Labour & Employment Counsel Manager - France, Belgium, Netherlands
10/06/2022

Accenture Legal encompasses ~3000 lawyers, contract management and other professionals in 47 countries, making us amongst the biggest in-house units of our kind globally. Join our team to develop solutions and implement strategic approaches that enable us to increase our shareholder value, ensure compliance and protect our assets and reputation. Our tight-knit group of global legal professionals work together to help our company and clients achieve high performance.

The Employment Law Team sits within the Compliance, Offerings, Regulatory & Ethics (CORE) function within Legal, and offers the full range of Employment Law services from advisory and litigation support on HR and Employee Relations issues to implementing compliance projects and supporting transactional matters.

Our professionals receive comprehensive training covering business acumen, technical and professional skills development. We offer a variety of formal and informal training programs at a number of levels to help you acquire and build specialized skills faster. Learning takes place both on the job and through formal training conducted online and in person. The sheer variety of work we do, and the experience it offers, provide an unbeatable platform from which to build and further develop your career.

Enjoy challenging and interesting work that requires innovation and creativity. Your entrepreneurial spirit and vision will be encouraged and rewarded, and your success will fuel opportunities for increased impact and rapid career advancement. You’ll also build the deep, valuable industry and functional expertise that will keep you relevant as you grow your career.

Your role

Reporting into the Employment Law Lead for Gallia, this is an exciting opportunity to work directly with key stakeholders across a workload that is both interesting and varied:

• Focus on France and Benelux.
   
• Provide strategic and pragmatic Employment Law advice on a wide range of advisory matters to key internal stakeholders – including HR, ER, I&D, Total Rewards, Mobility, Mobilisation and Leadership.
   
• Oversee and provide support for litigation and pre-litigation matters, in conjunction with Employee Relations team and external counsel.
   
• Provide operational and strategic support for transactional matters:
   
  • Outsourcing – negotiating and advising on contractual aspects of outsourcing deals including risk management and transition of staff into (and out from) Accenture.
     
  • Ventures & Acquisitions – negotiating and advising on M&A/joint venture deals, including due diligence, deal execution and post-merger integration support.
     
• Advise on industrial relations and collective bargaining issues, particularly collective consultation requirements.
   
• Contribute to development of internal guidelines, toolkits, and packaged knowledge on Employment Law and business issues for the region.
   
• Manage and oversee external counsel relationships with law firms as appropriate, including budget management.
   
• Stay abreast of legal developments impacting on Accenture, its clients, and industries and incorporate it into company practices.
   
• Support, promote, and implement initiatives as part of Legal team.
   
• Counsel, guide, train and support junior colleagues as appropriate.
   
• Educate Leadership and key stakeholders with regard to Legal and risk management issues in the region.
   
• Make recommendations and escalate to your lead on material Employment Law related issues.

Your team

At Accenture Corporate Functions, we do whatever it takes to make Accenture a success - every day. We are the pieces that hold it all together: organizing collaborations, monitoring and optimizing our activities and results, keeping everyone happy and motivated – and that’s just the beginning. Working alongside HR, Finance, Geographic services, Marcom, Legal, and Information Management teams, you will find exciting opportunities to make your mark (and a measurable difference, too). We use modern tools, innovative approaches and our knowledge of best practice to ensure everything is running smoothly. It can be challenging to meet all the needs of our big-name clients and partners, as well as our colleagues - but it's worth it when you see what we achieve together. 

• French or Belgian qualified lawyer with post-qualification experience within an Employment Law team, in private practice and/or – ideally – in an in-house environment. We anticipate hiring a candidate with a minimum of around 8 years post qualification experience, but we will review applications from all levels of PQE.
   
• Strong background in Venture & Acquisitions and outsourcing deals in a cross-border and international environment.
   
• Prior expertise in Immigration Law is an asset.
   
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English.
   
• For Belgium only: very good command of Dutch is a strong asset.
   
• For Netherlands only: very good command of French is required.
   
• Enthusiasm for continuous learning.
   
• Able to present innovative, original solutions which understand our business, and to act as a strategic thinker.
   
• Leader as well as team player, collaborative and persuasive; able to work well with a wide range of personnel, across many roles and levels.
   
• Understand the value of diversity and recognize the strengths that different styles, innovative perspectives and experiences bring to Accenture.
   
• Demonstrate respect for individuals regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, religion, belief, age, disability, sexual orientation or other personal characteristic.
   
• Strong time management, prioritization and project management skills.
   
• Build trust-based relationships – through interpersonal skills and by delivering on commitments.
   
• Preferably, some exposure to cross-border work or European projects.

• Ability to work flexibly, including from home as well as in the office.

Accenture is an incredible place to work - and keep learning. By joining us, you’ll become part of a global company with a world-class brand and reputation.  Besides the work we do for our clients, we’re really proud of our vibrant, diverse workplace culture: we believe in openness and honesty, fairness and equality, common sense and realism. We want to get to know the real you and help you explore and grow - whatever it is you're great at. So you will always have lots of learning opportunities (formal and informal) to improve your role-specific skills and expertise.

Besides our high-profile, challenging projects and our nurturing work environment, we offer excellent employee benefits, including:

• 13th month + holiday allowance
   
• 20 + 12 holidays
   
• Laptop and smartphone
   
• Hospitalization insurance and extensive group insurance package
   
• Bonus program
   
• Training & learning opportunities
   
• Green mobility program: e-bikes, public transport, bike 2 work allowance,…
   
• Flex rewards: decide on your rewards package with our flexible benefits tool
   
• Discount program: get discounts at your favorite (online) shops
   
• Employee shares purchase plan
   
• Eco-cheques
   
• And many more!