← Back to jobs

Director, Employee Relations & Compliance, Emea

legora

OnSite London
IT Governance

Job Score

80 pts
On-site model (+70) IT Governance (+10)

About Us

Legora is redefining how legal work gets done. Not built for lawyers, built with them. We work alongside the world’s best legal teams, who expect excellence, precision, and speed, and we hold ourselves to the same bar.

Our AI-native workspace lets legal professionals move faster, think more clearly, and operate with sharper precision. By analysing thousands of documents in minutes and powering end-to-end workflows, we cut through complexity, teams can focus on what matters: judgment, strategy, and outcomes.

1,000+ customers across 50+ countries trust us, including Cleary Gottlieb, Goodwin, Linklaters, White & Case, Dentons, and Barclays. We’ve scaled to $100M+ in ARR, with teams across Europe, North America and APAC, and continue to expand through acquisitions including Qura, Walter AI and Graceview.

We partner with world-class performers: including Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees, Ludvig Åberg (and his caddie), and campaigns featuring Jude Law.

Joining Legora means three things.

  • We lean in: ownership over titles, outcomes over intentions.

  • We fight for excellence: high standards, direct, ego-free feedback.

  • We grow together: as a team and with our customers.

Mission before ego. Everyone contributes. No one coasts.

If you’re driven by impact, pace, and raising the bar. This is the place.

The Role

This is our first Director of Employee Relations & Compliance for EMEA: a senior, hands-on role owning ER casework, employment law compliance and jurisdictional risk across Germany, the UK, Sweden, Italy, Spain and France.

Based in London, you'll be the standing authority on ER practice in the region. You'll own complex casework end to end, build dedicated ER capability where none exists today, and extend the strength we already have in Stockholm. You'll report to the EMEA People Director, with a path to running an independent function reporting to the CHRO as it scales.

What You'll Do

ER leadership and casework

  • Own complex casework end to end across every market: investigations, grievances, disciplinaries, PIPs and terminations for cause, to a consistently high, legally sound standard.

  • Be the escalation point when a matter turns complex, contested or legally weighted, for Local People Advisory and the wider People org.

  • Hold the bar on case handling: written scoping, contemporaneous documentation, balance-of-probabilities findings, and independent second review of any outcome that could end employment.

Compliance and jurisdictional risk

  • Own employment and ER compliance across all six markets: statutory notice and consultation, works council and union engagement, mandatory filings and register-keeping, and local implementation of the EU Whistleblowing Directive (disclosures run through a separate channel).

  • Maintain the EMEA jurisdiction playbook and horizon-scan for legal changes, flagging implications to leadership early.

  • Engage Employment Counsel at the right moment with a clear written scope, not as a late rescue.

  • Note: comp-related compliance (pay equity, gender pay gap, benefits) sits with Rewards.

Team and capability building

  • Build dedicated ER capability across EMEA, prioritised by risk and case volume, on the foundation of the Stockholm team.

  • Certify and calibrate anyone running a formal ER process, keeping casework consistent as the team grows.

Stakeholder partnership and consistency

  • Act as the quality check for Local People Advisory across EMEA (who sit in People Operations), signing off local ER and compliance work without managing those roles day to day.

  • Partner with People Partners, People Operations, People Tech and Rewards so policy and tooling reflect what EMEA markets need.

  • Turn case patterns into a regular, actionable view for People leadership.

  • Work with your NORAM and APAC counterparts on one shared case taxonomy, system and calibration forum, representing EMEA's regulatory and cultural nuance in global standards.

What You'll Bring

  • Significant experience leading ER, HR compliance or similar at a fast-scaling company, ideally across multiple EMEA jurisdictions.

  • Deep, practical knowledge of employment law and ER practice across several of these markets, and comfort working outside your home jurisdiction.

  • A track record of investigations, disciplinaries and terminations that hold up to scrutiny: calm, neutral and thorough under pressure.

  • Experience building an ER or compliance function from the ground up: process, hiring, and getting a distributed team to one standard.

  • Confidence as a senior, independent voice, comfortable escalating to and influencing leadership.

  • Based in or willing to relocate to London, able to travel across EMEA.

What Success Looks Like

  • Every formal ER matter across the region handled fairly, consistently and to a legally sound standard.

  • A resourced, capable EMEA ER team, built out from London to the markets that need it.

  • The wider People org treats this function as the standing authority on ER and compliance, not a bottleneck.

  • A function ready to stand on its own, with a credible case for direct CHRO reporting.

Legora is an Equal Opportunity Employer

At Legora, we believe great teams are built on diversity of thought and experience. We’re proud to be an equal opportunity employer and committed to creating an inclusive, high-performance culture where everyone can do their best work. We welcome people of all backgrounds and don’t discriminate based on race, color, religion, national origin, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

What did you think of this job?

Comments 0

Want to leave a comment?
Sign in or create your account in seconds to join the discussion.
Loading comments...

About IT Governance

IT Governance is the area responsible for ensuring that information technology resources are used strategically, efficiently, and in compliance with standards and regulations. IT governance professionals ensure that technology supports business objectives in a secure and reliable manner.

Key skills include IT service management (ITIL), IT audit and compliance, risk management, business continuity, disaster recovery, metrics and indicators (SLAs, KPIs), and strategic alignment between IT and business. Frameworks like COBIT, ITIL, ISO 27001, and compliance standards are essential.

IT Governance professionals in technology companies are highly valued, especially those who master ITSM, IT audit, and risk management. The field offers opportunities from governance analyst to CIO/CTO, with a focus on efficiency, compliance, security, and business value.

Discover Other Areas

Understand the scope of work, key skills, and tools used in different career areas.

About Content

The Content and Social Media area is essential for building digital presence and audience engagement. Professionals create content strategies, manage social networks, and develop impactful brand narratives.

Key skills include copywriting, storytelling, community management, metrics analysis, audiovisual production, and knowledge of each platform algorithms.

With the growth of influencer marketing and social commerce, this area continues to generate new career opportunities.

About Business Analysis

The Business Analyst (BA) is the professional responsible for identifying problems, opportunities, and solutions in organizational processes, acting as a bridge between business areas and the technology development team. They gather and specify requirements, map value streams, design future processes, and help ensure that software deliveries align with the company's strategic goals.

About UI Design

The User Interface (UI) Design area focuses on creating and designing all the visual elements that users interact with in a digital product. This includes screens, buttons, icons, typography, color palettes, and responsive layouts, ensuring an aesthetically pleasing, consistent, and easy-to-use interface. Skills in tools like Figma and knowledge of design systems are essential.

About Systems Analyst

The Systems Analyst is the professional responsible for analyzing, designing, and implementing technology solutions that meet business needs. They act as a bridge between business areas and the development team, ensuring that systems deliver real value to the organization.

Key skills include requirements gathering and analysis, process modeling (BPMN), data modeling, technical and functional documentation, system integration (APIs, microservices), and knowledge of ERPs and CRMs. Tools like Jira, Confluence, Visio, and project management platforms are essential.

Systems Analysts in technology companies are highly valued, especially those who master agile requirements analysis (user stories, backlog), system integration, and solution architecture. The field offers opportunities from junior analyst to solution architect, with a focus on efficiency, quality, and technological innovation.

About Software Development

Software Development is one of the most dynamic and constantly evolving fields in the job market. Professionals in this area are responsible for creating, maintaining, and optimizing web, mobile, and desktop applications that impact millions of users daily.

Key languages and frameworks include JavaScript (React, Node.js, Vue.js), Python (Django, Flask), Java (Spring), PHP (Laravel), and TypeScript. Demand for full-stack developers continues to grow, especially in tech companies and startups.

Salaries range from entry-level to senior positions, with growing opportunities for remote work and international freelancing.

Career Guides

Technology Career Guide

Planning, skills, interviews, and professional growth in IT, Data Science, DevOps, and Product.

Read full guide →

Design Career Guide

UX/UI, Graphic Design, Product Design. Portfolio, tools, interviews, and growth in the Design field.

Read full guide →

Marketing Career Guide

SEO, Paid Media, Growth, Content Marketing. Certifications, tools, and strategies to grow in Digital Marketing.

Read full guide →

Finance Career Guide

Financial market, investments, corporate finance, certifications, and strategies to grow in the financial field.

Read full guide →

Communication Career Guide

Journalism, PR, Corporate Communication, Content Marketing, and Multimedia Production.

Read full guide →

Administration Career Guide

Business Management, HR, Logistics, Consulting, Project Management, and Entrepreneurship.

Read full guide →

Data Career Guide

Data Science, Data Engineering, BI, Machine Learning, and AI. From training to the job market.

Read full guide →

Product Career Guide

Product Management, Product Ownership, Agile, Scrum, and OKRs. From strategy to execution.

Read full guide →

Tech & Remote Glossary

Stop getting lost in interviews and job descriptions

The job market, especially within tech and global companies, has developed its own dialect. Not understanding these acronyms can make you lose valuable opportunities or poorly negotiate your contract. To end this problem, we created the Definitive Glossary for the Remote Professional.

🏢 Work Models & Routine

Async (Asynchronous Work)
A communication model where responses don't need to be immediate. Instead of back-to-back meetings, the team relies on well-structured documents, threads, and messages. It's the gold standard for global companies spanning multiple time zones.
Sync (Synchronous Work)
The opposite of Async. It requires the team to be online and available at the same time for meetings, live chats, and real-time collaboration.
Daily / Stand-up
A quick daily meeting (usually 15 minutes) common in Agile (Scrum) methodologies. The team answers three questions: What did I do yesterday? What will I do today? Are there any blockers?
All-Hands / Town Hall
A company-wide meeting involving all employees. Usually led by the founders (C-Levels) to present results, new goals, and answer team questions.
1:1 (One-on-One)
A recurring individual meeting between a professional and their direct manager. It is used for career alignment, feedback, and problem-solving, not just for project status updates.

💰 Contracts, Benefits & Compensation

PTO (Paid Time Off)
Instead of strict, categorized leave policies, modern US companies usually offer a flexible pool of days (e.g., 20 days of PTO, or even "Unlimited PTO") that you can use for vacations, sick days, or personal matters, while receiving your regular compensation.
Equity / Stock Options
Company ownership. The startup offers you the right to buy shares at a heavily discounted strike price in the future. If the company grows, goes public, or is acquired, these shares can be highly lucrative.
Vesting (Vesting Schedule)
The rule that controls your Equity. It usually lasts 4 years. You don't get all the shares on day one; you "earn" them gradually as you stay with the company. A "1-year Cliff" means you must stay for at least one year to receive your first batch of shares.
RSUs (Restricted Stock Units)
Unlike Stock Options (where you have the right to buy the stock), RSUs are actual shares the company grants you as a bonus or part of your compensation package, following a strict Vesting schedule.
Independent Contractor (1099 / B2B)
The most common international hiring model for global talent working for US companies. You act as a service provider (business-to-business), receiving the gross salary (often six-figure compensation) without standard local payroll tax deductions at the source.

🤖 Recruitment & Hiring Process

ATS (Applicant Tracking System)
The "robot" that reads your resume. Software like Greenhouse, Ashby, and Workday are used to filter candidates by keywords before a human even looks at the document. (Pro tip: this is why your resume must be clean, semantic, and have the right keywords).
JD (Job Description)
The document that lists the responsibilities, technical requirements, and benefits of the open position.
Cultural Fit
The interview stage that evaluates if your core values, communication style, and worldview align with the company's culture. This is the ultimate test of your Soft Skills.
Onboarding
The integration process. It's the period of your first few weeks at the company, where you get your access credentials, learn about the culture, study the internal documentation, and understand how the product works.

🚀 How to use this to your advantage?

The secret isn't just knowing what these acronyms mean, but using them actively. If during an interview for a premium tech role you ask, "How does your PTO policy and Vesting schedule work?", the recruiter will immediately perceive you as a high-level professional, familiar with the global market standards.

The remote job market requires preparation. And having the right vocabulary is the first big step to securing six-figure proposals and standing out among thousands of applicants.

Expert Tip

Agile and Project Management in Today's Market

1. Move Beyond "Doing Agile": Deliver Real Value

One of the biggest mistakes candidates make in interviews for Agile roles is focusing too much on ceremonies (Dailies, Plannings, Retrospectives) and forgetting their actual purpose. Recruiters from global tech companies want to know how you eliminated bottlenecks and boosted team efficiency.

"True Agile success isn't measured by how many practices you implement, but by how much value you deliver to the customer and how quickly you do it."

Instead of writing "facilitated Scrum ceremonies" on your resume, use a results-driven approach: "Reduced team Cycle Time by 20% by identifying and removing bottlenecks in the value stream."

2. Certifications That Actually Bypass the ATS

While practical experience is the ultimate deciding factor, Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) used by top US companies (like Greenhouse, Ashby, and Workday) filter resumes strictly through keywords. Holding the right certifications ensures you pass this first robotic barrier and get your profile in front of a human recruiter.

  • Professional Scrum Master (PSM I, II) by Scrum.org: Highly respected because it doesn't require renewal and features a rigorous, Scrum Guide-based exam.
  • Project Management Professional (PMP) by PMI: The gold standard for traditional, predictive, and hybrid Project Management.
  • PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP): Excellent for demonstrating broad knowledge across multiple Agile frameworks (Scrum, Kanban, Lean).
  • SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework): Absolutely essential if you are targeting Enterprise-level corporations that have scaled Agile across thousands of employees.

3. Mastering Flow Metrics and Tools (Hard Skills)

The modern Agile professional must be data-driven. Companies offering six-figure compensation expect you to extract actionable insights from tools like Jira, Confluence, or Azure DevOps.

During technical interviews, be prepared to discuss how you utilize flow metrics, such as:

  • Lead Time and Cycle Time: To measure efficiency and the actual time it takes to deliver requests.
  • Throughput: The number of work items completed in a given timeframe.
  • Cumulative Flow Diagram (CFD): To visually identify bottlenecks in the workflow.
  • OKRs (Objectives and Key Results): To align the development team's daily work with the company's high-level strategic goals.

4. Soft Skills and Conflict Resolution in Async Teams

In global, remote-first, and asynchronous environments, communication is the biggest challenge. A top-tier Project Manager or Scrum Master acts as a shield for the tech team and a bridge for stakeholders.

Demonstrate emotional intelligence, empathy, and negotiation skills. You will often face situational questions like: "How would you handle a Product Owner who constantly changes the Sprint scope mid-cycle?" Your answer should highlight peaceful, data-driven negotiation focused on business impact and team predictability.

Conclusion: Your Competitive Edge

To land premium Project Management and Agile roles, you must position yourself as a strategic business partner, not just a process enforcer. Understand the product, master the metrics, and know how to guide people towards continuous improvement.

References & Useful Links