Director and Senior Managing Counsel (Employment Law)

One platform a whole world of opportunity

The best jobs are often restricted to a few wealthy cities but talent exists everywhere. Oyster set out to change this by launching a global employment platform that enables companies to hire pay and support talent anywhere.

Were proof that a strong engaged culture doesnt require an office. Since January 2020 Oyster has:

Built a distributed team of 400 across 60 countries

Featured in Forbes as #9 in FlexJobs Top 30 Companies for remote jobs

Formed a diverse leadership team and a workforce thats 60% female

Earned top employee engagement scores

Raised $286 million; valued at $1.2 billion

Achieved B Corp status in 2023

Our momentum shows the power of global employment and were just getting started! If you want to help us drive change and work remotely wed love for you to apply!

Location: While this position is posted in a specific location all of Oysters positions are fully remote and you can work from home. Forever. To create the best experience for our new hire this role requires you to be based within the EMEA region

Role Summary

Oyster is hiring a Director & Senior Managing Counsel (Employment Law) to lead our Claims & Escalations team and help shape how we support a global distributed workforce. This role reports directly to our General Counsel and plays a key part in guiding the company through complex employment-law issues across multiple countries.

The core of this job is deep hands-on employment law expertise. Were looking for someone who brings significant experience advising on employment matters ideally across several jurisdictions or in cross-border contexts. This includes partnering closely with HR drafting and reviewing policies and employment agreements and managing litigation or contentious matters. If you enjoy being the go-to person for tough employment-law calls this is the kind of role where youll have real impact.

Youll manage a team of attorneys and legal professionals who support both internal partners and external clients. Together youll work with outside counsel research local laws and regulations and guide our People Advisory and People Experience teams through the full employment lifecycle for Oysters Staff and Team Members around the world. The team also oversees all employment-related and commercial claims.

Experience with immigration rules employee benefits or global workforce issues is a plus.

Theres also space for broader legal work such as corporate diligence contract drafting and negotiation and developing company-wide policies and procedures so youll touch a wide range of topics while still anchoring the function in solid employment-law leadership.

Key Responsibilities

We are looking for someone bright energetic and a self-starter. The successful candidate will be an employment lawyer able to handle any responsibility assigned who can successfully work on their own but is also not afraid to ask for help.

• Successfully manage a team of remote lawyers and legal specialists located around the world

• Advise on Employment law issues including escalations arising from customer and team member engagements and the complexities of balancing Oysters legal obligations with customer expectations

• Oversee all claims and disputes liaising with outside counsel

• Provide advice and counsel to internal stakeholders at all levels of the organization and external stakeholders as required regarding employment law and employment-related issues in various countries

• Work cross-functionally with Oysters People Services Operations and Revenue teams to support the entire employment lifecycle of Oysters internal colleagues and external team members

• Liaise with and managing outside counsel to include managing and monitoring legal spend and outside counsel performance

• Collaborate with other Legal Teams to solve complex legal issues create efficiencies and support department-wide initiatives

• Other duties as assigned

Core Requirements

• At least 7 years PQE practicing employment law

• Juris Doctorate or other qualified lawyer admitted to practice in one or more jurisdictions

• In-house experience working within a corporate legal department

• Law firm experience including in the practice of litigation

• People management experience

• Experience working in a remote work environment

• Experience advising on employment law compliance in one or more APAC LATAM or European countries;

• Experience with drafting employment and non-compete agreements and handling employment terminations transfers and employee complaints;

• Ability to handle complex legal issues involving various countries laws (including employment-related questions and global workforce issues)

• Capable of explaining complex legal theory terminology and issues in easy-to-understand language for digestion by Oyster Team Members Staff and Customer Companies

• Excellent analytical communication and research skills

• A positive attitude and willingness to assist others no matter how small the task

• Ability to work in a fast-paced high-output team-oriented practical environment

• Experience in one or more of the following areas would be beneficial:

  • Working at an EOR or PEO

  • Advising on employee benefits (retirement and welfare plans equity or stock options or executive compensation);

  • Advising a multinational organization on cross-border compliance issues;

  • Immigration law or global mobility experience

  • Experience with corporate due diligence

  • Experience with employee benefits

Youll also need

• A reliable home internet connection (or be able to get one)

• Fluent English language skills both written and spoken

How we work together at Oyster

Our values guide the work we do the decisions we make and the culture that makes us special. We make it happen. We drive change. We build and give trust and we are a united team.

Our mission is to create a more equal world one global hire at a time. Everything we do ladders up to our mission and that doesnt just mean building software. We develop programs participate in workshops and create dedicated teams to ensure we successfully support companies and knowledge workers in this new world of work.

We embrace asynchronous communication and collaborative work and share our practices in the Oyster Public HQ to help other global teams learn from our experiences.

How YOU work

With diverse locations cultures and needs we created How YOU Work; a program supporting your whole human experience at Oyster:

• Work from anywhere: Oyster has no borders or HQ. As long as work is timely your team is supported and youre authorized to work where you live you can work from anywhere.

• Paid time off: Enjoy 40 days off per year (including holidays and vacation) or more if required by your country.

• Mental health support: Access Plumm our mental well-being service.

• Wellbeing allowance: Each month receive a wellbeing allowance in your ThanksBen wallet. Spend it on a wide range of options; see the benefits catalogue for ideas.

• Flexible parental leave: All new parents are eligible for at least three months paid leave with job protection for up to 12 months or as required locally.

• WFH stipend: Receive a stipend for your laptop and home office equipment to get you set up quickly.

The best jobs should be available to everyone

We embrace diverse perspectives and intentionally build our product and company with an inclusive global mindset. We encourage you to apply even if you dont meet every criterion and are committed to a trust-based thriving environment.

Oyster is committed to ensuring equal opportunity of employment for qualified persons with disabilities and actively fosters an inclusive work environment. If you require reasonable accommodations throughout the recruiting process please email with the subject line: Interview Accommodations.

Our available positions are on our careers page. Our team will only contact you from an @ email and we will never ask for money as part of an interview process or job offer. If you receive a suspicious email about Oyster jobs or are directed to a site other than please report it via our Compliance and Ethics Helpline.

Required Experience:

Director