Senior Counsel, Labor & Employment

Location(s):

United States of America

City/Cities:

Atlanta

Travel Required:

00% - 25%

Relocation Provided:

Yes

Job Posting End Date:

June 1, 2025

Shift:

Job Description Summary:

The Coca-Cola Company is seeking a Senior Counsel – Head of Global Labor & Employment to lead our Global Labor & Employment Legal Team. This role reports into the Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer/Assistant General Counsel, Labor & Employment and offers a unique opportunity for a strategic legal leader to influence a world-renowned brand by effectively managing employment matters, driving talent strategy, and advising on insider risk mitigation. As a key member of the Leadership Team for both the Global People & Culture Function and the Global Ethics and Compliance, Labor and Employment team, you will play a pivotal role in shaping strategic initiatives and delivering solutions to critical business challenges. You will engage with critical global enterprise networks within the company, collaborating with senior leaders to craft recommendations and drive solutions for the most pressing business challenges. Your expertise will be vital in aligning employment practices and talent strategies with organizational goals, while proactively managing risks.

You will offer strategic, business-focused guidance on People, Culture, and Talent, emphasizing legal risk mitigation and protecting the company's reputation. As a Subject Matter Expert for our counsels around the globe, you will support business operations and drive enhancements in legal and business processes. You will also oversee employment-related litigation and discrimination charges through outside counsel, conduct training sessions, and impart "lessons learned" to the business.

​Location:

Role is based in Atlanta, with limited relocation available.

What You’ll Do for Us

• PACS Support: Collaborate with the Public Affairs, Communications and Sustainability (PACS) team to ensure that employment and talent strategies align with the company's broader public relations and communications objectives. Provide legal insights on how employment policies and initiatives may impact the company's public image and stakeholder relationships.
• Networked Environment: Actively engage in a networked environment across multiple geographic locations and business units. Facilitate cross-functional collaboration to ensure cohesive legal and talent strategies that drive global business success. This involves working seamlessly with internal and external partners to address complex issues and develop innovative solutions.
• Developing Team: Lead and mentor a high-performing legal team by fostering professional growth and skill development. Create an inclusive culture where team members are encouraged to share ideas, take initiative, and contribute to the company's overarching goals. This includes identifying opportunities for team training and development.
• Horizontal Leadership: Promote horizontal leadership by building strong relationships and influencing peers and senior management across various departments. Encourage open communication and collaboration, ensuring alignment of employment, talent, and risk management strategies with the organization's overall vision and objectives.

Key Responsibilities:

• Provide strategic, business-centered legal guidance on all aspects of People, Culture, and Talent to minimize legal risks and protect the company's reputation.
• Partner with Human Resources and cross-functional teams to develop, implement, and continuously enhance employment-related policies and procedures.
• Partner with security, privacy, and data protection teams to advise on insider threats and vulnerabilities.
• Lead and manage employment-related litigation and regulatory challenges, utilizing outside counsel effectively, and oversee the resolution of pre-suit demands and attorney inquiries.
• Ensure compliance with a wide range of domestic and international employment laws, delivering training and educational presentations as needed.
• Collaborate with Labor Relations on collective bargaining agreements and provide oversight on union-related workforce matters.
• Conduct and support internal investigations related to employee grievances, recommending and implementing remedial actions.
• Actively monitor emerging employment laws and issues, effectively communicating impacts and strategies to client groups and stakeholders.
• Reports out to management on proactive approaches to mitigating legal risk gleaned from litigation matters.
• Interprets and enforces the Company’s policies and procedures.

Qualifications & Requirements

• J.D. degree and practicing member of a U.S. state or international bar.
• 8-12 years of experience in a large national law firm and/or corporate legal department practice with specific expertise in labor and employment. Consumer products, marketing, and/or food and beverage industry experience are a plus.
• Weekday travel (domestic and international) may be required; will also be required to respond to calls from global clients, outside counsel and stakeholders outside of normal business hours.
• Possesses excellent communication, influencing and presentation skills. 
• Demonstrates excellent time management, professionalism, and leadership skills.
• Must be responsive, proactive, and able to balance competing priorities.
• Strong project management skills.
• Strategic mindset
• Technology focus and digital fluency.

What We Can Do for You:

• Commitment to Diversity: We are paving the way to create change in the industry and our leadership is committed to diversity, inclusion and belonging.
• Global Network: Expand your global network by developing, learning, and growing with our top talent and connections around the world.
• Agile Work Environment: We embrace agile, with leadership that believes in removing barriers, so you are empowered to innovate and discover new solutions to complex problems.

The Coca-Cola Company will not offer sponsorship for employment status (including, but not limited to, H1-B visa status and other employment-based nonimmigrant visas) for this position. Accordingly, all applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis and must not require The Coca-Cola Company's sponsorship to continue to work legally in the United States.

Skills:

Labor and Employment Law, Regulatory Compliance

Pay Range:

$236,000 - $271,000

Base pay offered may vary depending on geography, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. A full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the position, is offered.

Annual Incentive Reference Value Percentage:

50

Annual Incentive reference value is a market-based competitive value for your role. It falls in the middle of the range for your role, indicating performance at target.

Long-term Incentive Reference Value Percentage:

20

Long-term Incentive reference value is a market-based competitive value for your role.

Our Purpose and Growth Culture:

We are taking deliberate action to nurture an inclusive culture that is grounded in our company purpose, to refresh the world and make a difference. We act with a growth mindset, take an expansive approach to what’s possible and believe in continuous learning to improve our business and ourselves. We focus on four key behaviors – curious, empowered, inclusive and agile – and value how we work as much as what we achieve. We believe that our culture is one of the reasons our company continues to thrive after 130+ years. Visit Our Purpose and Vision to learn more about these behaviors and how you can bring them to life in your next role at Coca-Cola.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and do not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, sex, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, status as a veteran, and basis of disability or any other federal, state or local protected class. When we collect your personal information as part of a job application or offer of employment, we do so in accordance with industry standards and best practices and in compliance with applicable privacy laws.