EMEA HR Governance & Compliance Lead — Barcelona/Madrid

Thomson Reuters Holdings Inc.; Barcelona; Hybrid; EUR 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work model

Mental Health Days

Tuition reimbursement

Wellbeing programs

Job summary

Thomson Reuters seeks a Senior HR Manager to own People Governance & Compliance for EMEA Continental Europe & MEA, based in Barcelona or Madrid. The role blends hands-on casework with policy design, reporting to the VP of Global Governance & Compliance, and requires navigating complex regulatory landscapes.

You will drive standardized policies, GDPR compliance, audits, and risk management while partnering with Legal, Privacy, and HR across a global organization.

Qualifications

• Fluency in English, Spanish, and French.
• Significant HR compliance, employment law, or HR governance experience across multiple European jurisdictions.
• Strong knowledge of European employment law and data privacy regulation, with GDPR knowledge essential.
• Proven ability to operate independently in a matrixed, global organization, with a track record of driving process improvement or automation.
• Strong stakeholder management skills and the credibility to advise senior HR and business leaders.
• Based in, or willing to relocate to, Barcelona or Madrid.

Responsibilities

• Establish and maintain standardized HR policies that comply with local labour law while allowing local adaptation.
• Manage the policy lifecycle (drafting, exceptions, change log, communication) and interpret global and local policy for the business.
• Monitor employment law adherence across jurisdictions and manage data privacy requirements (GDPR, DSARs, retention) with Privacy & Legal.
• Run internal and external HR compliance audits, and ensure ethical practices.
• Own compliance incident management (triage, RCA, CAPA, closure) and the regional HR risk register, partnering with Legal on litigation and reputational risk.
• Own OHS activities and plans in coordination with site management.
• Set global standards for employee record-keeping and retention, and build and maintain the HR policy library, templates, and version control across the employee lifecycle.
• Document legal research, audit findings, remediation plans, and regulatory filings (e.g., EEO-1, pay gap reports).
• Develop training and communication materials for policy rollouts, and maintain a self-serve knowledge base and FAQ.
• Produce compliance reporting and KPIs for leadership, and oversee benefit provider administration and local payroll inputs.
• Perform compliance due diligence and ongoing oversight for payroll, benefits, recruitment, immigration, and other HR vendors, ensuring data protection, audit, and regulatory obligations are met.
• Review and improve HR data collection methods to ensure appropriate data protection.
• Act as the primary HR contact for local regulators and inspections, and engage government bodies where required.
• Represent the company in legal proceedings and fulfil board-mandated HR responsibilities as needed.
• Partner with the People Advisory team on union and works council negotiation documentation and compliance of agreements.
• Perform compliance due diligence and ongoing oversight for payroll, benefits, recruitment, immigration, and other HR vendors.

Skills

English

Spanish

French

HR compliance

Employment law

GDPR knowledge

Stakeholder management

Independent in matrixed org

Willing to relocate

Job description

Thomson Reuters seeks a Senior HR Manager to own People Governance & Compliance for EMEA Continental Europe & MEA, based in Barcelona or Madrid. The role blends hands-on casework with policy design, reporting to the VP of Global Governance & Compliance, and requires navigating complex regulatory landscapes.

You will drive standardized policies, GDPR compliance, audits, and risk management while partnering with Legal, Privacy, and HR across a global organization.