Senior Labor Relations Manager

About GitHub

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Locations

In this role you can work from Remote, Netherlands

Overview

As the EMEA Labor Relations Consultant, you will be the primary custodian of our relationship with employee representative bodies across Germany, the Netherlands, France, and the UK, while also leading the establishment of new employee representative structures in additional EMEA countries as business needs evolve. Your mission is to foster a culture of mutual respect, transparency, and collaboration. You will act as a dedicated bridge between business leadership and our Works Councils, ensuring that our social dialogue is constructive, legally compliant, and aligned with our shared goal of long-term organizational health.

Responsibilities

As our EMEA Labour Relations Consultant, you will:

Partner with Works Councils and employee representatives to create and deliver against consultation timelines, ensuring that all parties have the information and time needed to fulfill their duties.

Lead the development of Company Agreements (Betriebsvereinbarungen in DE, Instemmingsaanvragen in NL) with a focus on sustainable outcomes for both the company and our employees.

Act as a reliable point of contact for employee representatives, providing clear and timely business context to support informed dialogue.

Manage the co-determination process in Germany (BetrVG) with a focus on collaborative problem-solving. Facilitate discussions regarding modern working practices, IT systems, and health and wellbeing.

Engaging the Works Councils early in the decision-making process, delivering advisory sessions and facilitating productive consultation as required.

Facilitate the Social and Economic Committee (CSE) proceedings in alignment local requirements, focusing on maintaining an open channel for employee feedback and local compliance.

Support our UK employee forums by providing a platform for consultation and information-sharing, ensuring a supportive and heard workforce.

Lead the establishment of new Works Councils or employee representative bodies in additional EMEA countries as required, including advising on legal requirements, election processes, governance structures, and ongoing engagement models.

Identify potential areas of friction early and address them through informal dialogue to prevent formal grievances or legal escalations.

Coach business leaders, design and implement capability-building programmes, and identify training needs to elevate organisational effectiveness.

Partner with Centres of Excellence to implement scalable, AI-driven labour relations programmes and processes across EMEA.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications :

8+ years work experience in human resources, business programs/processes, or related field

OR Bachelor's degree in human resources, business, or related field AND 6+ years work experience in human resources, business programs/processes, or related field

OR equivalent experience.

Extensive experience in Labor/Industrial Relations, with a proven track record of maintaining high-trust relationships with employee representative bodies.

Deep familiarity with the BetrVG (Germany Works Council) and WOR (Netherlands Works Council).

A foundational understanding of the French Labor Code as it pertains to smaller CSE structures.

Preferred Qualifications

Exceptional interpersonal skills with the ability to translate complex business needs into respectful, collaborative proposals.

Strong analytical skills, negotiation, and a passion for digital transformation in HR.

Professional fluency in English and German is highly preferred; French and/or Dutch language skills would be beneficial but not mandatory.

GitHub values

Customer-obsessed

Ship to learn

Growth mindset

Own the outcome

Better together

Diverse and inclusive

Manager fundamentals

Model

Coach

Care

Leadership principles

Create clarity

Generate energy

Deliver success

Who We Are

GitHub is the world’s leading AI-powered developer platform with 150 million developers and counting. We’re also home to the biggest open-source community on earth (and 99% of the world’s software has open-source code in its DNA). Many of the apps and programs you use every day are built on GitHub.

Our teams are dreamers, doers, and pioneers, leading the way in AI, driving humanitarian efforts around the globe, and even sending open source to Mars (and beyond!).

At GitHub, our goal is to create the space you need to do your best work. We’re remote-first and offer competitive pay, generous learning and growth opportunities, and excellent benefits to support you, wherever you are—because we know that people flourish when they can work on their own terms.

Join us, and let’s change the world, together.

Equal Employment Opportunity

GitHub is made up of people from a wide variety of backgrounds and lifestyles. We embrace diversity and invite applications from people of all walks of life. We don't discriminate against employees or applicants based on gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, race, religion, age, national origin, citizenship, disability, pregnancy status, veteran status, or any other differences. Also, if you have a disability, please let us know if there's any way we can make the interview process better for you; we're happy to accommodate!