Employment Counsel, Europe

JOIN ARGENX

At argenx, we build our culture from the collective power of the team and the knowledge that together, we are better. If you are entrepreneurial, curious and committed to making a difference for patients and thrive on creating solutions for rare autoimmune diseases, then argenx is for you. Next to a competitive salary with extensive benefits, we offer you the chance to grow and be a part of a team driven by purpose, creativity, innovation and science.

argenx

argenx is a fast-growing global immunology company committed to improving the lives of people suffering from severe autoimmune diseases. Thanks to colleagues based in Europe, Canada, Australia, the United States and Japan, we translate immunology breakthroughs into a world-class portfolio of novel antibody-based medicines. argenx is looking for an Employment Law Counsel (Europe) to join our Global Employment Law team.

PURPOSE OF THE FUNCTION

Do you love tackling global employment law issues in a thoughtful way and making them relevant, user-friendly, and practical to help teams attract and retain top talent? Is leading in a patient-focused, fast-paced, rapidly growing multinational biotechnology business your bread and butter?

Do you have a “can do” attitude and enjoy creating and implementing right-sized and scalable solutions that enable people strategies, build capacity, and drive projects forward? Do you have a passion for putting talent initiatives in action in a team-based environment? If yes, please keep reading to learn more about a new role that will be responsible for doing that and more for argenx – a dynamic global immunology company with 1,600 argonaut employees – as a member of our Global Employment Law team.

The Employment Counsel, Europe role will provide strategic and day-to-day labour and employment related in-house legal advice, guidance, and thought leadership to enable Human Resources (HR) professionals and other company leaders and stakeholders to navigate a broad range of employment law matters in Europe.

The position also will be responsible for co-creating and leading global initiatives and projects, shaping employment practices, and scaling employment law frameworks that are tailored for argenx. This role will be a member of the Global Employment Law Team and part of the company's Legal, Compliance and IP (LCIP) team. Protecting argenx's interests and facilitating compliance with applicable employment laws to help argenx remain an employer of choice and build capacity will be key.

Key Responsibilities

• Cultivate a fair, inclusive, innovative and ethical culture and environment where top talent can thrive.
• Partner and co-create with Human Resources (HR), Legal, Compliance, Intellectual Property (LCIP), external counsel, and other stakeholders on employment law and other matters in a project-based, cross-functional team culture in Europe and globally.
• Provide high-quality, collaborative, and innovative employment law advice and counsel on matters involving: recruitment & hiring; performance; discipline; terminations; remuneration, benefits and other rewards/recognition; wage and hour laws; pay transparency and pay equity; CSRD/CSDDD/ESG; new market/jurisdiction entry; works councils/employee representative bodies; immigration; employee grievances and investigations; development of people policies, procedures and programs; contingent workforce management; and compliance with applicable employment laws and regulations.
• Bring a mindset for creating and implementing user-friendly tools, resources, and solutions to support, empower, and add value for HR and the company overall and efficiently scaling employment law support and argenx’s Global Employment Law community/function.
• Manage outside counsel relationships and partner with external counsel on individual employee matters; employment law projects; employee grievances, conciliation hearings, court, tribunal or regulatory proceedings; litigation; and attorney demands, to deliver consistent and cost-effective employment law advice in alignment with the argenx way.
• Curate and deliver – whether in-house or through external counsel – engaging and relevant HR training.
• Proactively monitor employment law changes and developments impacting argenx in Europe and globally to design and influence approaches, frameworks, and policies that comply with applicable laws and align with argenx’s Cultural Pillars. Maintain awareness of external perspectives (i.e., governments, advocacy organizations, thought leaders) to anticipate and identify relevant trends to shape and influence argenx philosophies and programs.
• An interest in extracting relevant employment law metrics and data insights to aid argenx with anticipating potential trends, identifying focus areas, and mitigating potential risk.
• Represent argenx as a thought leader on global employment law practices in external forums and bring relevant external insights and learnings to argenx.
  
  
  

Skills And Competencies

• Company culture champion who embraces change, is comfortable in fast-paced environments, operates with broad view and can build capacity.
• Knowledgeable and skilled multi-jurisdictional employment attorney with top-notch advisory, counseling, and interpersonal experience with an array of employment law issues in Europe.
• Exceptional problem-solving skills, judgment, strategic thinking, and business acumen. Ability to quickly analyze, propose and implement courses of action and solutions.
• Excellent communication (oral and written), organization, and analytical skills. Ability to clearly translate complex concepts into relevant and actionable ones and make them concrete.
• Track record of building strong, collaborative, and trusted professional relationships with people across all levels, cultures and geographies in a global cross-functional team environment and effectively leveraging internal and external networks.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently, apply sound judgment, act decisively, operate flexibly, navigate ambiguity, and effectively prioritize what matters most and when.
• Ability to spot gaps, connect dots and create relevant, tangible, and impactful resources and solutions in key areas.
  
  
  

Education, Experience And Qualifications

• A qualified lawyer in Belgium or another European jurisdiction.
• Fluency in Dutch is a significant plus.
• The ideal candidate has 7 years of employment law experience in Europe (inclusive of 2 years of in-house, cross-border, and/or works council/employee representative body experience), preferably in the biotechnology or pharmaceutical industry or other complex, highly regulated organizations.
• Willingness to be based in or near Belgium (Ghent) with frequent travel to Belgium (Ghent) and travel to other key company locations.