WhatsApp Associate General Counsel (Data Protection) - Product

Facebook's mission is to give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together. Through our family of apps and services, we're building a different kind of company that connects billions of people around the world, gives them ways to share what matters most to them, and helps bring people closer together. Whether we're creating new products or helping a small business expand its reach, people at Facebook are builders at heart. Our global teams are constantly iterating, solving problems, and working together to empower people around the world to build community and connect in meaningful ways. Together, we can help people build stronger communities - we're just getting started.

WhatsApp is the world's fastest growing communication service with over 2 billion active users globally. We help bring friends, families, communities, sport groups, clubs and millions of others together, and are just getting started. We are looking for the best individuals to help grow and support this incredible community of users. WhatsApp is seeking a highly motivated and experienced team player to serve as Associate General Counsel, Product on WhatsApp Ireland’s Data Protection Team, based in our European headquarters in Dublin. The role is a great opportunity for any candidate who is keen to tackle some of today’s toughest and important legal challenges in this cutting-edge area of law. You must have flexibility to adapt to changing priorities and organisational needs. In addition, you must have the ability to operate independently in a fast-paced, small but growing environment. The role will focus on providing strategic and tactical legal counselling to internal legal, product, operations, and business teams in order to identify and mitigate legal risks in all phases of product development. The ideal candidate will have experience advising on GDPR, ePrivacy, telco laws and general privacy regulatory compliance in respect of cutting-edge products, good judgment, a strong work ethic, and a keen interest in learning about new technologies. WhatsApp welcomes applications from the widest range of individuals eligible to apply and particularly encourages applications from those who would increase the diversity of the company.

Responsibilities

• Analyse products, policies and initiatives to provide practical legal advice and risk mitigation strategies for products across multiple jurisdictions
• Monitor and respond to developments in data protection and information security (i.e., new laws, regulations, important judgements, regulatory guidance, etc.)
• Work with wider legal team on EMEA regulatory and litigation matters
• Provide policy, legal, product, engineering, and other business teams with legal advice on data protection laws and regulations
• Liaise with regulators and outside counsel

Minimum Qualification

• Solicitor or Barrister (qualified to practice law in at least one European jurisdiction)
• Minimum of 8 years of relevant legal experience, including at a law firm, a data protection or other relevant authority, or in-house (applicable litigation, regulatory or more general product counselling experience will be considered)
• In-depth knowledge of legal issues in the area of messaging services and other online platforms including an excellent understanding of data protection laws and in particular of GDPR and ePrivacy
• Excellent problem-solving, written and oral communication and interpersonal skills

Preferred Qualification

• Experience working directly with European data protection authorities
• Experience working with mobile, application development, social networking, online advertising, machine learning, or other internet technologies
• Demonstrated ability to work independently in a fast-paced environment and provide pragmatic and considered advice under tight deadlines
• Knowledge of, or fluency in, other European languages a plus