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Kraken, one of the world's longest-standing crypto platforms with over 10 million users, is seeking a Senior Counsel for Labor & Employment to join Payward's in-house legal department. This fully remote role is based in the EU or UK and reports to the Global Head of Labor & Employment.
You will serve as the subject matter expert for EU and UK employment law, providing local-law advice in European time zones and supporting L&E matters across MENA and APAC as needed. Key responsibilities include:
- Owning recurring EU and UK employment matters: worker classification, employee separations, employee relations, executive compensation agreements, and wage-and-hour compliance
- Advising on works councils, collective consultation, pay transparency, and employee representative obligations, particularly as the company's European footprint expands
- Supporting M&A due diligence and post-closing workforce integration for European acquisitions, including policy harmonization and consultation requirements
- Developing and localizing global employment policies for EU and UK compliance, working with the People & Experience (PX) team and business leaders
- Advising on employee and candidate data privacy, including GDPR and UK GDPR compliance and cross-border HR data transfers
- Supporting workplace investigations involving whistleblower allegations, discrimination claims, and performance issues
- Providing strategic input on global expansion, including EOR decisions, direct employment structures, entity selection, global mobility, and contingent workforce matters
- Advising on trade secret protection and restrictive covenants in EU and UK contexts
- Managing and directing local outside counsel on formal opinions and pre-litigation matters
- Monitoring global L&E trends, including crypto-industry developments, to support competitive positioning and talent strategy
You will work closely with executive leadership, existing employment counsel, and the PX team to build and scale the L&E practice for a rapidly growing global workforce.
REQUIREMENTS:
- 8+ years of legal experience advising on employment, labor, and executive compensation issues in the EU, UK, and other jurisdictions
- Experience in both in-house and law firm settings, working with high-growth and mature enterprises
- Broad international labor and employment background
- Experience advising on works councils, collective consultation, and employee representative bodies in the EU and/or UK
- Experience advising on employee and candidate data privacy under GDPR and UK GDPR
- Hands-on proficiency with generative AI tools (Claude, ChatGPT) in legal work, with sound judgment on verifying outputs against local law and protecting confidentiality, privilege, and personal data
- Proactive, entrepreneurial mindset with an opportunity-making attitude
NICE TO HAVES:
- Interest in crypto industry and Kraken's mission
- Experience in fintech, crypto, or regulated financial services
- Experience with MENA and/or APAC employment markets
- Experience with M&A due diligence, transfer-of-undertakings rules, and post-closing workforce integration
