Sr. Counsel - Labor & Employment

Kraken
United Kingdom +3 more
Remote

Who this role is best for

A natural match if you have EU/UK labor law expertise and hands-on generative AI experience.

Best fit for

  • Candidates with EU/UK labor law expertise and a strategic mindset for global employment practices
    — “qualified attorney working out of the EU or the UK, to join Payward’s world class in-house legal department”
  • Individuals who have advised on employment matters in high-growth and large-enterprise environments
    — “advising in the EU, UK and other jurisdictions on employment, labor, and executive compensation issues, including in-house and law firm experience working with companies in both high-growth scaling and mature, large-enterprise environments”
  • Candidates with experience in workplace investigations and data privacy compliance
    — “Support the PX team and existing counsel with workplace investigations, particularly in the EU and UK, potentially involving whistleblower allegations, discrimination allegations, and personnel performance issues”

Things to consider

  • This role requires EU/UK legal qualification and local-law expertise for employment matters
    — “EU- or UK-qualified attorney working out of the EU or the UK”
  • The position involves coordinating with local counsel in MENA and APAC regions
    — “supporting L&E matters in MENA and APAC in coordination with local counsel”

How to stand out

  • Highlight experience with GDPR compliance and cross-border HR data transfers
    — “Experience advising on employee and candidate data privacy issues under the GDPR and UK GDPR”
  • Demonstrate strategic use of generative AI tools in legal work with local law verification
    — “Hands-on proficiency using generative AI tools (such as Claude or ChatGPT) in day-to-day legal work, with sound judgment on verifying outputs against local law”
  • Emphasize prior work on employment policy localization for international markets
    — “localizing global policies for EU and UK requirements and developing and delivering related training”
  • Showcase experience with labor and employment due diligence in acquisitions
    — “Experience with due diligence and advising on labor and employment issues in connection with acquisitions”
  • Demonstrate expertise in works councils and collective consultation in the EU/UK
    — “Experience advising on works councils, collective consultation, and employee representative bodies in the EU and/or UK”
Pace · SteadyCollaboration · HighAutonomy · MediumDecision Impact · Company

Derived from job-description analysis by Serendipath's career intelligence engine.

What success looks like

  • successful legal compliance
  • policy development
  • risk mitigation
Typical background
labor and employment lawyercorporate counsel

Skills & requirements

Required

Labor LawEmployment LawContract ManagementPolicy DevelopmentData PrivacyInvestigation ManagementRisk MitigationLegal Compliance

Preferred

Global Labor LawCryptocurrency Industry Knowledge

Stack & domain

Labor And Employment LawEU And UK Employment MattersWorker Classification IssuesEmployee SeparationsEmployee RelationsExecutive Compensation AgreementsWage-and-hour MattersWorks CouncilCollective ConsultationPay TransparencyEmployee Representative MattersM&A Due DiligencePost-closing Workforce IntegrationPolicy HarmonizationConsultation RequirementsData Privacy IssuesGDPRUK GDPR ComplianceCross-border Transfers Of HR And Recruiting DataWorkplace InvestigationsWhistleblower AllegationsDiscrimination AllegationsPersonnel Performance IssuesRisk Mitigation For Trade Secret MattersRestrictive CovenantsFormal Local-law OpinionsPre-litigation MattersLegal AdviceLegal Practice DevelopmentLegal TrainingLegal ComplianceLegal ConsultationLegal Risk ManagementFinanceLegal

About the role

Original posting from Kraken via Ashby

BUILDING THE FUTURE OF OPEN FINANCE

Payward - the parent company behind Kraken, NinjaTrader, Breakout, xStocks, Payward Services and CF Benchmarks - has spent the last 15 years building one of the most modern and globally accessible financial infrastructure platforms in the industry, built to advance an open, global financial system.

Before you apply, we encourage you to explore our culture page https://www.kraken.com/culture to understand what drives us and how we work.

THE TEAM

Founded in 2011, Kraken is one of the world's longest-standing crypto platforms, trusted by over 10 million individuals and institutions across the globe. It offers spot trading, margin, futures, staking, and OTC services, with products built for both individual investors and institutional clients.

This is a fully remote role, for an EU- or UK-qualified attorney working out of the EU or the UK, to join Payward’s world class in-house legal department, reporting to the Global Head of Labor & Employment.

THE OPPORTUNITY

  • Augment the Labor & Employment (L&E) legal team and act as the subject matter expert for the EU and UK, providing local-law advice in European time zones and, as needed, supporting L&E matters in MENA and APAC in coordination with local counsel
  • Take first-line ownership of recurring EU and UK employment matters, including worker classification issues, employee separations and employee relations, executive compensation agreements, and wage-and-hour matters
  • Work with executive leadership, existing employment counsel, and the Payward Experience (PX) team to develop the L&E practice for a rapidly growing global/worldwide workforce
  • Advise on and manage works council, collective consultation, pay transparency, and employee representative matters, and prepare the company for new consultation obligations as its European footprint grows, including in connection with restructurings and acquisitions
  • Support M&A due diligence and post-closing workforce integration for European acquisitions, including policy harmonization and the related consultation requirements
  • Work closely with the PX team and business leaders to craft on-point policies and procedures, including localizing global policies for EU and UK requirements and developing and delivering related training, for a successful global/worldwide workplace
  • Advise on employee and candidate data privacy issues, including GDPR and UK GDPR compliance and cross-border transfers of HR and recruiting data
  • Support the PX team and existing counsel with workplace investigations, particularly in the EU and UK, potentially involving whistleblower allegations, discrimination allegations, and personnel performance issues
  • Provide expert strategic input to the business and recruiting teams on expanding Payward’s global footprint, including EOR, direct employment, and entity decisions in Europe, global mobility issues, and contingent workforce
  • Advise the company with risk mitigation for trade secret matters and restrictive covenants in the EU and UK
  • Manage and direct local outside counsel on formal local-law opinions and pre-litigation matters in the EU and UK and, as needed, MENA and APAC, while handling routine, repeatable advice in-house
  • Monitor and advise on global L&E trends including those within the crypto industry to help the Company’s competitive adaptability, talent acquisition and retention, and workplace processes along with additional duties as required
  • Additional duties and responsibilities as assigned

WHAT YOU BRING

  • 8+ years of legal experience advising in the EU, UK and other jurisdictions on employment, labor, and executive compensation issues, including in-house and law firm experience working with companies in both high-growth scaling and mature, large-enterprise environments
  • Broad international labor and employment background
  • Experience advising on works councils, collective consultation, and employee representative bodies in the EU and/or UK
  • Experience advising on employee and candidate data privacy issues under the GDPR and UK GDPR
  • Hands-on proficiency using generative AI tools (such as Claude or ChatGPT) in day-to-day legal work, with sound judgment on verifying outputs against local law and protecting confidentiality, privilege, and personal data
  • A proactive, entrepreneurial mindset, plus an opportunity-making attitude, using the law to increase the company’s optionality, not decrease it

NICE TO HAVES

  • Interest in the crypto industry / what our company is offering to the world and why
  • Experience in fintech, crypto, or other regulated financial services industries
  • Experience with MENA and/or APAC employment markets
  • Experience with due diligence and advising on labor and employment issues in connection with acquisitions, including transfer-of-undertakings rules and post-closing workforce integration

Unless a specific application deadline is stated in the job posting, applications are accepted on an ongoing basis.

Please note, applicants are permitted to redact or remove information on their resume that identifies age, date of birth, or dates of attendance at or graduation from an educational institution.

We consider qualified applicants with criminal histories for employment on our team, assessing candidates in a manner consistent with the requirements of the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance.

OUR COMMITMENT

Payward is powered by people from around the world and we celebrate the diverse talents, backgrounds, contributions, and unique perspectives that everyone brings to the table. We hire based on merit, seeking out people with the right abilities, knowledge, and skills for the job. We encourage you to apply for roles where you don't fully meet the listed requirements, especially if you're passionate or knowledgeable about crypto.

We may ask candidates to complete job-related skills or work-style assessments as part of our hiring process. These assessments evaluate competencies relevant to the role and are applied consistently across candidates for similar positions. Results are considered alongside experience and interviews, and are not the sole basis for any employment decision.

As an equal opportunity employer, we don't tolerate discrimination or harassment of any kind, whether based on race, ethnicity, age, gender identity, citizenship, religion, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic as outlined by federal, state, or local laws.

Stay connected

Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/krakenfx

Learn on the Kraken Blog https://blog.kraken.com/#:~:text=Enter%20your%20email%20address

Connect on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/kraken-exchange/

Candidate Privacy Notice https://www.kraken.com/legal/candidate-privacy-notice

Source: Kraken careers (Ashby)

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