Senior Legal Counsel

Overview

In this role you act as the lead employment lawyer for Wood’s Eastern Hemisphere, providing strategic, commercially focused advice on a wide range of employment matters across multiple jurisdictions. You will manage disputes and litigation, support restructurings and business changes, oversee external counsel, and help shape policies and training. The position involves horizon scanning to ensure ongoing compliance and requires collaboration with HR and senior business stakeholders. You will work within Wood’s global Legal team to enable safe, compliant, and resilient operations.

Pay / Benefits

• Hybrid working (Aberdeen or Reading)
• Flexible benefits package
• 33 days annual leave
• Generous contributory pension
• Private medical cover
• 4x base salary life insurance

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic legal guidance on contentious and non-contentious employment matters across multi-jurisdictional regions
• Manage employment disputes, investigations, and litigation; develop strategy and supervise external counsel
• Support restructurings, workforce changes, and business change programmes
• Oversee drafting and implementation of employment policies and procedures
• Develop and deliver employment-related training and guidance
• Monitor regulatory developments and ensure ongoing compliance across jurisdictions
• Manage legal risk, costs, and relationships with external vendors
• Collaborate with HR leadership and senior stakeholders to provide pragmatic, commercial advice

Key requirements

• Qualified lawyer with in-house or private practice experience
• Strong commercial acumen and developed legal/analytical skills
• Experience advising on both contentious and non-contentious employment matters
• Experience managing external employment counsel across multiple jurisdictions
• Proven ability to advise senior business leaders and HR stakeholders
• Experience with restructurings and workforce change programmes
• Excellent drafting, negotiation, and problem-solving abilities
• Ability to work autonomously and across cultures in a global role

• Integrity and dependability
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills
• Resilience and sound judgement
• Employment law expertise
• Workforce governance and employee relations
• Policy development and training design

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