Employment CounselSkillsoft is seeking an experienced Principal Employment Counsel to join our team! In this fast-paced exciting role, the Employment Counsel will work closely with the People Team and business leaders to provide timely, solutions-focused advice on a broad range of employment and employee relations matters, contributing to the overall success and growth of the company.
The successful candidate will serve as a trusted legal partner who can identify risk, exercise sound judgment, and develop practical solutions that support Skillsoft's business objectives and values. This role offers the opportunity to advise a global organization on complex and evolving employment issues, manage international disputes and investigations, develop scalable employment practices, and collaborate across functions and regions.
This role requires a proactive and business-oriented mindset, strong analytical skills, and excellent communication and interpersonal expertise.
RESPONSIBILITIESEmployment Advice and Counsel:- Provide accurate and timely legal advice and counsel to internal clients on a wide range of employment corporate matters, including recruiting, hiring, onboarding and performance management.
- Advise on sensitive and complex employee relations matters, balancing legal risk, employee experience, business objectives, and operational realities.
- Translate complex legal requirements into clear, actionable guidance for People Team professionals, managers, and business leaders.
- Build strong relationships with internal stakeholders and develop a deep understanding of Skillsoft's workforce, business priorities, and operating model.
Contract Review and Negotiation:- Draft, review, and update employment-related documents, including, offer letters and employment agreements; restrictive covenant, confidentiality, and intellectual property agreements, separation agreements and releases; commission, bonus, and incentive plan documents; Performance management and disciplinary documentation; Investigation plans, interview outlines, findings, and remediation documents; employee policies, handbooks, notices, acknowledgments, and consent forms; workforce transition materials.
- Review employment communications for legal risk, clarity, consistency, and alignment with company practices.
- Develop practical templates, playbooks, checklists, and self-service resources for common employment matters.
- Support periodic reviews of employment policies and practices to identify compliance gaps and opportunities for simplification or standardization.
Global Employment Compliance- Provide employment law counseling across the jurisdictions in which Skillsoft operates, coordinating with local counsel and regional stakeholders as appropriate.
- Monitor developments in global labor and employment laws and advise on changes needed to Skillsoft policies, practices, agreements, and processes.
- Develop and maintain tools that help Skillsoft identify, prioritize, and manage employment-related legal and compliance risk, including support regarding employee training and compliance.
Investigations and Employee Relations- Advise on and conduct workplace investigations involving allegations of discrimination, harassment, retaliation, misconduct, conflicts of interest, policy violations, and other sensitive employee matters.
- Work with the People Team to define an appropriate investigation plan, privilege structure, interim measures, documentation approach, findings, remediation, and follow-up.
- Provide clear and balanced recommendations regarding corrective action, remediation, process improvements, and retaliation monitoring.
Dispute Management- Manage employment litigation, administrative charges, labor proceedings, pre-litigation disputes, demand letters, and settlement negotiations in the United States and internationally.
- Develop case strategy in partnership with internal stakeholders and external counsel, including review of factual records, assessment of exposure, preservation and discovery strategy, and evaluation of settlement options.
- Engage and supervise counsel when as needed.
GENERAL COMPLIANCE- Support Skillsoft's enterprise compliance program which includes such areas as ERM, ESG, and other regulatory compliance.
- Strengthen compliance program infrastructure by maintaining policies, controls, and documentation that feed ERM and Audit Committee oversight, and partner with Legal Operations to reduce key-person dependency across compliance readiness.
REQUIRED SKILLS & QUALIFICATIONS- 8+ years of professional experience as a corporate attorney, preferably in a similar internal role or with a reputable law firm with a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from an accredited law school and active membership in the bar association.
- Strong experience and knowledge of United States employment law, with demonstrated ability to advise on global or multi-jurisdictional employment and other regulatory matters, and manage local counsel.
- Experience advising on workplace investigations, employee relations matters, employment disputes, administrative proceedings, and employment litigation.
- Strong drafting and review experience involving employment agreements, separation documents, policies, handbooks, investigation materials, and other employment-related documents.
- Experience advising on and supporting corporate compliance programs, including policy governance, risk assessments, compliance training, internal controls, investigations, and regulatory compliance initiatives.
- Familiarity with enterprise risk management (ERM), ESG-related compliance considerations, audit and compliance governance processes, and partnering with cross-functional teams to develop scalable compliance frameworks and controls.
- Demonstrated ability to identify emerging legal and regulatory risks, develop practical compliance solutions, and implement sustainable processes that support business objectives while promoting a culture of integrity and accountability.
- Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills, with the ability to provide practical advice that aligns legal risk management with business objectives.
- Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain complex employment law concepts clearly and effectively to non-legal stakeholders.
- Skilled at working collaboratively with the People Team and other cross-functional stakeholders, while also working independently, prioritizing tasks, and managing multiple matters simultaneously.
- Ability to be agile and take initiative, recognizing opportunities and initiating actions to develop practical, scalable, and productive ways to support the business.
- Demonstrated emotional intelligence, sound judgment, and a collaborative approach, with the ability to navigate sensitive and high-stakes issues professionally while maintaining perspective, humility, and a healthy sense of humor.
- Thrives in a fast-paced, team-oriented environment and brings a positive, pragmatic mindset, taking the work seriously and delivering at a high level without taking themselves too seriously.
Target base salary range for this job requisition is anticipated to be approximately $175,000 - $190,000 annualized.We also offer Enterprise benefits including but not limited to: medical, dental, vision, and paid time off.The company may modify salaries, salary ranges and/or Pay Plans from time to time as it deems necessary.Skillsoft uses AI-enabled tools to screen applications. Recruitment and hiring decisions are made by Skillsoft personnel and are not based solely on automated processing. 
