Senior Employment Counsel

The role

Nebius is seeking a pragmatic and highly structured Senior Employment Counsel, to act as the primary legal partner to the HR team. The role will lead advice on employment and labour law (mostly Dutch) across the full employee lifecycle, including employment terms, compensation and benefits, performance and conduct matters, sickness and absence, investigations, reorganisations, terminations, settlement arrangements and employee disputes.

The role will also support Nebius's international growth by coordinating employment-law work in a wide range of new jurisdictions. This includes ensuring that compliant employment agreements, policies, templates and processes are established and maintained for each relevant country, in close partnership with HR, Compensation & Benefits, Compliance, the wider Legal team and external counsel.

Operating with a high degree of autonomy, the successful candidate will provide practical, business-oriented advice, manage sensitive matters with sound judgement and discretion, and build scalable ways of working in a fast-moving environment where structures, processes and priorities continue to evolve.

Your responsibilities will include: 

• Act as the primary legal contact for the HR team (and other HQ units), providing timely, practical, decisive and commercially balanced advice on employment and labour law and employee-relations matters, and escalating material risks appropriately.
• Advise across the full employee lifecycle, including recruitment terms, onboarding, employment status, performance, conduct, sickness and absence, investigations, disciplinary measures, terminations and post-termination obligations.
• Manage employee (Labor) disputes and contentious matters from early assessment through resolution, including settlement negotiations, termination agreements, litigation or administrative proceedings, and coordination (consulting) with external counsel.
• Advise on compensation and benefits matters, including salary and bonus arrangements, incentive and equity plans, allowances, pensions and changes to terms and conditions, in partnership with HR and Compensation & Benefits.
• Draft, review, negotiate and maintain Dutch employment agreements, offer letters, policies, handbooks, settlement agreements, secondment and mobility documentation, and related templates.
• Work directly with the Dutch Works Council (ondernemingsraad), advising on information, consultation and consent processes, preparing supporting documentation, assisting with meetings and ensuring timely follow-up and implementation.
• Advise on reorganisations, restructurings, redundancies, business transfers and other workforce changes, including employee consultation, communications and implementation planning.
• Lead employment-law workstreams for entry into new jurisdictions by identifying required local documents, policies, registrations and decision points; instructing and managing international external counsel for scope, quality and cost; and translating local advice into practical implementation steps.
• Build and maintain scalable employment-law infrastructure, including global and local templates, country playbooks, launch checklists and approval workflows.
• Monitor relevant legal and regulatory developments, update agreements, policies and guidance, and provide training to HR, managers and other stakeholders.

  

We expect you to have: 

• A Dutch law degree or equivalent legal qualification, with a strong specialisation in employment and labour law.
• At least 7 years of relevant post-qualification legal experience, with a substantial and recent focus on Dutch employment and labour law, gained in-house and/or at a reputable law firm.
• Professional fluency in Dutch and English, both written and spoken.
• Demonstrable experience advising and working directly with a Dutch Works Council, including information, consultation and consent processes.
• Broad, hands-on employee-relations experience, including disputes, workplace investigations, performance and disciplinary matters, sickness and absence, reorganisations, terminations, settlement agreements and compensation matters.
• Strong drafting and negotiation skills across employment agreements, policies, employee communications, settlement documentation and other employment-related materials.
• The ability to independently manage sensitive and contentious matters and to act as a trusted legal partner to HR, managers and senior leadership.
• A highly structured, process-oriented approach, with the ability to manage multiple matters, jurisdictions, dependencies and deadlines while maintaining accurate documentation and follow-through.
• Excellent judgement, attention to detail, communication and stakeholder-management skills, together with a high level of discretion and integrity.
• The adaptability to operate effectively in a fast-growing international business where structures, priorities and processes continue to evolve.

It will be an added bonus if you have: 

• Experience with employment and labour law in jurisdictions outside the Netherlands.
• Prior in-house experience in an international organisation, ideally in technology, cloud, digital infrastructure or another fast-growing, cross-border business.
• Experience instructing and working with external employment counsel in multiple jurisdictions, including managing scope, budget, quality and consistency of advice.
• Experience with collective labour agreements (CAOs), trade unions, collective redundancies, business transfers, executive employment matters and incentive or equity arrangements.
• Experience establishing employment-law frameworks, templates and processes for new country launches or rapid international workforce expansion.