Senior Legal Counsel

Job Type:  Full-time |

Location:

Vancouver BC, Canada | Department:
Legal  | Work  Location Type :#Hybrid
IREN is a vertically integrated AI Cloud provider, delivering large-scale data centers and GPU clusters for AI training and inference. IREN’s platform is underpinned by its expansive portfolio of grid-connected land and power in renewable-rich regions across North America, Europe and APAC.
IREN is seeking an experienced employment lawyer to join our Legal team as Senior Legal Counsel – Employment, based in our Vancouver office. Reporting to the Senior Employment Counsel in Australia, you will be the primary in-house employment law adviser to our Canadian operations, supporting both our corporate workforce and the operational, site-based teams behind our data centres. This is a broad, hands-on role spanning the full employment lifecycle – from day-to-day advice and policy through to disputes, investigations and workforce change – together with the review and negotiation of HR-related commercial contracts.

While your focus will be on Canada, you will also contribute to cross-border matters across our operations in the United States, Australia and other regions.
With 100% renewable energy, we build, own and operate our data centers and take pride in being at the forefront of sustainable solutions for the ever-evolving applications of high-performance compute. We believe that human progress is invaluable, but it should be done in the right way – responsibly, sustainably and having a positive impact on the communities we operate in.

Job requirements

Qualified to practise law in Canada and in good standing, with admission in British Columbia (or the ability to become admitted).

At least 8 years’ post-qualification experience in Canadian employment and labour law.

In-house experience preferred, but not essential.

Strong working knowledge of federal and provincial employment law, particularly British Columbia.

Experience advising on both corporate/white-collar and operational/blue-collar work forces desirable.

Experience reviewing and negotiating commercial contracts, particularly HR-related agreements.

Exposure to cross-border or multi-jurisdictional employment matters (United States and/or EMEA) advantageous.

Excellent judgement and commercial acumen, with the ability to translate complex legal issues into practical business advice.

Able to work autonomously and manage a broad, varied workload in a fast-paced, high-growth environment.

Strong stakeholder management and communication skills, comfortable partnering with HR and business teams.

Job responsibilities

Advising on the full employment lifecycle – recruitment, onboarding, performance management, discipline, restructures, terminations and post-employment obligations – across IREN’s Canadian corporate and data centre workforce.

Providing practical, risk-based advice on Canadian federal and provincial employment and labour law (with a focus on British Columbia), including employment standards, human rights, occupational health and safety, privacy, and workers’ compensation.

Drafting, reviewing and updating employment contracts, offer letters, restrictive covenants, policies, handbooks and other workforce documentation.

Managing employment complaints, investigations, disputes and litigation, and instructing and supervising external counsel where required.

Supporting workforce change initiatives, including restructures, redundancies, and the employment aspects of corporate and asset transactions.

Advising on occupational health and safety compliance relevant to data centre operations and site-based teams.

Reviewing and negotiating HR-related commercial contracts (for example recruitment, staffing, payroll, benefits, immigration and HR technology…