The Director, Employment Counsel will support Oportun’s People Experience team and business partners by providing pragmatic, risk-balanced advice and counsel on Mexico employment law and labor relations matters that touch upon all aspects of the employee life cycle, from recruiting and hiring to termination. A focus of the role will be on tracking federal laws and legal developments that impact our Mexico workforce and operations to strategically advise and train People Experience and business partners such as Finance and Procurement to ensure compliance, including through the building and improvement of compliant, yet practical policies and procedures in partnership with the U.S. Legal team. The Employment Counsel will also partner with and manage outside counsel in the handling of all labor claims in the conciliation and labor courts and develop needed policies, processes and trainings to mitigate such claims and partner as needed with the Corporate Legal team on varied corporate and contract legal matters.

This role will be primarily remote with an expectation to periodically work onsite at the León office with business partners. The role will report to the Vice President, Assistant General Counsel, Global Employment & Immigration.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Act as trusted advisor and thought partner to the business by providing pragmatic day-to-day advice, counsel and support to People Experience teams and business partners on a broad range of business and legal issues, including employee benefits, compensation, immigration, recruiting, employee/labor relations, disability accommodation, social security, privacy, compliance, and diversity and inclusion.
• Actively research, track and report on new employment/labor laws, regulations, legal trends and developments to determine potential impact or risks. Communicate relevant issues to business partners, advise and train People Experience and business partners on compliance and provide strategic guidance on the creation or improvement of existing policies and procedures to also continuously improve best practices.
• Partner with and supervise outside counsel where necessary on employment law projects, audits and litigation. Oversee the management and handling of labor claims, including advising on case strategy in coordination with internal stakeholders and outside counsel.
• Create employee-facing documents such as employment agreements, separation agreements, and policies.
• Partner and work closely with People Experience to manage and resolve employee/labor relations concerns and investigations.
• Partner with Corporate and Commercial Legal teams and Procurement to provide support as needed on commercial contracts negotiations and drafting, corporate governance and intercompany matters.
• Other projects and duties as assigned.

Necessary Skills and Attributes

• A creative and curious thinker, who is comfortable with ambiguity and change, seeks input and best practices from others, and successfully collaborates cross-functionally to solve problems.
• Unquestionable ethics and integrity, consistently exercises sound legal and business judgment and manages confidential and sensitive information with discretion and professionalism.
• Strong project management skills.
• A self-starter who enjoys collaboration and working in an environment that values innovation.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in law from an accredited university in Mexico, Master’s degree, LLM, or recognized postgraduate law degree in international law preferred.
• 6+ years of in-house experience with a transnational company and/or experience with a full-service law firm with an international clientele, advising and counseling Human Resources and business teams on compliance with Mexico federal employment/labor laws as they apply to a diverse, remote workforce.
• Experience advising on inbound immigration matters, social security issues, and Mexico’s Data Privacy Law and managing labor litigation, including matters before the IMSS.
• Strong analytical skills and ability to exercise sound judgment in providing legal advice and assisting the business on implementing such advice; ability to work independently with minimal oversight and partner with other legal team members.
• Excellent written, oral and interpersonal communication skills with the ability to establish and maintain trust and relationships.
• Detail-oriented, organized, efficient and resourceful with strong follow-through skills.
• Adept at thriving in a fast-paced environment with shifting priorities, utilizing effective organizational skills to prioritize and manage deadlines for multiple simultaneous projects for multiple stakeholders.
• Proven track record for collaborating with cross-functional teams (e.g., Human Resources, Finance, IT, InfoSec, Safety & Security, Internal Audit) to set objectives and produce meaningful, measurable results.
• Advanced English proficiency.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working at or with technology and/or fintech companies.
• Knowledge of call center operations, U.S. consumer credit, global data privacy and data security a plus.
• Experience supporting U.S.-based legal and HR teams, as well as U.S.-based managers of people teams in Mexico.
• Experience advising on U.S. employment law and employee relations matters.
• Strong academic credentials.

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