Senior Legal Counsel

The Company:

Meet Unit4. We’re in business for people.

We’re a fast-paced growth cloud company, changing the game in people focused solutions for mid-market people-centric organisations. Our software supports our customers in delivering an exceptional people experience to their customers - from boosting success for students and professionals, to empowering the public servants and non-profit teams doing good in the world.

For people-centric organizations, Unit4 offers not just a better place to work, but a better way to work. We transform work to be more meaningful and inspiring through software that’s self-driving, adaptive and intuitive, intelligently automating administrative tasks and providing easy access to the answers people need.

Our cloud-based enterprise software all arise from a simple premise: give people the means to focus on what matters, and the people they serve will benefit.

Read more on our website about how we transform work and how people feel about it, so our customers and their people can thrive.

At Unit4 you’ll have the opportunity to work within a challenging, fast paced international environment. We’ll invest in your personal and professional growth and we don’t focus on how many days you work, we trust you to deliver results, that’s why we provide an uncapped time off policy! Join us if you would like to be part of something special; helping shape a global people-centric cloud company.

Job Description

As a Senior legal counsel for CE (France) and Lead Privacy Counsel you will provide broad legal advice and assistance to the business in CE for all French speaking countries (e.g. France, Belgium, Luxembourg) and will work together as part of the Go-To Market team with legal colleagues to address legal issues across the globe.

As a Senior Legal Counsel you will be responsible for negotiating, drafting and reviewing a broad range of agreements and assisting with disputes. You may also be asked to assist the Unit4 French business with day to day legal advice on corporate, HR and finance matters.

As Lead Privacy Counsel you will oversee Unit4’s approach to data protection matters under GDPR and in other jurisdictions. You will take responsibility for driving Unit4’s approach to data protection and AI matters as this field expands and as Unit4 finds more uses for AI and machine learning within its product set working closely with our R&D team as well as our Chief Data Officer and other teams around Unit4.

As part of the global legal team, you will enhance legal awareness in the business, by providing training and advising management on relevant legal development that could affect our business. You will be involved in strategic projects critical to the business and engage directly with senior executives (including with respect to AI as mentioned above). 

You will be part of a global legal team of around 12 people. Unit4 is growing fast and advancing its technology into many new areas which provides for a great number of exciting projects where legal is leading the business in best practice and compliant ways of transacting business.

Key Responsibilities

• Commercial Contracts:
  • Draft, review, and negotiate a wide range of commercial contracts, including SaaS (sales) agreements, service agreements, non-disclosure agreements, and joint venture agreements.
  • Provide legal advice on contract interpretation and dispute resolution.
• French Commercial Law:
  • Advise on French commercial law matters, including corporate governance, competition law, and consumer protection.
  • Stay up-to-date on French legal developments and provide training to internal stakeholders.
• Privacy, Data Protection and AI:
  • Advise on all aspects of data privacy and protection compliance, including GDPR, e-Privacy Directive, and local data protection laws.
  • Conduct data privacy impact assessments (DPIAs) and provide guidance on data minimization and retention policies.
  • Manage data breach response processes (working closely with the CISO) and coordinate with relevant stakeholders.
  • Represent the company in data protection audits and investigations.
  • Involvement in company’s AI committee and all related projects.

Education

French Law Degree (preferably masters level) (IP law, Economic law or Business law)

Knowledge and Skills

• Strong project management skills;
• Excellent presentation skills in both informal and formal situations;
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in French and English;
• Good interpersonal skills and relationship management skills;
• Self-starter so therefore also a quick learner;
• Team player;
• Ability to work collaboratively with senior staff in management and other disciplines;
• Committed to excellent performance and a practical understanding of how to deliver results;
• Be hands on and have a Can Do mentality;
• Energetic individual with unusual initiative;
• Ability to work under pressure and be flexible;
• Strong work ethic and enthusiastic about new challenges; and
• Creative thinker and resourceful problem solver.

Experience

• Qualified to practice law in France;
• A minimum of 5 years post qualification experience;
• Experience in private law firm; and
• In-house experience in a globally operating IT/tech company.

Join Unit4 and you’ll be part of one of the most exciting journeys in the cloud software space today. We’re a fast-paced and high-growth people-centric cloud player offering a host of benefits & development opportunities for individuals serious about their career.  At Unit4, you have the freedom and autonomy to be successful. An attractive salary while working in a challenging international environment. Enthusiastic colleagues who like to learn from each other. At Unit4 we invest in your personal and professional growth. We don't focus on how many days you work, we trust you on delivering results - thus, we have an unlimited vacation policy.