development Fund.

• Parental leave options.

• Support for home office setup.