Wood has an exciting opportunity for an experienced Employment Lawyer to join our award-winning Legal team as a Senior Legal Counsel on a permanent basis. This role offers hybrid working from our Reading office. #LI-hybrid This is a truly international role supporting Wood's operations across the UK & Europe, the Middle East, Africa, CIS and APAC regions. Working as the lead employment lawyer for the Eastern Hemisphere, you will provide strategic, commercially focused and pragmatic legal advice across a broad spectrum of contentious and non-contentious employment matters on a multi-jurisdictional basis. The role requires significant experience, autonomy and professional judgement, advising business and HR stakeholders on complex employment issues, managing employment disputes and litigation, supporting restructurings and business change programmes, overseeing external counsel, and ensuring the effective management of employment-related legal risk. In addition, you will play a role in the development and delivery of employment-related policies, training and guidance, while undertaking horizon scanning and monitoring legislative developments to help ensure ongoing compliance across Wood's diverse jurisdictions. Our Clients and Projects Designing the future. Transforming the world. Wood delivers solutions across more than 60 countries with local offices covering all major energy and materials hubs globally. For more than 160 years, we have partnered with clients to deliver engineering, advisory and operational solutions to some of the world’s most complex and critical challenges in energy and materials. What we can offer • Meaningful and interesting projects we support green hydrogen and fuel switching, as well as supporting local clients with energy transition • Flexible working arrangements that balance client, team and individual needs offering hybrid working arrangements • Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion; we are an organisation actively committed to diversity and inclusion across our business with employee networks committed to giving all employees a voice • Competitive salary with regular salary reviews to ensure we are rewarding at the right level in line with the market • Flexible benefits package; inclusive of 33 days annual leave (including public holidays), generous contributory pension scheme, private medical cover, 4x base salary life insurance; all of these and more that can be adapted to suit your own lifestyle • Commitment to continued professional development; development plans that are tailored to your individual needs and interests • Global connections; join experts around the world who are at the leading edge of our industry, shaping the standards of our profession RESPONSIBILITIES • Lead the effective, timely and cost‑efficient delivery of legal advice, governance and compliance across assigned regions or matters, acting as the legal adviser on complex issues • Manage complex employment disputes, investigations and litigation, including strategy development, instruction and supervision of external counsel, budget control and resolution planning • Management of external legal service provider engagement and related budgets • Perform complex legal analysis and problem solving, research, counsel and guidance, including effective communication of same • Provide clear, pragmatic and commercially grounded advice to senior stakeholders, enabling informed decision‑making in ambiguous or high‑pressure situations • Maintain and input into matter and cost management databases • Develop understanding of legal risks and cost, including anticipating potential risk and developing risk mitigation strategies • Provide oversight of functional legal risk and management, proactively identifying and effectively managing legal risk and compliance • Successfully communicate and deliver strategic legal and compliance initiatives as and when required • Manage current and new vendor relationships, with a focus on continuous improvement • Proactively share knowledge and experience with other members of the legal team to assist in overall development and progression of the team • Support the creation of a cohesive team and organisational culture based on values and excellence in delivery which fosters innovation and collaboration, continuous improvement and change • Capture lessons learned and contribute to progressive learning programmes within the legal team and the relevant area of responsibility • Consistently exhibit Wood’s behaviours and lead by personal example, encouraging all employees to conduct their activities in accordance with all applicable laws and Wood’s standards and policies • Develop strong working relationships with HR leadership and senior business stakeholders, acting as a trusted adviser on strategic workforce and employee relations matter QUALIFICATIONS What makes you remarkable? At Wood, we are committed to equal opportunities and welcome all talented individuals to consider joining our team. So even if you don't match every statement below but feel you have some of the experience, knowledge or skills needed for this role, we encourage you to apply. It will take all of us working together to deliver solutions to the world’s most critical challenges. Expected: • Education and qualification as a lawyer, solicitor, barrister or equivalent qualification • Valid / current law license • Post-qualified experience in an in house or private practice environment • Strong commercial acumen and highly developed legal and analytical skills (e.g., negotiation, drafting, relevant legal knowledge) • Time management, use of IT systems and tools • Employment law compliance, workforce governance and employee relations • Changing regulatory environment • Current and future industry trends • Complex legal analysis and problem solving • Designing and delivering employment law training and guidance. • Significant experience advising on contentious and non-contentious employment matters, employment-related litigation, investigations, restructurings, and workforce compliance. • Experience advising on disciplinary, grievance and performance matters • Experience of employment litigation and workplace investigations • Experience supporting reorganisations, restructurings and workforce change programmes • Experience of drafting and implementing employment policies and procedures • Experience managing external employment counsel across multiple jurisdictions • Experience providing strategic employment support to HR and senior business leaders Personal Attributes: • Consistently model and lead on Wood’s values, working with integrity, respecting and valuing others and our communities • Resilience, empathy and sound judgement • Balance of humility and self confidence • Good interpersonal skills, with the ability to communicate effectively at all levels of the organisation and with colleagues in remote locations • Strong problem solving and creative skills and the ability to exercise sound judgment and make decisions based on accurate and timely analyses • High level of integrity and dependability with a strong sense of urgency and results-orientation • Anticipates the environment, is forward thinking and able to see the ‘big picture’ • Creative in the achievement of stretching objectives; does not accept failure easily • Flexibility to adapt quickly to new challenges and environments • English language fluency • Demonstrated commitment to continuous learning and development Ability to: • Consistently deliver to stakeholders • Push the boundaries to create smarter, more sustainable solutions • Generate trust and credibility with audiences through continuous, open and consistent communication • Champion and drive innovation and change initiatives, focused on improving quality and effectiveness • Work effectively across different cultures, driving a global mind-set • Foster and contribute towards a customer-focused climate that delivers on expectations and strengthens relationships • Disseminate complex legal issues in a clear, concise and pragmatic manner • Meet deadlines and provide professional level of service at all times Wood is a global leader in consulting, engineering and operations for the energy and materials sectors. With 33,000 people in around 50 countries, Wood supports clients across the full asset lifecycle, delivering safe, predictable outcomes while enabling resilient operations and a lower carbon future. Wood forms the Energy & Materials pillar of Sidara - a global partnership uniting leading multidisciplinary engineering, design, and project management companies. www.woodgroup.com [https://www.woodgroup.com/] Diversity Statement We are an equal opportunity employer that recognises the value of a diverse workforce. All suitably qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment on the basis of objective criteria and without regard to the following (which is a non-exhaustive list): race, colour, age, religion, gender, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, protected veteran status, or other characteristics in accordance with the relevant governing laws.