Director, Employment Counsel

ABOUT OPORTUN

Oportun (Nasdaq: OPRT) is a digital banking platform that puts its 2.2 million members' financial goals within reach. With intelligent borrowing and savings, Oportun empowers members with the confidence to build a better financial future. Since inception, Oportun has provided more than $17.8 billion in responsible and affordable credit, saved its members more than $2.3 billion in interest and fees, and helped our members save an average of more than $1,800 annually. For more information, visit Oportun.com.

 

WORKING AT OPORTUN

Working at Oportun means enjoying a differentiated experience of being part of a team that fosters a diverse, equitable and inclusive culture where we all feel a sense of belonging and are encouraged to share our perspectives. This inclusive culture is directly connected to our organization's performance and ability to fulfill our mission of delivering affordable credit to those left out of the financial mainstream. We celebrate and nurture our inclusive culture through our employee resource groups.

The Director, Employment Counsel will support Oportun’s People Experience team and business partners by providing pragmatic, risk-balanced advice and counsel on Mexico employment law and labor relations matters that touch upon all aspects of the employee life cycle, from recruiting and hiring to termination.  A focus of the role will be on tracking federal laws and legal developments that impact our Mexico workforce and operations to strategically advise and train People Experience and business partners such as Finance and Procurement to ensure compliance, including through the building and improvement of compliant, yet practical policies and procedures in partnership with the U.S. Legal team.  The Employment Counsel will also partner with and manage outside counsel in the handling of all labor claims in the conciliation and labor courts and develop needed policies, processes and trainings to mitigate such claims and partner as needed with the Corporate Legal team on varied corporate and contract legal matters.

This role will be primarily remote with an expectation to periodically work onsite at the León office with business partners.  The role will report to the Vice President, Assistant General Counsel, Global Employment & Immigration.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Act as trusted advisor and thought partner to the business by providing pragmatic day-to-day advice, counsel and support to People Experience teams and business partners on a broad range of business and legal issues, including employee benefits, compensation, immigration, recruiting, employee/labor relations, disability accommodation, social security, privacy, compliance, and diversity and inclusion.
• Actively research, track and report on new employment/labor laws, regulations, legal trends and developments to determine potential impact or risks.  Communicate relevant issues to business partners, advise and train People Experience and business partners on compliance and provide strategic guidance on the creation or improvement of existing policies and procedures to also continuously improve best practices.
• Partner with and supervise outside counsel where necessary on employment law projects, audits and litigation.  Oversee the management and handling of labor claims, including advising on case strategy in coordination with internal stakeholders and outside counsel.
• Create employee-facing documents such as employment agreements, separation agreements, and policies.
• Partner and work closely with People Experience to manage and resolve employee/labor relations concerns and investigations.
• Partner with Corporate and Commercial Legal teams and Procurement to provide support as needed on commercial contracts negotiations and drafting, corporate governance and intercompany matters.
• Other projects and duties as assigned.

Necessary Skills and Attributes

• A creative and curious thinker, who is comfortable with ambiguity and change, seeks input and best practices from others, and successfully collaborates cross-functionally to solve problems.
• Unquestionable ethics and integrity, consistently exercises sound legal and business judgment and manages confidential and sensitive information with discretion and professionalism.
• Strong project management skills.
• A self-starter who enjoys collaboration and working in an environment that values innovation.