Senior Counsel (Privacy and AI)

✨ ONE PLATFORM, A WHOLE WORLD OF OPPORTUNITY The best jobs are often restricted to a few wealthy cities, but talent exists everywhere. Oyster set out to change this by launching a global employment platform that enables companies to hire, pay, and support talent anywhere. We’re proof that a strong, engaged culture doesn't require an office. Since January 2020, Oyster has: 🌏 Built a distributed team of 400+ across 60+ countries 👩‍💻 Featured in Forbes https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurabegleybloom/2024/01/25/work-from-home-or-anywhere-top-30-companies-for-remote-jobs-in-2024/ as #9 in FlexJobs Top 30 Companies for remote jobs 🌈 Formed a diverse leadership team and a workforce that’s 60% female 🏆 Earned top employee engagement scores 🦄 Raised $286 million; valued at $1.2 billion 💚 Achieved B Corp status in 2023 Our momentum shows the power of global employment, and we’re just getting started! If you want to help us drive change and work remotely, we’d love for you to apply! 👩‍💻 The Role Location: While this position is posted in a specific location, all of Oyster’s positions are fully remote and you can work from home. Forever. To create the best experience for our new hire, this role requires you to be based in Europe +1 / +2 UTC time zone. Oyster is on a mission to create a more equal world by enabling companies to hire anyone, anywhere. As Privacy & AI Counsel on our Trust & Technology team, you will be a key subject-matter expert for global privacy, data governance, and AI compliance. Reporting to the Director & Senior Managing Counsel, you’ll lead strategic initiatives that shape Oyster’s privacy program, operationalize the EU AI Act and adjacent frameworks, and embed privacy‑by‑design and responsible AI practices across Product, Engineering, IT/Security, People, and Commercial teams. This role is ideal for a pragmatic, business‑first lawyer who can turn complex legal requirements into clear guidance, frameworks, and tooling that scale in a high‑growth, fully‑distributed environment KEY RESPONSIBILITIES Data Protection Leadership & Strategy - Drive Oyster’s global privacy program and AI roadmaps and metrics with a focus on business objectives, risk appetite, and trust commitments. - Serve as counsel for EU data protection regulations, including international transfers (SCCs, TIAs, DPF where applicable), records of processing (ROPA), retention, and data governance. - Support the company‑wide strategy for AI governance (EU AI Act readiness, model/system classification, risk management, data/records obligations, provider/ deployer duties, transparency and human oversight). - Partner with leadership on executive‑level and customer‑facing trust narratives; prepare briefings and documentation for team leads, execs, and auditors. Product & Engineering (Privacy‑by‑Design + Responsible AI) - Advise on new and existing products/workflows (including automation and ML features): run DPIAs/PIAs, AI impact assessments, dataset and data‑minimization reviews, and human‑in‑the‑loop/appeal mechanisms. - Translate requirements into actionable controls (requirements, checklists, guardrails, redlines) and integrate with issue trackers and engineering workflows. - Define model/data governance requirements: data sourcing, annotation, retention/deletion, access controls, evaluation, monitoring, and incident/rollback plans. Commercial & Vendor - Draft/maintain DPAs, SCCs, and AI‑related contractual clauses; negotiate high‑impact privacy and AI terms with customers and vendors. - Partner with procurement and security teams on third-party due diligence, transfer impact assessments, and ongoing assurance. Operations & Enablement - Lead operational processes: ROPA, DSARs, consent/cookie governance, marketing/privacy for growth initiatives, retention schedules, and access controls. - Stand up and iterate playbooks, templates, risk matrices, training, and documentation for async scale. - Coach and mentor teammates (Legal, IT/Sec, Product, Data), upleveling privacy and AI literacy across Oyster. Incidents & Regulatory - Co‑lead incident response for privacy/AI‑related events (breach assessment, notification, regulator/stakeholder comms, lessons learned). - Engage with EU regulators as needed, external counsel, and customer privacy auditors. Tooling & Data Visibility - Partner with Security/Engineering to leverage privacy tooling (e.g., code/data‑flow discovery, scanning, and inventory), and CLM systems to scale contracting and compliance. MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS - Juris Doctorate or equivalent law degree and at least 7 years of experience advising on EU data regulations as a fully licensed practicing attorney. - Deep expertise in EU data protection regimes; hands‑on leadership of DPIAs, TIAs, ROPAs, retention, DSARs, vendor governance, and incident response. - Demonstrated experience operationalizing AI governance (e.g. EU AI Act readiness), including system classification, risk management, transparency/UX notices, human oversight, and documentation. - Proven ability to build and scale playbooks, templates, and processes (privacy and AI) that measurably improve speed, quality, and risk posture. - Commercial acumen with strong negotiation skills on privacy/AI terms, SCCs, data rights, and risk‑balancing positions. - Strong attention to detail with clear, effective communication across technical and non-technical teams. - Demonstrated ability to communicate clearly and effectively in asynchronous environments, effectively using written updates and documentation to collaborate across time zones with distributed teams. - Able to work independently, exercising sound judgment in a fast-paced environment. - Comfortable adapting to shifting priorities in high-output settings. - Collaborative and dependable team contributor with a pragmatic, problem-solving mindset. BONUS - Prior experience with HR/employment data, payroll/benefits, and global EOR contexts. - Experience building and using agentic workflows. - Experience engaging with customer privacy and AI assessments. - Experience with tools such as Notion and Asana. - Familiarity with privacy and CLM tools (e.g., Ketch, SpotDraft, Privado). - Certifications (CIPP/E, CIPM, CIPT, AIGP) - SOC2 or ISO experience. YOU'LL ALSO NEED - A reliable home internet connection (or be able to get one). - Excellent written and verbal communication in English. - Comfort working across time zones; occasional overlap with Americas. HOW WE WORK TOGETHER AT OYSTER Our values guide the work we do, the decisions we make, and the culture that makes us special. We make it happen. We drive change. We build and give trust, and we are a united team. Our mission is to create a more equal world, one global hire at a time. Everything we do ladders up to our mission, and that doesn’t just mean building software. We develop programs, participate in workshops, and create dedicated teams to ensure we successfully support companies and knowledge workers in this new world of work.  We embrace asynchronous communication and collaborative work and share our practices in the Oyster Public HQ https://oysterhr.notion.site/Welcome-to-The-Reef-Oyster-s-Open-Source-Employee-Guide-fc482e3f107c4afd8c85ed217f1d0c1d to help other global teams learn from our experiences. HOW YOU WORK With diverse locations, cultures, and needs, we created How YOU Work; https://oysterhr.notion.site/How-YOU-work-ac16c1932e314ffd8cb693e332458395 a program supporting your whole human experience at Oyster: - Work from anywhere: Oyster has no borders or HQ. As long as work is timely, your team is supported, and you're authorized to work where you live, you can work from anywhere. - Paid time off: Enjoy 40 days off per year (including holidays and vacation), or more if required by your country. - Mental health support: Access Plumm https://oysterhr.notion.site/Plumm-3b5e7e70dec6428e975f68f25972cfb7, our mental well-being service. - Wellbeing allowance: Each month, receive a wellbeing allowance in your ThanksBen wallet. Spend it on a wide range of options; see the benefits catalogue https://www.thanksben.com/employee-benefits-catalogue for ideas. - Flexible parental leave: All new parents are eligible for at least three months’ paid leave, with job protection for up to 12 months or as required locally. - WFH stipend: Receive a stipend for your laptop and home office equipment to get you set up quickly. ✨ THE BEST JOBS SHOULD BE AVAILABLE TO EVERYONE  We embrace diverse perspectives and intentionally build our product and company with an inclusive, global mindset. We encourage you to apply, even if you don’t meet every criterion, and are committed to a trust-based, thriving environment. Oyster is committed to ensuring equal opportunity of employment for qualified persons with disabilities and actively fosters an inclusive work environment. If you require reasonable accommodations throughout the recruiting process, please email jobs@oysterhr.com with the subject line: Interview Accommodations. Our available positions are on our careers page. Our team will only contact you from an @oysterhr.com email, and we will never ask for money as part of an interview process or job offer. If you receive a suspicious email about Oyster jobs or are directed to a site other than www.oysterhr.com/careers http://www.oysterhr.com/careers, please report it via our Compliance and Ethics Helpline https://www.oysterhr.com/trust.