Sr. Legal Counsel, Employment- EMEA

Who is Bird

Bird is on a mission to bring environmentally friendly transportation to everyone. Our products, services, and people share one common goal: to make cities more livable by reducing gas-powered car usage, lowering carbon emissions, and improving the safety of all road users.

We are relentless in our pursuit of better—for our riders, for our partners, for our employees, and for future generations. Our award winning electric vehicles help millions of riders take carbon-free trips in more than 300 cities globally. And our teams push boundaries and challenge the status quo in pursuit of a brighter future.

Job Summary

Our Legal team is focused on helping Bird grow and scale while safeguarding its interests. We are looking to add a Sr. Legal Counsel with 7+ years of broad-based experience to handle a variety of labor and employment responsibilities to support and help lead our business in EMEA. The job differs every day - with our fast growth there's a variety of reasons for teams to contact you for advice, revising documents and contracts, or anything related to labor and employment law. There’s a lot of room to create processes, templates and scale the labor and employment function within the EMEA Legal team.

Responsibilities

• Provide critical support to the People team in the development and implementation of labor and employment policies and best practices across both existing and new EMEA markets.
• Advise the People team on the full range of employment matters across the EMEA region, including recruiting, hiring, training, performance management, compensation, benefits, leave of absence, terminations, collective bargaining agreements (CBA), labour relations, and Works Councils. Document standard operating procedures (SOPs) and conduct training for the People team and the business on various employment-related topics.
• Lead litigations, mediations and/or settlements of employment-related disputes.
• Draft, review and negotiate a wide range of EMEA employment templates and other documents, including employment contracts, restrictive covenant agreements, severance agreements, performance management documentation, and contracts for staffing agencies and other HR-related transactions.
• Coordinate with local counsel in EMEA (especially in France and Spain) to convert outside counsel feedback into actionable internal advice and guidance.
• Partner with internal stakeholders (particularly Finance, Operations and Corporate Development) on cross-functional projects to mitigate employment law risk related to Bird’s business and proactively find solutions to those issues.
• Build close relationships with business teams and obtain and maintain a strong knowledge of Bird’s products and strategic objectives in order to provide practical legal advice and support on a wide range of labor and employment matters.

Requirements

• Law degree from reputable law school.
• 7+ years of international experience in a large law firm and/or in-house role.
• Excellent business judgment and communication skills.
• Deep knowledge of European labor and employment laws and regulations and the ability to apply knowledge pragmatically.
• Hands-on experience partnering with and advising HR personnel and other key stakeholders at international organizations on a broad range of employment matters.
• Fluent in written and spoken English; fluency in another European language (with ability to draft and review contracts) is a plus.
• The ability to proactively analyze risks and provide business-minded advice and recommendations to thoughtfully drive Bird’s continued success and growth.
• Ability to work independently while being able to contribute successfully to cross-functional teams.
• Passion to work hard in a fast-paced environment.
• Excellent organizational skills; ability to manage multiple projects at once, follow through and meet deadlines.
• Qualified lawyer.

Preferred Qualifications

• Dutch qualified lawyer preferred.

Culture at Bird

We're an ambitious, smart and open-minded team that is passionate about our mission. Each day is unlike the last, as we’re constantly moving forward, challenging each other, and working together to create the future of micro-mobility.

Perks up

We want people to succeed at Bird, so we give our teams plenty of time off to relax and recharge. We also offer a work from home stipend, a wellness allowance, and more. Plus, a new resource to help support personal and professional developments—all the goods needed to move on our mission together.

Bird is the world

Bird stands for a culture of inclusion. We celebrate different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives —encouraging everyone to bring their authentic selves to work. We have a diverse environment that empowers our team to feel comfortable when they voice their opinions. For these reasons and more Bird is a proud equal employment opportunity employer. We welcome everyone regardless of their race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or genetics, and we are dedicated to providing an inclusive, open, and diverse work environment.

Sound like a place you’d like to work? Sweet. Let’s chat.