Description
Job Description
Booking.com is the world's #1 accommodation site and the 3rd largest global e-commerce player. Our mission is to help travelers discover the world and, in order to do this, we employ individuals, of many nationalities, to develop our business in more than 200 countries worldwide.
As we continue to scale at incredible speed and begin on our next chapter - experiences, loyalty, messaging, homes & apartments - we are actively recruiting the next generation of global entrepreneurs.
Given this, Booking.com is looking for a Legal Counsel - Employment Law EMEA and APAC to join our Legal & Public Affairs (LPA) team in Amsterdam HQ or in Paris and report to the Senior Managing Counsel Employment EMEA and APAC.
Within LPA, you will form part of the global employment law team and will offer the HR department insight into and advice about legal matters across 16 regions .
So, day-to-day, you will combine both your academic and hands-on knowledge of Law with your interpersonal skills. Additionally, you will demonstrate your ability to work flexibly and (increasingly) independently in Booking.
com's fast-changing environment.
Overall, this opportunity provides the successful candidate a platform to make a positive contribution to Booking.com's employees and our work culture, and therefore, the company as a whole.
The Legal Counsel - Employment Law EMEA and APAC is responsible for:
- Provide advice on the full range of employment law and HR practice areas across multiple legal entities in EMEA and APAC regions.
- Contribute to global projects based on general knowledge of labor laws.
- Contribute legal expertise to a wide range of HR activities such as employment benefits and HR programs, organizational changes, disciplinary actions, employment contracts, investigations, termination and settlement agreements, works councils and D&I initiatives.
- Align business strategy and corporate activities (including transactions) with local employment law requirements.
- Proactively keep up with new legislation, case law and market development to anticipate any upcoming legal change and ensure Booking.
com remains compliant.
- Actively take part and advise in working groups for various business projects.
- Provide trainings to HR on some key topics in EMEA and APAC region s
- Provide pragmatic and effective legal support to manage employment law and HR-related opportunities and risks.
- Co-develop and review employment policies and procedures.
- Draft and update legal templates and HR-related documents.
- Advise on and assist with employee representation / works council consultation.
The Legal Counsel - Employment Law EMEA and APAC is skilled in:
- Hold an academic degree in Dutch Law and / or in another European jurisdiction is mandatory
- 3-4 years of relevant experience in a top tier law firm and/or major international corporation
- Experience in providing counseling and advice in a fast-paced, fast-changing working environment
- Experience with works council / employee representative processes
- Ability to explain complex legal topics in a clear and concise manner
- Ability to work proactively and under pressure
- Capable of adapting and responding to both changing and sensitive situations
- Strong work ethic; self-directed, eager to learn and resourceful
- Solution oriented and result driven
- Proactive, flexible and a team player
- Good communication skills - fluent in English is a must-have
- Ability to multi-task with a flexible attitude
- Keen to develop skills to advise on multi-jurisdiction employment law topics
Booking.com ensures equal employment opportunity to all employees and applicants. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex, pregnancy and childbirth, sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws and regulations.
- We aspire to have a workplace that reflects all of the diverse communities we serve and we welcome and encourage candidates from all backgrounds and experiences to apply for roles on our team.
- We work to cultivate an inclusive culture in which all of our employees can be their authentic selves.
Why join the Legal & Public Affairs Team now?
Booking.com's Legal & Public Affairs team is on a transformational journey at a transformational time for e-commerce and travel (think: growth, innovation, changes to how we operate); you will have an opportunity to actively shape the Department's future.
- The Legal & Public Affairs team is also a critical part of the enablement of Booking.com's strategy of the Connected Trip (a travel experience that includes not just accommodation, but also transportation, attractions, experiences, payments, flights etc).
- This is a journey that requires close business and Legal & Public Affairs partnerships to redefine our business model, navigate complex regulatory environments, build new products, and negotiate increasingly elaborate commercial deals, among other important projects our teams get involved every day.
- To tackle this mission, it all starts with a strong team passionate about growing Booking.com in an ethical and sustainable way!
Who we are:
To match our global footprint and the array of challenges we face, we are proud to highlight the diversity that exists across this group.
We are a team of approximately 70 professionals - representing more than 20 nationalities - with lawyers qualified in many different countries, as well as non-lawyers with public policy, economics, compliance and risk backgrounds.
Our team's previous experience spans across a multitude of industries with team members having worked for major global companies (including Uber, American Express, Airbnb, Amazon, Google, Nokia), tech and other startups, government entities (e.g., the Dutch Competition Authority), and reputable international law firms (eg, Hogan Lovells, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Baker Mckenzie), and Public Affairs firms (e.g., FTI Consulting, FIPRA, Braunschweig).
In addition to our day-to-day work, we actively seek opportunities for our team members to engage in the wider global legal and public affairs communities through speaking engagements, training programs, and association memberships.
Some of our lawyers are Board members of Consumer Law associations, Competition Law associations, Privacy associations, etc.
We also believe in actively engaging with stakeholders to share our insights on policies affecting the travel experience and how travel tech innovations can fuel the digital transformation of the travel industry.
For example, we recently launched Booking.com's Public Affairs blog, where we publish our position on key policy issues (A World Worth Experiencing).
As a team, we believe in:
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