Principal Legal Counsel

Advise UKG's South Europe senior leadership team on significant commercial, operational, regulatory and strategic legal matters. Lead the drafting, review and negotiation of complex commercial agreements, including: SaaS, cloud services and software licensing agreements; enterprise customer agreements; data processing and technology services agreements; strategic partnership, reseller, distribution and alliance agreements; and vendor and procurement contracts. Support the Sales organization from opportunity assessment through contract execution, balancing commercial objectives with legal, regulatory and risk considerations. Serve as the primary legal advisor for complex and high-value customer negotiations in France, Spain, Italy and Portugal as well as other relevant European markets. Create, improve and maintain UKG's commercial agreement templates, playbooks, fallback positions and contracting processes. Deliver practical legal training and guidance to Sales, Finance, Procurement, Security, Privacy, Compliance and other cross-functional stakeholders. Partner with the Privacy and Compliance Legal teams on data protection, cybersecurity, AI and other technology-related regulatory matters affecting the region. Provide legal guidance on corporate, regulatory and other business matters as appropriate. Support the management of disputes, pre-litigation matters, litigation and external counsel. Identify legal and commercial risks early, recommend pragmatic solutions and escalate matters appropriately. Help improve the efficiency, consistency and scalability of UKG's contracting and legal support model across South Europe. Improve the quality, consistency and speed of UKG's contracting processes and templates. Provide clear, commercially relevant guidance on a broad range of legal issues. Build strong relationships across Legal and key business functions. Assister l'équipe juridique chargée de la protection des données et de la conformité sur les questions de confidentialité des données et autres réglementations applicables dans ces régions. At least 8 years of post-qualification legal experience, gained in a leading law firm, technology company, cloud/SaaS business or a combination of these. Qualified and in good standing to practice law in a relevant European jurisdiction, with substantial professional experience advising on French and Spanish law. Demonstrable experience negotiating and drafting sophisticated technology and commercial agreements, particularly SaaS, cloud services, software licensing and technology-related customer contracts. Proven experience handling complex and multi-jurisdictional transactions involving enterprise customers and/or strategic business partners. Fluent written and spoken English, French and Spanish. Broad legal capability beyond commercial contracting, including meaningful experience or working knowledge of data privacy, corporate matters, employment/labor law, regulatory issues and disputes. Experience working directly with senior business leaders and advising stakeholders across Sales and other commercial functions. Experience in an international, fast-paced business environment, preferably within the technology or SaaS sector. Commercially astute, practical and solutions-oriented, with the judgment to protect UKG while enabling the business to move forward. Comfortable acting as the lead legal advisor on high-value, high-visibility negotiations with limited supervision. Strong analytical skills and the ability to distill complex legal issues into clear, actionable advice. Excellent negotiator who can influence outcomes while maintaining constructive, long-term relationships. Confident communicator who can engage effectively with executives, Sales teams, customers, external counsel and colleagues at all levels. Highly organized and able to manage competing priorities across multiple countries and matters. Collaborative, discreet and trusted, with the credibility to challenge constructively when appropriate. Self-directed and adaptable, with the resilience to operate effectively in a changing and demanding environment. Willing and able to travel internationally up to 25%.