Director, Senior Counsel

Job Description

Are you ready to take your legal career to the next level with a company that’s redefining customer service? Join Zendesk as the Director, Commercial Legal (EMEA) and be part of an exceptionally ambitious team. This role offers a unique opportunity to lead and influence in a high-growth environment while successfully implementing world-class legal strategies.

Join Zendesk as Director, Commercial Legal (EMEA)

Zendesk seeks an experienced Director, Legal to lead the EMEA Commercial team and shape the strategic direction of our EMEA Legal practice. This role will also work together with the Global Partner team to lead central initiatives and supervise contractual negotiations and processes. You will work closely with senior EMEA leadership and play a key role in our Global Commercial organization. This is a chance to lead and drive positive change in a high-growth environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and Inspire: Manage our dedicated EMEA team, steering daily operations while crafting and implementing strategies that foster growth, improvement, and sustained success. 

• Strategic Partnering: Become an integral member of the EMEA Leadership team, guiding the region’s strategic direction in alignment with overall business goals.

• Practical Legal Guidance: Offer insightful and business-minded legal advice on a variety of topics, including compliance, product, privacy, AI, employment, and commercial matters, while effectively managing risk.

• Regulatory Awareness: Stay abreast of legal changes within the region and collaborate with our outstanding Legal team to ensure compliance with local laws.

• Encourage Consistency: Improve efficiency within the Global Commercial Team by sharing expertise, insights, and standard processes to foster collaboration across departments.

• Foster Collaboration: Build strong relationships with senior EMEA leaders in Sales, Pre-Sales, Revenue Operations, Marketing, Advocacy, and Security to ensure seamless partnership with Legal.

• Contractual Integrity: Work within the Global Commercial Leadership team to ensure key precedent contracts are regularly reviewed and remain robust.

• Process Improvement: Create and implement tools, systems, and methods for tracking and managing legal transactions/documents, providing key business leaders with timely progress updates.

• Manage Outside Counsel: Oversee Legal’s relationships with external counsel across EMEA to ensure quality and consistency in legal support.

• Drive Global Improvement Projects: Lead various initiatives aimed at enhancing the Global Transactions practice as necessary.

Qualifications

• In-house experience within a SaaS company required, especially in commercial and tech transactions. Must have a solid understanding of legal regulations affecting SaaS, including privacy and AI standards.

• Leadership Excellence: Significant experience in managing solicitors/lawyers, ideally in a remote and geographically dispersed environment.

• Legal Credentials: Licensed to practice law in one or more EMEA jurisdictions, preferably in England & Wales or Ireland.

• Integrity and Ethics: Strong leadership, mentorship, and motivational abilities, coupled with a robust sense of integrity and ethics.

• Ownership Mentality: Act as the face of EMEA Legal, taking ownership of its performance and success.

• Commercial Acumen: Ability to advise on innovative commercial models that support sales initiatives.

• Success-Focused: Proven ability to excel in dynamic and rapidly evolving contexts.

• Skilled Negotiator: Experienced in drafting and negotiating various commercial and tech transactions commonly found in the SaaS industry, such as Subscription Agreements, Services Agreements, Data Processing Agreements, and technology partnership agreements.

• Strong Communication Skills: Proficient in conveying concise and practical advice on intricate legal matters to customers and partners who may not have a legal background.

• Organizational Skills: Strong project management and execution skills, with a collaborative and flexible approach to teamwork.

• Analytical Problem-Solver: Excellent analytical and problem-solving capabilities, especially when navigating uncertainties.

• Exceptional Communicator: Outstanding oral, written, and interpersonal communication skills.

Zendesk software was built to bring a sense of calm to the chaotic world of customer service. Today we power billions of conversations with brands you know and love.

Zendesk believes in offering our people a fulfilling and inclusive experience. Our hybrid way of working, enables us to purposefully come together in person, at one of our many Zendesk offices around the world, to connect, collaborate and learn whilst also giving our people the flexibility to work remotely for part of the week.

The intelligent heart of customer experience
Zendesk software was built to bring a sense of calm to the chaotic world of customer service. Today we power billions of conversations with brands you know and love. We advocate for digital first customer experiences—and we stick with it in our workplace. Over 5,000 employees worldwide are collaborating from kitchen tables, home offices, coworking spaces, and Zendesk workspaces to make one team.

Zendesk is an equal opportunity employer, and we’re proud of our ongoing efforts to foster global diversity, equity, & inclusion in the workplace. Individuals seeking employment and employees at Zendesk are considered without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, medical condition, ancestry, disability, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. We are an AA/EEO/Veterans/Disabled employer. If you are based in the United States and would like more information about your EEO rights under the law, please click here.

Zendesk endeavors to make reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities and disabled veterans pursuant to applicable federal and state law. If you are an individual with a disability and require a reasonable accommodation to submit this application, complete any pre-employment testing, or otherwise participate in the employee selection process, please send an e-mail to [email protected] with your specific accommodation request.