Sr. Legal Counsel, Labor and Employment

JOB SUMMARY:

The Senior Legal Counsel, Labor and Employment will work directly with Natera’s Human Resources team to provide legal counsel and guidance on all employment-related matters. The position is responsible for managing legal issues related to labor and employment, collaborating with HR and organizational leaders to provide oversight in employee relations, ensuring legal compliance, particularly as it relates to Texas and California employment law, and serving as the primary legal advisor in various forums.

This individual must focus on prevention, intervention, proactive counsel and responses, and developing best of class practices and policies.  The person will efficiently provide counsel for preventative policies and operations as well as assist in needed legal intervention, manage legal risks, reduce reliance on outside counsel, and maintain proactive communication with the management team and Human Resources.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Partner with Natera’s Human Resources team to provide guidance and counsel on a wide variety of employment-related matters.
• Function as the frontline counsel for all legal and personnel matters, consulting with outside counsel as needed.
• Advise on Human Resources related matters including discipline, investigations, DFEH/EEOC complaints, and ADA-related issues
• Manage, track, support, and advise leadership on all HR related disputes.
• Represent Natera in court, mediation, arbitration, and other settings where legal representation is beneficial or required.
• Respond to legal complaints and coordinate legal strategy with outside counsel and Natera leadership.
• Stay abreast of federal, state, and local labor and employment laws, regulations, and court decisions and ensure the organization's policies and practices are in compliance.
• Ensure compliance with state and federal law with regard to terminations, discipline, leaves of absence, and accommodations.
• Ensure compliance with all applicable Federal and State (with a focus on Texas and California) employment and personnel laws and regulations.
• Develop, review, and update organizational  policies, procedures, and employee handbooks to mitigate risk and align with current labor and employment laws and best practices.
• Conduct legal training sessions for management and staff on compliance and best practices in labor relations.
• Minimize costs by effectively managing legal issues in-house.
• Prepare and review required policies, regulations, and notices
• Other duties as assigned

QUALIFICATIONS:

• JD degree is required.
• 3+ years of experience as a labor and employment attorney, in-house experience is a big plus.
• Member of California Bar or eligible to register as Registered In-House Counsel.
• Comprehensive knowledge of and experience with Texas and California employment laws preferred.
• Proven ability to represent an organization in legal proceedings.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES:

• Nimbleness; ability to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
• High levels of initiative, confidence and ability to appropriately influence others.
• Demonstrated high ethical behavior.
• Excellent negotiation, verbal, and written communication skills.
• Ability to maintain high levels of professional conduct in adversarial situations.
• High level of emotional intelligence and the ability to make sound decisions and recommendations that are in the best interest of Natera.
• Ability to maintain a professional demeanor and communication in tense situations.
• Able to maintain strict confidentiality and take all precautions when handling sensitive information.
• Ability to effectively and efficiently work from home and independently, with high levels of self-accountability.
• Demonstrated project management and organizational skills, including the ability to work independently on projects of high complexity with minimal supervision.
• Experience in the healthcare industry is preferred but not required.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS & WORK ENVIRONMENT:

• This position is 100% percent remote.
• This position requires the ability to use a computer keyboard, communicate over the telephone, read printed material (contracts) and database management.
• Duties may require working outside normal working hours (evenings and weekends) at times.

Travel required for this position:

No ☐  or Yes X : 

Anticipated percent for travel: up to 10% and/or as needed

#LI-AB1

OUR OPPORTUNITY

Natera™ is a global leader in cell-free DNA (cfDNA) testing, dedicated to oncology, women’s health, and organ health. Our aim is to make personalized genetic testing and diagnostics part of the standard of care to protect health and enable earlier and more targeted interventions that lead to longer, healthier lives.

The Natera team consists of highly dedicated statisticians, geneticists, doctors, laboratory scientists, business professionals, software engineers and many other professionals from world-class institutions, who care deeply for our work and each other. When you join Natera, you’ll work hard and grow quickly. Working alongside the elite of the industry, you’ll be stretched and challenged, and take pride in being part of a company that is changing the landscape of genetic disease management.

WHAT WE OFFER

Competitive Benefits - Employee benefits include comprehensive medical, dental, vision, life and disability plans for eligible employees and their dependents. Additionally, Natera employees and their immediate families receive free testing in addition to fertility care benefits. Other benefits include pregnancy and baby bonding leave, 401k benefits, commuter benefits and much more. We also offer a generous employee referral program!

For more information, visit www.natera.com.

Natera is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to ensuring a diverse and inclusive workplace environment, and welcome people of different backgrounds, experiences, abilities and perspectives. Inclusive collaboration benefits our employees, our community and our patients, and is critical to our mission of changing the management of disease worldwide.

All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply, and will be considered without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, age, veteran status, disability or any other legally protected status. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with applicable laws.

If you are based in California, we encourage you to read this important information for California residents. 

Link: https://www.natera.com/notice-of-data-collection-california-residents/

Please be advised that Natera will reach out to candidates with a @natera.com email domain ONLY. Email communications from all other domain names are not from Natera or its employees and are fraudulent. Natera does not request interviews via text messages and does not ask for personal information until a candidate has engaged with the company and has spoken to a recruiter and the hiring team. Natera takes cyber crimes seriously, and will collaborate with law enforcement authorities to prosecute any related cyber crimes.

For more information:
- BBB announcement on job scams 
- FBI Cyber Crime resource page