HR Legal Lead & Social Partnership (m/f/d)

The future looks like you

At C&A we are driven by our values and we believe that affordable and high-quality fashion is not contradictory to caring for people & the planet, we are always forward thinking and acting to develop our business and innovate the industry. This is your chance to join the C&A team as HR Legal Lead & Social Partnership (m/f/d)!

The HR Legal Lead & Social Partnership Lead plays a critical role in driving strategic and tactical labor relations in C&A’s Social Partnership & HR Legal function, ensuring compliance with employment laws. Simultaneously, the role is vital for providing leadership and competence to foster strong partnerships with the business, employee representatives, HR colleagues, and works councils. This role serves as a bridging actor between HR, legal compliance, and social dialogue, upholding fair and legally sound people practices aligned with C&A’s organizational values.

Your responsibilities

• Lead and manage relationships with works councils and serve as a primary point of contact for collective bargaining negotiations
• Develop and implement strategies for proactive labor relations and conflict resolution
• Stay up to date on relevant labor trends and advise leaderships on potential impacts
• Lead and develop the Social Partnership & HR Legal team with emphasis on growth and accountability
• Provide expert legal counsel on employment law, labor regulations, and HR policies, demonstrating compliance with local, regional, and international labor laws and regulations
• Guarantee accuracy and competence by offering expert knowledge backed up by sound professional experience collected in corporate legal environments
• Support HR department in managing sensitive employee relations issues, investigations, and disciplinary actions, and lead labor court proceedings in necessary circumstances
• Supervise managing all sort of Human Resources templates (employment contracts, warnings, terminations, and any other relevant HR contracts) to ensure legal compliance
• Collaborate proactively with other HR functions e.g. HR Business Partners, Payroll, Total Rewards, etc., and Business to align legal and ethical standards

• Advise on organizational changes, restructures, and workforce transitions from a legal and social perspective and lead the following negotiations with works councils

What you bring

• Strong leadership skills with the ability to motivate and develop high-performing team members
• Strong knowledge of employment law and labor relations frameworks (local and international)
• Excellent negotiation and stakeholder management skills
• Excellent analytical and organizational skills
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to collaborate effectively across different departments and levels of the organization
• Stress-resistant, an ability to prioritize and manage tasks in a fast-paced environment
• Experience working in a multinational corporate environment
• Completed first and second state examination in law
• Minimum 7–10 years of experience in labor law, employee relations, or HR legal advisory roles
• Proven experience working with unions, works councils or other employee representative bodies
• Fluency in German and English language

What we offer

This is an opportunity for you to join us on a truly exciting transformation journey, where you’ll be able to leave footprints that last and contribute significantly to our vision. As well as knowing that you played a key part in the evolution of one of Europe’s most recognizable retail brands, you will also enjoy:

• Countless learning and development opportunities via our C&A academy
• Access to a Partner Discount Scheme
• An employee discount of 20% in C&A stores
• 30 days' vacation
• Corporate pension scheme
• Mental health and wellness program
• An exciting job in an international and inspirational working environment
• A positive working atmosphere and a talented team with an open feedback culture