Established in 1996 in Amsterdam, Booking.com has grown from a small Dutch start-up to the third largest e-commerce company in the world. Booking.com is the largest business within Booking Holdings (NASDAQ: BKNG) and accounts for the vast majority of Booking Holdings’ total revenue. Booking Holdings is a leading Fortune 500 e-commerce conglomerate with a market cap of approximately $80 billion.

With a mission to make it easier for everyone to experience the world, Booking.com invests in digital technology that helps take the friction out of travel. Booking.com connects travellers with the world’s largest selection of incredible places to stay, including everything from apartments, vacation homes, and family-run B&Bs to 5-star luxury resorts and even tree houses. The Booking.com website and mobile apps are available in over 40 languages, offer more than +28 million total reported listings, and cover +140K destinations in +200 countries worldwide.

Booking.com is currently looking for a Legal Counsel - Privacy to work in a team of dedicated lawyers and supporting privacy compliance analysts. The successful candidate will advise the business on a range of legal questions related to data protection and privacy to help make the right decisions to comply with all relevant data protection and privacy laws.

This individual will work closely together with the Senior Counsels in the more complex matters, and will report into the Senior Managing Counsel.

As the Legal Counsel - Privacy you will be responsible for:

• Assessing data processing activities within proposed products and services;
• Conducting Data Protection Risk Assessments and Data Protection Impact Assessments;
• Providing (ad-hoc) legal advice for privacy related matters globally, including disclosure requirements, data transfer mechanisms and the impact of marketing and consumer laws;
• Keeping up with new developments in data protection and privacy laws globally;
• Implementing and maintaining privacy policies and procedures;
• Crafting and delivering privacy awareness trainings;
• Performing third party services risk assessments and negotiating data processing agreements and data protection issues within commercial contracts with group members or third parties;
• Working closely with the Global Data Protection Officer, other Legal Counsels, Risk & Compliance, Procurement, Security and other colleagues as well as outside counsels worldwide.

The ideal Legal Counsel - Privacy will have:

• 3+ years' experience in a top tier law firm and/or major corporation in a role involving data protection, privacy compliance and data security;
• A master's degree in Law alongside a CIPP/E / CIPT (or other similar) certification is a plus;
• A deep understanding of the GDPR and how this applies to developments in the field of marketing;
• Experience with regulatory developments in EMEA;
• Knowledge and experience in applying risk based decision making;
• High adaptability with an openness to new ideas; a “quick-read” for changing situations and balances long-term view with short-term actions;
• A results driven self-starter mindset with high energy and drive;
• Project management skills, however with the ability to “roll up sleeves” to get the job done;
• The ability to quickly respond to issues at hand and able to prioritise effectively, with an entrepreneurial mindset;
• A team-player mentality with a great sense of humor;
• Fluency in English with excellent communication skills, verbally, in writing and listening (other language skills are a plus).

Further skills we are looking for:

• Aligning with Booking.com’s Values (Think Customer First, Succeed Together, Own It, Learn Forever, Do the Right Thing);
• Being curious, flexible, and a creative and pragmatic problem solver;
• Confident yet collaborative;
• Ability to influence stakeholders across all levels within the organisation;
• Being proactive, resilient and having the drive to get things done;
• Having sound judgment and the ability to see the big picture, whilst simultaneously appreciating the details necessary to operationalise the strategy;
• Having the courage to take positions and make tough judgment calls;
• Being a team player, self aware and a good listener - a diverse group will always find the best solution!
• Ability to move with agility, prioritise workload and meet deadlines;
• Forward thinking with an interest in emerging issues in legal and policy.

Booking.com ensures equal employment opportunity to all employees and applicants. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex, pregnancy and childbirth, sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws and regulations. We aspire to have a workplace that reflects all of the diverse communities we serve and we welcome and encourage candidates from all backgrounds and experiences to apply for roles on our team. We work to cultivate an inclusive culture in which all of our employees can be their authentic selves.

Why join the Legal & Public Affairs Team now?

Booking.com’s Legal & Public Affairs team is on a transformational journey at an exciting time for e-commerce and travel, with constant growth and innovation in how we operate. You will have the opportunity to actively shape the Department’s future. The Legal & Public Affairs team is a critical part of realising Booking.com’s strategy of the Connected Trip (a travel experience that includes not just accommodation, but also transportation, attractions, experiences, payments, flights etc).

This is a journey that requires close business and Legal & Public Affairs partnerships to redefine our business model, navigate complex regulatory environments, build new products, and negotiate increasingly elaborate commercial deals, among other important projects our teams work on every day. To tackle this mission, it all starts with a strong team passionate about growing Booking.com in an ethical and sustainable way!

Who we are:

To match our global footprint and the array of challenges we face, we are proud to highlight the diversity that exists across this group. We are a team of approximately 160 professionals - representing more than 35 nationalities - with lawyers qualified in many different countries, as well as non-lawyers with public policy, economics, compliance and risk backgrounds. Our team’s previous experience spans across a multitude of industries with team members having worked for major global companies (including Amazon, American Express, Google, Nokia and Yum! Brands), tech and other startups (e.g. AirBnB, Uber and WeWork), government entities (e.g., the Dutch Competition Authority), reputable international law firms (e.g., Hogan Lovells, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Baker Mckenzie), and Public Affairs firms (e.g., FTI Consulting, FIPRA and Brunswick).

In addition to our day-to-day work, we actively seek opportunities for our team members to engage in broader global legal and public affairs communities through speaking engagements, training programs, and association memberships. Some of our lawyers are Board members of Consumer Law associations, Competition Law associations, Privacy associations, etc. We believe in actively engaging with stakeholders to share our insights on policies affecting the travel experience and how travel tech innovations can fuel the digital transformation of the travel industry (e.g. we recently launched Booking.com’s Public Affairs blog, where we publish our position on key policy issues - A World Worth Experiencing).

As a team, we believe in:

• Integrating with the Business and Legal having a “seat at the table”: we are decision makers who can have a real impact on Booking.com’s future
• Booking.com’s mission is to make it easier for everyone to experience the world. Travel helps people become more open minded and fuels curiosity
• Allowing members of our teams to experience different areas of the business or, if they want to be specialists, giving them the tools that will empower them to become more effective in their jobs
• Providing holistic legal and public affairs advice; our team should not work in silos
• Always looking for better ways of doing things, innovating and exchanging best practices
• Accepting that it's OK to make mistakes provided we learn from them
• Having a sense of humour and having fun working together; we are a team that likes to collaborate and share in joys and challenges together!