Senior Director

Company Description
Etsy is the global marketplace for unique and creative goods. We build, power, and evolve the tools and technologies that connect millions of entrepreneurs with millions of buyers around the world. As an Etsy Inc. employee, whether a team member of Etsy or Depop, you will tackle unique, meaningful, and large-scale problems alongside passionate coworkers, all the while making a rewarding impact and Keeping Commerce Human.

What’s the role?

Etsy is seeking a talented lawyer to lead its Global Privacy Legal team. This position will be a key advisor to Etsy’s legal, product, engineering, and security teams and will provide strategic advice to Etsy’s growing global business.  

This is a full-time position reporting to the VP, Deputy General Counsel, Regulatory, Litigation & Marketplace Integrity. In addition to salary, you will also be eligible for an equity package, an annual performance bonus, and our competitive benefits that support you and your family as part of your total rewards package at Etsy. 

This role requires your presence in Etsy’s Dublin office once or twice per week depending on your proximity to the office. Candidates living within commutable distance of our Dublin office, may be the first to be considered. Learn more details about our  work modes and workplace safety policies here.

What’s this team like at Etsy?

Etsy’s Privacy Legal team sits within Etsy’s global Legal team, which works with every Etsy business unit across our offices worldwide to provide timely and business-savvy legal advice. We help teams that design products, we draft contracts and policies, we advise engineers and leadership, advocate and engage externally, and handle disputes to protect Etsy and our users. We support Etsy’s growth by delivering legal and business know-how with a great work ethic. We are a global enterprise team that works across our marketplace and offices worldwide, and the role will partner with and support teams across our global offices. 

What does the day-to-day look like?

• Build, mature, and scale Etsy’s Enterprise Privacy Program to meet both worldwide regulatory requirements and the needs of our business through our next stage of growth. 

• Drive, work on, and oversee key aspects of our Privacy Program, including program governance, operations, regulatory engagement, regulatory change management (for both privacy and AI regulations), metrics and reporting, product and operational advice, compliance recordkeeping, training and awareness, policies and notices, privacy risk management, related controls, and more. 

• Lead a small team as a player-coach. You not only manage people and workstreams, but work as an individual contributor, and you collaborate with cross-functional Legal partners, contractors, outside counsel, and advisors, to deliver sound, creative, and practical legal advice to our stakeholders, including our business, product, engineering, operational, and leadership teams.  

• Regularly engage with Etsy leadership, our boards of directors, Data Protection Officer, and regulators with respect to our privacy program, data privacy developments, and related governance issues.

• Partner with our global Advocacy (government relations) team to interpret and shape the evolving regulatory landscape; lead and drive our cross-functional response to changes in privacy and privacy-adjacent laws, including artificial intelligence, minors, and cybersecurity.

• Strengthen relationships with partner teams (such as Security) and work collaboratively and strategically to advise on scalable processes and procedures to enhance Etsy’s Privacy Program. 

• Of course, this is just a sample of the kinds of work this role will require! You should assume that your role will encompass other tasks, too, and that your job duties and responsibilities may change from time to time at Etsy's discretion, or otherwise applicable with local law.

Qualities that will help you thrive in this role are:

• Qualified lawyer and admitted to practice in the United States or Ireland.

• Experience leading or working in leadership roles on in-house privacy legal teams, and ideally 7 to 10+ years of privacy experience at top law firms and/or in-house teams. 

• Deep subject matter expertise in privacy laws and regulatory frameworks (in particular with CCPA/CPRA, GDPR, ePrivacy Directive, and UK data privacy laws) and adjacent areas, including information security, cybersecurity, data governance, and artificial intelligence.  Since Etsy is a global company, we require a foundational understanding of other international privacy laws, and a global approach to problem-solving.

• Experience, or willingness to learn and advise, in the areas of artificial intelligence, online safety, child safety, consumer protection, content moderation, and other tech regulation topics.

• Experience identifying key risk areas and maintaining a broad strategic view when addressing complex and multifaceted projects. 

• Exceptional communication skills, both verbally and in writing. You can speak thoughtfully to engage with and learn from technical experts; you can also explain complex matters to business leaders using plain English, without legal jargon. 

• Demonstrated ability to partner strategically and successfully with product and business leaders at all levels to meet regulatory and legal requirements while balancing user trust, customer experience, and business objectives.

• Experience advising on operationalizing data protection agreements and standard contractual clauses (EU), balancing compliance with commercial efficiency

• Experience conducting and advising on privacy impact assessments and other GDPR recordkeeping requirements; ability to translate and apply privacy-related compliance obligations to a marketplace business model.

• Experience working with government relations teams on prospective legislation and strategy.

• Sound judgment, critical thinking skills, and the ability to operate confidently in ambiguous and unfamiliar situations. 

• You are a team player and curious to learn new things. Your instinct when new work comes in is to volunteer to help, you are excited by new projects, you aren’t afraid to ask or answer a question, and you step up when a colleague needs a second set of hands.

• The most important quality for success on the Etsy legal team is good judgment. Knowing when to say “no,” “yes,” or “maybe." 

• You could work in many places, but you want to work at Etsy because you recognize that having the chance to contribute impactful work and grow a company with an amazing mission -- empowering millions of microentrepreneurs -- is a rare opportunity.

Additional Information
 

What's Next
If you're interested in joining the team at Etsy, please share your resume with us and feel free to include a cover letter if you'd like. As we hope you've seen already, Etsy is a place that values individuality and variety. We don't want you to be like everyone else -- we want you to be like you! So tell us what you're all about.

Our Promise
At Etsy, we believe that a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace furthers relevance, resilience, and longevity. We encourage people from all backgrounds, ages, abilities, and experiences to apply. Etsy is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. If, due to a disability, you need an accommodation during any part of the application or interview process, please let your recruiter know. While Etsy supports visa sponsorship, sponsorship opportunities may be limited to certain roles and skills.