Director, Labor Relations - EMEA

Job Description

At LinkedIn, our approach to flexible work is centered on trust and optimised for culture, connection, clarity, and the evolving needs of our business. The work location of this role is hybrid, meaning it will be performed both from home and from a LinkedIn office on select days, as determined by the business needs of the team.          

This role will be based in Dublin.      

Position Summary 

The Director, Labor Relations - Europe is responsible for shaping and executing the company's labour relations strategy across Europe and Latam. This leader will oversee employee representative engagement, works council/ union engagement strategy, information and consultation processes, collective bargaining support, and labour risk management, while partnering with senior leaders to navigate complex organisational change. 

Working closely with HR, Legal, business executives, and global/regional leadership, the Director will balance legal compliance with commercial priorities, enabling business transformation while fostering trusted, constructive relationships with employee representatives. 

What You Will Do 

Shape EMEA Labour Relations Strategy 

• Define and execute a consistent labour relations strategy across Europe. 
• Lead the European Works Council and country works council engagement strategy. 
• Build trusted, long-term relationships with employee representatives, unions and works councils. 
• Provide strategic guidance to senior leaders on labour relations risks and opportunities. 

Enable Business Transformation 

Partner with business leaders to successfully deliver major organisational initiatives, including: 

• Organisational redesign 
• Mergers & acquisitions 
• Business transfers 
• Workforce restructuring 
• Technology transformation 
• Policy and organisational change 
• Reward, incentive and sales-compensation change (e.g. pay-mix, commission and quota-plan design) 
• Performance management change 
• Introduction of new technology and AI tools 

You will ensure consultation obligations are met while helping the business move forward confidently and effectively. 

Executive Partnership 

Act as the trusted labour relations advisor to senior HR and business executives by: 

• Advising leaders on complex labour matters and associated business risks. 
• Preparing executive briefings and recommendations. 
• Influencing strategic decisions through expert labour relations guidance. 
• Balancing commercial objectives with legal and employee obligations. 

Works Council & Employee Representative Engagement 

Lead consultation and information processes across Europe by: 

• Managing relationships with European and local works councils. 
• Leading complex consultation and codetermination programmes. 
• Leading negotiation on company agreements on business-critical topics such as compensation and sales incentive/quota plans, performance management, workforce restructuring, and the introduction of new technology and AI tools. 
• Supporting collective bargaining activities where required. 
• Creating a consistent and scalable approach across multiple countries. 

Risk Management & Governance 

• Assess labour-related risks associated with business decisions. 
• Develop mitigation strategies and highlight trade-off decisions that enable business outcomes. 
• Monitor emerging European labour legislation and regulatory developments. 
• Ensure compliance with EU directives and country-specific employment legislation. 
• Build governance frameworks and best practices across the region. 

Cross-Functional Leadership

Partner closely with: 

• HR Business Partners 
• Employment Legal 
• Employee Relations 
• HR Governance (Privacy) 
• Total Rewards 
• Communications 
• Finance 
• Regional and Global Business Leaders 

You will bring these teams together to deliver thoughtful, commercially balanced solutions to complex organisational challenges. 

Qualifications

Basic Qualifications: 

• 10+ Experience establishing, building and scaling a labor relations / works council function 
• 10+ Years experience leading negotiations and consultations with Works Councils/ unions consultations across multiple European countries. 
• 10 + Experience negotiating collective company agreements with employee reps on business critical areas 
• 10+ Experience of European information & consultation frameworks (EWC Directive and country-specific co-determination law). 

Preferred Qualifications: 

• Experience  with German works council engagement and codetermination obligations 
• Direct experience with a European Works Council (EWC) - including establishment, information and consultation under the EU EWC Directive. 
• Experience supporting organisational transformation, restructures and business change. 
• Strong executive stakeholder management experience. 
• Proven ability to influence senior leaders in complex, matrixed organisations. 
• Experience within a global technology or multinational business. 
• Experience supporting mergers, acquisitions or large-scale transformation programmes. 
• Strong applied employment-law grounding 
• Additional European language(s). 
• Master's degree or equivalent 

Suggest Skills: 

• Negotiation and mediation 
• Strategic thinking 
• Building and sustaining trust in ambiguous settings 
• Executive presence 
• Strong commercial judgement 
• Exceptional influencing skills 

Additional Information

Global Data Privacy Notice and Compliance Posters for Job Candidates 

Please use this link to access documents that provide information about how LinkedIn handles the personal data of employees and job applicants, as well as the E-Verify Participation Notice and the Department of Justice Immigrant and Employee Rights Section Right to Work posters: https://www.linkedin.com/legal/candidate-portal.