Senior Privacy Counsel

Airbnb was born in 2007 when two hosts welcomed three guests to their San Francisco home, and has since grown to over 5 million hosts who have welcomed over 2 billion guest arrivals in almost every country across the globe. Every day, hosts offer unique stays and experiences that make it possible for guests to connect with communities in a more authentic way.

Airbnb’s Legal Department is a global team that will require working with diverse international colleagues around the world. The successful candidate will be someone who is adaptable, collaborative and embodies Airbnb’s Core Values. Candidates will be required to approach complex legal issues with a balance for local and global perspectives, while being adaptable to cultural differences and nuances. A genuine and demonstrated interest in Airbnb and a commitment to ethics, integrity and fostering a workplace that emphasizes diversity and belonging is a must. Airbnb’s Legal Department is a global team that will require working with diverse international colleagues around the world. The successful candidate will be someone who is adaptable, collaborative and embodies Airbnb’s Core Values. Candidates will be required to approach complex legal issues with a balance for local and global perspectives, while being adaptable to cultural differences and nuances. A genuine and demonstrated interest in Airbnb and a commitment to ethics, integrity and fostering a workplace that emphasizes diversity and belonging is a must.

The Community You Will Join

Airbnb’s Legal team embodies the company’s innovative, forward-thinking spirit. At the frontier of the new sharing economy, Airbnb is breaking new ground in matters of policy, law, and government relations. Where some see obstacles, we see the opportunity to find creative, practical solutions, right at the cutting edge. Our adventurous, fast-moving legal team is committed to building a team of talented, collaborative and self-motivated legal professionals across the globe who believe in Airbnb’s mission and leading as a 21st century company.  

The Difference You Will Make

Airbnb is seeking a strategic and pragmatic Senior Privacy Counsel to work on our EMEA Privacy Regulatory Team. You will have strong experience in GDPR, its interplay with global privacy laws, and working as part of a team managing data regulatory engagements. 

You will play a critical role within our global privacy team, and work across multiple global teams and regions providing advice on and managing privacy regulatory matters and providing support and advice to Airbnb’s business & privacy operations teams.  You must have the ability to devise, communicate and execute pragmatic and well thought through regulatory engagement strategies. You must have excellent judgment in balancing legal risks with business strategy and a proven ability to learn new areas of law and function independently in a demanding fast-paced environment. We’re looking for a highly adaptable and collaborative person who can handle ambiguity and rapidly shifting priorities with flexibility, patience, and poise.

A Typical Day

• Advise on a wide range of regulatory matters primarily with our lead regulator, the Irish DPC, but also with the ICO and other EU and EMEA data regulators including the CNIL, the Garante & the AEPD. 
• Provide leadership and support across user privacy complaints escalated to the legal team, and received from data regulators through pragmatic and thoughtful engagement with users and/or  regulators.
• Support in developing strategic approaches for proactive and reactive regulatory engagements
• Prepare senior leaders for, and assist in, meetings with regulators
• Responsibility, in consultation with your manager, for the coordination, identification, analysis of privacy regulatory issues critically impacting the business arising from your caseload 
• Interpretation and analysis of existing and prospective legislation to identify and assess the impact on Airbnb and determine relevant action to be taken 
• Collaborate with our Chief Privacy Officer’s team of privacy operation specialists to drive forward areas of remediation identified through regulatory work 
• Monitor, respond to and proactively engage with industry associations, law makers and regulators on developments in data protection and information security in the EEA, the UK and MEA
• Provide business focused and pragmatic day to day advice on the implementation and compliance with global privacy laws to a wide range of business and product teams and our Chief Privacy Officer’s team
• Deliver clear practical advice that enables business partners to achieve objectives while mitigating legal risk and keeping our community’s privacy rights and interests at the forefront.
• Build and manage relationships effectively to establish yourself as a trusted partner of key stakeholders
• Clearly communicate to specialists and non-specialists on risk and potential mitigations, taking into account regulatory and other factors

Your Expertise

• Minimum 8 year PQE qualified lawyer in at least one EU jurisdiction, or the UK. IAPP/other privacy certification preferable
• Fluency in English is essential. Additional languages an advantage
• Significant privacy regulatory and/or privacy law experience in-house (ideally in a multinational/tech multinational), at a law firm, or in a Data Protection Authority 
• Demonstrated expertise in GDPR regulatory engagements, both proactive and reactive, ideally within a global context
• Experience engaging with the Irish DPC and/or the ICO a significant advantage
• A highly-developed sense of urgency in time sensitive and high-stakes matters 
• Outstanding analytical, oral, and writing skills, including the ability to distill complex legal issues efficiently and effectively for a business and/or regulatory audience
• Demonstrated record of providing pragmatic and creative advice which appropriately balances legal risk, business priorities, and user trust in respect for their privacy rights
• Capacity to advocate for a position while maintaining respectful, collaborative and open-minded approach 
• Ability to work both collaboratively and autonomously while prioritizing competing tasks in a fast-paced, challenging environment
• Passion for travel, home sharing and the Airbnb community
• Good sense of humor, disdain for drama, and desire to get things done

Your location

Based in Dublin or London you will report to our Lead Privacy Counsel in London. Candidates based in Berlin or Paris with a proven track record of navigating and advising on the privacy regulatory landscape in Ireland and the UK will also be considered.

Our Commitment To Inclusion & Belonging:

Airbnb is committed to working with the broadest talent pool possible. We believe diverse ideas foster innovation and engagement, and allow us to attract creatively-led people, and to develop the best products, services and solutions. All qualified individuals are encouraged to apply.

We strive to also provide a disability inclusive application and interview process. If you are a candidate with a disability and require reasonable accommodation in order to submit an application, please contact us at: [email protected]. Please include your full name, the role you’re applying for and the accommodation necessary to assist you with the recruiting process. 

We ask that you only reach out to us if you are a candidate whose disability prevents you from being able to complete our online application.