Senior Legal Counsel, US Employment

About the role

We are seeking a Senior Counsel, US Employment to provide legal advice and support implementation of employment-related policies, procedures, and initiatives. The role involves managing legal risk, advising on employment and regulatory matters, and supporting the business in making pragmatic, commercial, and ethical decisions.

Responsibilities

• Align business partners, including HR, Reward and Employee Relations stakeholders, and manage legal risk.
• Provide legal advice and support implementation of employment-related policies, procedures, and initiatives.
• Manage employment-related demand letters, charges, single plaintiff and class action disputes, arbitrations and mediations and advise on effective management of employee grievances, investigations and ADA issues to minimize legal risk to the Company.
• Support drafting and negotiating broad range of employment-related agreements, analyze employment and compensation-related issues, and provide subject matter expertise on issues related to every aspect of the employment lifecycle.
• Provide general advice regarding employee benefits.
• Identify topics for development of guidance, templates and tools to enable HR to self-serve and be self-sufficient in everyday HR Legal matters.
• Participate in creating and providing training on key employment law risks, changes to the law and best practices. Provide strategic support for HR risk management efforts.
• Engage and manage external legal counsel effectively and ensure that our engagements reflect our inclusion and belonging legal obligations and policies.
• Interface with company employees at all levels, including senior executives and business lawyers.
• Collaborate with other lawyers on the Global HR Legal team with respect to advice and counselling provided to HR and other business partners.
• Work with Puerto Rico counsel to advise on matters involving Puerto Rico employees.
• Supporting with matters outside the US as appropriate to provide practical, clear support and guidance to market HR teams.
• Assessing local and global litigation and internal case trends and identifying opportunities for training and process/template improvement.
• Supporting Global HR legal projects, including by facilitating the preparation of market versions of global contract and (where appropriate) policy templates and obtaining market legal advice to support the design and delivery of global projects.

Qualifications

• Strong academic background, Bachelor’s Degree and Juris Doctorate or equivalent law degree.
• Must be admitted to practice law and be in good standing with Bar.
• Minimum 5 years legal experience advising clients or Human Resources with employment law matters.
• Experience with workplace investigations and disciplinary actions, wage and hour compliance, contracts (Employment Contract, Non-Compete, Severance Agreements etc.), discrimination, harassment and retaliation claims, and other related employment law matters.
• Excellent influencing and stakeholder management skills at all levels of management.
• Demonstrated ability to work under pressure, juggle numerous priorities and meet deadlines.
• Demonstrated ability to learn and apply new legal concepts quickly, proactively identify issues, and succeed in developing solutions in a fast-paced environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• In-house experience strongly preferred.
• Experience working in a CPG or FCMG environment.
• Admission and good standing in other parts of tri-state area in addition to New Jersey is an advantage.
• Some experience of working with lawyers outside the US is an advantage.

Key Soft Skills

• Influencing
• Empathy
• Analytical thinking
• Taking initiative
• Prioritization
• Pragmatism
• Solutions-focused approach
• Ressilience in managing ambiguity

Location

This role is hybrid based in Warren, NJ, and requires 3 days per week in the office.

Compensation

The salary range for this role is: $160,876 - $221,204 plus an 18% on-target bonus.

Benefits

Haleon offers a robust Total Reward package that consists of competitive pay and a comprehensive benefits program. This includes a generous 401(k) plan, tuition reimbursement and time off programs including 6 months paid parental leave. On day one, you are eligible for benefits, including our healthcare programs where the company pays for the majority of your medical coverage for you and your family. We also offer the opportunity to receive a discretionary bonus based on the achievement of key business performance and other incentive/recognition programs as part of the offering.

Equal Opportunities

Haleon are committed to mobilising our purpose in a way that represents the diverse consumers and communities who rely on our brands every day. It guides us in creating an inclusive culture, where different backgrounds and views are valued and respected – all in support of understanding and best serving the needs of our consumers and unleashing the full potential of our people. It’s important to us that Haleon is a place where all our employees feel they truly belong. During the application process, we may ask you to share some personal information, which is entirely voluntary. This information ensures we meet certain regulatory and reporting obligations and supports the development, refinement, and execution of our inclusion and belonging programmes that are open to all Haleon employees. The personal information you provide will be kept confidential, used only for legitimate business purposes, and will never be used in making any employment decisions, including hiring decisions.

Job Posting End Date

2026-07-21