EMEA & APAC Employment Legal Director

ABOUT WELLA

Together, WE enable individuals to look, feel, and be their true selves.

Wella Company is one of the world’s leading beauty companies, comprised of a family of iconic brands such as Wella Professionals, Clairol, OPI, Nioxin and ghd. With 6,000 employees globally, presence in over 100 countries, Wella Company and its brands enable consumers to look, feel, and be their true selves. As innovators in the hair and nail industry, Wella Company empowers its people to delight consumers, inspire beauty professionals, engage communities, and deliver sustainable growth to its stakeholders. For additional information about the Wella Company please visit: www.wellacompany.com

THE ROLE

We are looking for the future EMEA & APAC Employment Legal Director, based in London UK, reporting to the SVP Legal Global Operations, Corporate, Labor, IT & Digital. The successful candidate will be crucial in providing legal guidance and expertise on labor & employment matters across our global operations. This position offers an opportunity to shape and influence our labor & employment strategies while ensuring compliance with applicable laws and regulations and be a key member of Wella’s global Legal team and a key partner for Wella’s Human Resources (HR).

The role requires:

• The individual will counsel on a broad spectrum of matters in labor and employment law in a truly international and dynamic business environment.
• Ability to effectively provide clear and solution-oriented guidance, often in complex and rapidly evolving projects in a global environment, without always systematically referring to external legal advisors.
• A good track record of successfully executing and driving results and providing legally compliant solutions in a fast-paced and demanding environment.
• Strong social and communication skills, with the ability to build a network of trusting relationships with HR, other Legal colleagues, management, and employees with various backgrounds and styles.

The successful candidate will lead the European legal approach to employment and labor matters, with the aim of developing a “best-in-class” structure aligned with the organization's global strategy, business, and values. The candidate will draw on extensive leadership experience combined with a strong business-minded approach.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

The duties of the EMEA & APAC Employment and Labor Legal Director will include:

• Provide expert legal advice and counsel to EMEA and APAC senior management and business teams and HR team members on a wide range of labor and employment law issues, including, but not limited to, employment contracts, terminations, discrimination, harassment, wage and hour compliance, and workplace policies.
• Collaborate with internal stakeholders to develop and implement effective labor & employment strategies that align with business goals and legal requirements.
• Partner with employee relations lead to provide legal and strategic guidance on workforce restructuring, including reorganizations, mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures (including matters giving rise to significant works council/TUPE exposure), to ensure compliance and minimize legal risk.
• Advise the HR Leadership Team, senior management of the Wella Company, and other business leaders regarding the European labor & employment legal aspects of strategic decisions. Provide legal advice on how to navigate compliantly among and through employee representativeness.
• Monitor and analyze changes in labor and employment laws globally, and proactively advise the organization on potential impacts and necessary adjustments, including new legislative trends for regions and markets to act compliantly.
• Support local HR and teams for significant employment-related legal questions /concerns, including, but not limited to, employee terminations, employee claims, and work councils set up and management.
• Manage employment-related litigation and disputes, collaborating with external legal counsel as needed.
• Provide legal advice (directly or through external counsel) to the HR lead on employee relations matters to ensure the legal compliance of employee relations programs, policies, and procedures.
• Work with the EMEA &APAC region’s HR team, the HR lead for employee relations, and the USA regional functions to ensure that programs, policies, and procedures are defined, negotiated, and deployed in due respect of employee representativeness institutions (work councils, unions if any, employee elected representative...) rights and obligations.
• Support M&A projects by advising on all labor law-related aspects
• Create and maintain close relationships with Wella’s divisional and regional HR and Legal teams in various countries and guide them in employment law matters.
• Collaborate with Compliance and HR for labor-related investigations that may occur in the EMEA & APAC or that relate to or concern the EMEA &APAC region in order to advise the legally acceptable mitigation schemes or the required actions.
• Collaborate with internal communication to ensure compliance with labor & employment laws for employee communications for EMEA & APAC employees.
• Coordinate with outside counsel to obtain EMEA &A PAC law-related legal advice and manage outside counsel activities to ensure appropriate scoping and cost-effectiveness.
• Conduct training sessions for EMEA& APAC HR teams, managers, and employees to ensure understanding and compliance with EMEA & APAC labor & employment laws and regulations.
• Partner with the US/Americas legal labor and employment legal director and the overall legal team to ensure consistency and alignment with overall legal strategies and objectives.

QUALIFICATIONS

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

• At least 15 years of post-qualification experience in labor & employment law in a multinational environment in a law firm and a multinational company
• Solid track record in international employment law (with an emphasis on the EU), management of external advisors, and the ability to take the lead in coordinating group-wide employment law projects.
• Solid track record in transformation, reorganization, and related employment activities, including strong works council/TUPE exposure in a global and multinational company.
• Experience as a strategic business advisor who possesses the leadership skills to successfully operate in a highly visible role and within a newly formed and fast-moving organization.
• Prior experience within the Consumer/FMCG industry is preferred, but other regulated industries will also be considered.
• Demonstrable skills in managing as well as influencing risk-based decision-making
• Experience of successfully leveraging communication skills and taking a partnership-orientated approach with colleagues to navigate employment demands.

LEADERSHIP CHARACTERISTICS

• A highly agile individual with strong business acumen, sound and confident judgment, managerial courage, and unquestionable integrity
• A tenacious, initiative-taking, and resilient individual with the ability to deliver and ensure execution of Wella Company’s employment and HR strategy with a good blend of operational experience and flexibility
• An adaptable approach that enables the appropriate directional change with initiatives to achieve best results
• Strong ability to simplify legal technicalities into pragmatic and practical recommendations for day-to-day compliance with labor laws.
• A highly collaborative, motivated, and inclusive leadership style to coach and develop team members
• A leader who can present ideas articulately and openly and who can effectively influence, marshal buy-in and drive change among people at all levels and with different cultural and educational backgrounds
• An active listener with excellent interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to broaden discussions and work collaboratively in achieving actionable results through others, without direct authority
• A highly responsive and trusting working style with a ‘can-do’ attitude and the confidence to make decisions when there is no immediate clear solution
• Well-organized and able to work with ambiguity and manage numerous projects and conflicting demands in a global environment
• Proven and clear oral and written communication skills in English will be essential and proficiency in other relevant languages, particularly French and German, will be advantageous.

EDUCATION & QUALIFICATIONS

• Master of Laws degree (or similar) and Bar qualifications
• Another master is a plus.
• High English proficiency. Additionally, other languages are a plus.