Associate Director, Employment Counsel

Guidehouse Inc.; Chennai; On-site; INR 1,500,000 - 2,100,000; Full time

Job summary

Guidehouse India is seeking a Senior Legal Counsel focused on employment law to support operations across India. You will provide risk-based guidance to HR, Talent Acquisition, and business leaders, handling contracts, investigations, and regulatory compliance.

Ideal candidates have 15+ years of Indian employment law experience, strong negotiation and drafting skills, and the ability to advise senior stakeholders across geographies. This role is based in Chennai with travel as needed.

Qualifications

• LL.B. and qualified to practice law in India.
• 15+ years of experience in employment and labor law.
• Deep knowledge of Indian employment laws including employee relations, investigations, and terminations.
• Experience drafting, reviewing, and negotiating employment-related agreements and policies.
• Ability to identify legal risks and provide practical business solutions.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management.

Responsibilities

• Serve as primary legal advisor on employment law matters for India operations.
• Monitor Indian labor laws, Labour Codes, and related regulations.
• Draft, review, and negotiate employment contracts, policies, and separation documents.
• Advise on hires, performance management, discipline, leaves, and terminations.
• Collaborate with HR and leadership on workforce initiatives and compliance programs.
• Conduct legal research and provide actionable recommendations on complex issues.
• Manage relationships with external counsel on specialized matters.
• Support disputes, investigations, and regulatory inquiries as needed.
• Develop training for HR and leaders on employment obligations.
• Contribute to policies, processes, and controls for compliance and efficiency.
• Collaborate with Privacy, Compliance, and other functions on workplace issues.

Skills

Employment law

Legal research

Contract drafting

Stakeholder comms

Project management

Negotiation

Education

LL.B. (India)

Job description

Job Family : Legal Counsel (India)

Travel Required : Up to 10%

Clearance Required : None

What You Will Do :

• Serve as the primary legal advisor on employment law matters affecting the Company's operations in India, providing practical, risk-based guidance to Human Resources, Talent Acquisition, business leaders, and other stakeholders.
• Monitor, analyze, and communicate developments in Indian labor and employment laws, regulations, and court decisions, including emerging requirements under the Labour Codes and other employment-related legislation.
• Draft, review, negotiate, and maintain employment-related agreements and documents, including offer letters, employment agreements, restrictive covenant agreements, separation documents, contractor agreements, and employment policies.
• Advise on employee lifecycle matters, including hiring, performance management, disciplinary actions, accommodations, investigations, leaves of absence, employee relations issues, and terminations.
• Partner with HR and business leaders to support workforce initiatives, organizational changes, restructurings, policy implementation, and compliance programs.
• Conduct legal research and provide clear, actionable recommendations on complex or novel employment law issues.
• Manage relationships with external counsel and coordinate legal advice on specialized employment, labor, compliance, and litigation matters.
• Support employment-related disputes, government inquiries, audits, investigations, and litigation by gathering facts, assessing risk, and developing legal strategy.
• Develop and deliver training and guidance to HR professionals and business leaders on employment law obligations and best practices.
• Contribute to the development and continuous improvement of policies, processes, templates, and controls designed to promote legal compliance and operational efficiency.
• Collaborate with Legal, Ethics & Compliance, Privacy, and other corporate functions on matters involving workplace compliance, investigations, data protection, and regulatory requirements.

What You Will Need :

• Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) and qualification to practice law in India; additional legal credentials or certifications are a plus.
• 15+ years of experience practicing employment and labor law, preferably with a leading law firm, multinational corporation, or a combination of both.
• Deep knowledge of Indian employment and labor laws, including employee relations, disciplinary processes, terminations, wages and benefits, social security requirements, workplace investigations, and workplace harassment obligations.
• Experience drafting, reviewing, and negotiating employment-related agreements, policies, and other legal documents.
• Demonstrated ability to identify legal risks and provide practical, business-oriented solutions in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong legal research, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
• Experience advising senior business leaders, HR professionals, and cross-functional stakeholders.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain complex legal concepts to non-legal audiences.
• Strong project management skills and the ability to manage multiple priorities independently.
• Ability to work effectively with stakeholders across different geographies, functions, and levels of the organization.

What Would Be Nice To Have :

• Experience supporting multinational organizations with global or regional employment law matters.
• Familiarity with the implementation and ongoing developments relating to India's Labour Codes and other evolving employment law reforms.
• Experience conducting internal investigations and advising on employee misconduct, whistleblower, ethics, or workplace concerns.
• Exposure to corporate compliance programs, including policy development, training, risk assessments, and regulatory compliance initiatives.
• Experience managing employment litigation, labor disputes, government inspections, or regulatory inquiries.
• Knowledge of data privacy requirements affecting the employment relationship, including India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDP).
• Experience supporting cross-border employment issues, workforce transitions, contingent worker programs, or employment aspects of mergers, acquisitions, and reorganizations.
• In-house legal experience within a professional services, consulting, technology, or multinational corporate environment.
• Experience developing and delivering training programs for HR and business leadership teams.

About Guidehouse India

At Guidehouse India, we're redefining what's possible by creating opportunities that change lives. Guidehouse is a global professional services firm that delivers advisory, technology, and managed services to clients across both the commercial and public sectors. Our teams turn bold ideas into solutions that transform industries, strengthen communities, and drive meaningful impact worldwide.

Across our Chennai, Trivandrum, and Gurugram locations, you'll find opp