Managing Counsel, Commercial - Partnerships

Overview

This role offers an opportunity to join a global HR technology organization as Managing Counsel - Partnerships. The position is a senior individual contributor role within the Employment, Product, and Commercial Legal sub-team, focused on delivering pragmatic and innovative legal solutions while managing risk. The role primarily supports global partnership deals including embedded, reseller, and channel arrangements, and provides critical support to the EMEA sales team.

Responsibilities

• Strategize, draft, and negotiate complex partnership agreements such as embedded services, channel/reseller agreements, and referral programs.
• Collaborate closely with Partnerships, Sales, Finance, and other cross-functional teams to align partnership agreements with business objectives while mitigating legal and operational risks.
• Develop and improve templates, playbooks, processes, and other resources related to partnership deals.
• Provide additional legal support for EMEA sales by reviewing, redlining, and negotiating commercial agreements in coordination with regional counsel.
• Deliver legal training and guidance to Partnership and other go-to-market stakeholders to enable effective navigation of complex commercial issues.
• Maintain a solutions-focused approach in negotiations to minimize roadblocks and resolve issues efficiently.

Requirements

• Proven experience leading the structuring and negotiation of strategic, embedded, and channel partnership agreements.
• Expertise in commercial transactions, particularly enterprise-level SaaS agreements and global sales support.
• Strong commercial drafting skills with the ability to create clear, precise, and enforceable partnership frameworks.
• Excellent negotiation skills with a capacity to develop creative and practical solutions for complex commercial challenges.
• Sharp commercial instincts and strategic thinking, balancing business success with legal risk management.
• Strong working knowledge of data protection laws, especially GDPR; familiarity with U.S. data protection laws is a plus.
• Ability to excel in a fast-paced environment, maintaining responsiveness and adaptability under pressure.
• Capacity to work independently while collaborating effectively with Partnerships, Finance, Product, and other teams.
• Ability to build trusted relationships with stakeholders while maintaining independent legal judgment.
• Judicious flexibility in negotiations, knowing when to push back and when to accommodate.
• Demonstrated automation and AI capabilities and fluency.
• A positive attitude with humor and humility.

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior experience in the HR Tech industry or familiarity with bespoke HR services agreements is beneficial but not required.

Compensation & Benefits

• Annual salary range: $66,300—$149,150 USD, dependent on location, skills, experience, and market factors.
• Competitive benefits including:
  • Flexible paid time off and working hours
  • Fully remote work from anywhere
  • 16 weeks paid parental leave
  • Mental health support services
  • Stock options
  • Learning and development budget
  • Home office budget and IT equipment
  • Budget for local in-person social events or co-working spaces

Location

• Applications are welcome globally, with priority given to candidates in EMEA time zones and secondarily to those in the US East Coast time zone.

Additional Information

• This role reports to the Director, Legal - Commercial.
• The organization operates asynchronously, allowing flexible scheduling to support work-life balance.
• The hiring process includes interviews with a recruiter, hiring manager, legal team, and stakeholders, a written exercise, a bar raiser interview, reference checks, and prior employment verification.
• The organization is an equal opportunity employer encouraging applications from diverse backgrounds and provides accommodations during the hiring process upon request.
• Fluency in English is required for application and communication.

Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis.