Lead Contracts Counsel - Commercial & Procurement (Customer & Vendor Contracts) (d/f/m)

Personio; Berlin; Hybrid; EUR 163,000 - 233,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive reward package

28 days paid vacation

Remote-friendly with off-site options

Pre-IPO equity

Job summary

Personio is seeking a senior Lead Counsel to own end-to-end commercial contracting. You will lead a three-person team and manage customer, vendor, and partner agreements across Germany, the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands and Spain.

Expect high ownership, strategic playbooks, and close collaboration with Sales and Finance. The role emphasizes pragmatic risk management, AI-assisted workflows, and a leadership track reporting to the General Counsel.

Qualifications

• 8+ years' PQE with commercial contracts and technology/SaaS experience.
• Experience leading a commercial or legal team.
• Multi-jurisdiction experience across European markets.
• In-house experience preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead commercial and procurement contracting (customer SaaS, technology, vendor and supplier agreements).
• Manage a team of three, set priorities and develop the team's capabilities.
• Own the commercial strategy and legal position for customers and suppliers in Germany, UK, Ireland, Netherlands and Spain.
• Lead complex negotiations for top customer deals and key vendor relationships.
• Create and maintain contract playbooks, templates and precedent language.
• Partner with Sales, Finance, and procurement teams as trusted adviser.
• Champion use of AI tools for contract review and drafting.
• Brief General Counsel with prioritized updates on the contracts book.

Job description

Personio's intelligent HR platform helps small and medium-sized organizations unlock the power of people by making complicated, time-consuming tasks simple and efficient. Our team of 1,500 Personios is building user-friendly products that delight our 15,000+ customers and their 1.5 million employees. Ready to make an impact from day one?

This role requires 3 days per week in the office and is based in Munich, Berlin, or London.

Own the contracts that make Personio's growth possible. Lead a team of three and take end-to-end responsibility for our commercial contracting on both sides of the table - the customer agreements that drive revenue, and the vendor and supplier contracts that keep the business running.

Personio's Legal team covers a genuinely broad remit (corporate, commercial, employment, privacy, product, procurement and risk), but this role gives you a focused, high-ownership mandate over commercial contracting specifically - as the Lead Counsel to own it end to end. It's a build role as much as a run role: you'll set the strategy for how Personio contracts with customers, vendors and strategic partners, hold end-to-end ownership of that book of work, and be the one who operationalises it (turning repeat problems into playbooks, workflows and automations the wider business can use without you). You'll be the senior lawyer in the room for our highest-value customer deals, our most important vendor and supplier relationships, and our strategic partnership agreements alike.

Personio's Legal function is also AI-forward - Claude and a dedicated legal AI platform are already core to how the team works day to day. You don't need to be an AI specialist, but you should want your team using these tools properly, not just tolerating them.

This is a senior, people‑leadership position, reporting directly to the General Counsel.

Role Responsibilities: What you‘ll do

• Lead Personio's commercial and procurement contracting - from customer-facing SaaS and technology agreements through to vendor and supplier contracts, on both Personio and counterparty paper


• Manage a team of three, setting priorities, reviewing work, and developing the team's technical and commercial judgment


• Own the commercial strategy and legal position on customer and supplier relationships across Germany, the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands and Spain, adapting positions where local law or market practice requires it


• Lead complex negotiations directly - the largest customer deals and the vendor relationships that matter most to the business


• Build and maintain customer contract and supplier/vendor playbooks, templates and precedent language the team and the business can self-serve from


• Partner closely with Sales, Finance and the teams who buy on our behalf as a trusted adviser, balancing legal risk against the pace the business needs


• Champion smart use of Personio's AI tooling for contract review, drafting and workflow


• Brief the General Counsel with clear, prioritised updates on the commercial contracts book of work and improvements

Role Requirements: What you need to succeed

• Experience: 8+ years' PQE, with substantial time spent on commercial contracts and technology or SaaS transactions, ideally in-house.


• Leadership: a track record of leading commercial or legal team.


• Commercial range: real depth in both customer-facing SaaS contracting and vendor/supplier agreements - you understand both sides of the table, not just one.


• Multi-jurisdiction comfort: across more than one European jurisdiction, comfortable adapting a playbook rather than needing a bespoke position for every country.


• Pragmatic judgment: you know the difference between a real risk and a theoretical one, and you say so.


• Stakeholder confidence: with senior stakeholders who don't have a legal background, and the confidence to push back when a deal needs it.


• AI fluency: You have hands‑on experience using AI to improve your workflow, and the sound judgment to know exactly when to rely on it and when to step in yourself.


• Qualified lawyer in Germany or the UK with experience dealing with German customers

Why Personio?

Personio is an equal opportunities employer, committed to building an integrative culture where everyone feels welcomed and supported. We embrace uniqueness and understand that our diverse, values‑driven culture makes us stronger. We are proud to have an inclusive workplace environment that will foster your development no matter your gender, civil status, family status, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, education level, or race.

Aside from our people, culture, and mission, check out some of the other benefits that make Personio a great place to work:

• Receive a competitive reward package – reevaluated each year – that includes salary, benefits, and pre-IPO equity


• Enjoy 28 days of paid vacation, plus an additional day after 2 and 4 years


• Make an impact on the environment and society with 1 (fully paid) Impact Day


• Receive generous family leave, child support, mental health support, and sabbatical opportunities.


• We follow an office-led, remote friendly approach, including opportunities to work from home and international locations. Many of our teams have designated days for gathering in the office to enhance collaboration and foster a sense of community.


• We enjoy gathering for meals, cultural initiatives, and events like local Summer Sessions and year-end celebrations. There's also healthy snacks, drinks, and a weekly catered lunch.