Senior Counsel, Manager

Coursera was launched in 2012 by two Stanford Computer Science professors, Andrew Ng and Daphne Koller, with a mission to provide universal access to world-class learning. It is now one of the largest online learning platforms in the world, with 148 million registered learners as of March 31, 2024.

Coursera partners with over 325 leading university and industry partners to offer a broad catalog of content and credentials, including courses, Specializations, Professional Certificates, Guided Projects, and bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Institutions around the world use Coursera to upskill and reskill their employees, citizens, and students in fields such as data science, technology, and business. Coursera became a B Corp in February 2021.

Join us in our mission to create a world where anyone, anywhere can transform their life through access to education. We're seeking talented individuals who share our passion and drive to revolutionize the way the world learns.

We at Coursera are committed to building a globally diverse team and are thrilled to extend employment opportunities to individuals in any country where we have a legal entity. We require candidates to possess eligible working rights and have a compatible timezone overlap with their team to facilitate seamless collaboration. As a remote-first company, our interviews and onboarding are entirely virtual, providing a smooth and efficient experience for our candidates.

Job Overview

Legal and Compliance is responsible for managing all legal and regulatory matters, including contracts, corporate governance, general compliance, academic compliance, employment law matters, intellectual property, product counseling, government relations, and claims. The team includes dedicated teams that support every aspect of Coursera's platform, including university, enterprise, and industry partnerships.

The Senior Counsel, Manager will lead and build out the global Privacy Team and function in close collaboration with the Managing Counsel for Consumer, Product and Privacy. A key responsibility of this role will be as day-to-day lead of the privacy function providing support to the rest of the Privacy Team, and acting as a subject matter expert on global privacy laws for other members of the legal and compliance teams. Another key component of this role will also be to lead, in conjunction with the Privacy Team, on the development of our privacy program and on other key privacy issues such as incident response, data subject request management, and regulator interactions. This will involve close collaboration with cross-functional stakeholders across the entire company at all levels of the organization and it will be crucial to build strong relationships with key stakeholders.

We’re looking for a team member who is passionate about business growth and education. We want a candidate who is energized by the challenges of growing a mission-driven business globally and being a strategic business partner for a dynamic team experiencing rapid expansion. This role will engage with all levels of employees and management, so interpersonal and communication skills (written and verbal) are vital to strong working relationships.

Responsibilities:

Leading the Privacy Team: Manage and mentor the Privacy Team, providing guidance and support to ensure professional growth and effective compliance. Privacy Program: Lead on the continuous development and implementation of our privacy program.  Delivering Legal Guidance: Provide legal guidance to ensure that practices accord with privacy laws and regulations in the business’s operating jurisdictions. Policies and Standards: Develop and update privacy notices and internal privacy policies. Incident reporting and investigation: Lead on incident response and investigations together with Engineering, InfoSec and other stakeholders.  Other Duties: Assess legal risk, perform privacy impact assessments; train employees on data privacy laws and practices, conduct legitimate interest assessments; assist with the privacy negotiations with third parties. Close Cooperation with the Managing Counsel: Lead the privacy function in close cooperation with the Managing Counsel to align privacy strategies and initiatives with overall legal and business objectives.

Basic Qualifications:

Qualified solicitor in England and Wales. 8+ years of relevant experience at a law firm or in-house legal department or both. In-depth knowledge of US and EU consumer privacy statutes (such as GDPR, CCPA/CPRA, CAN-SPAM). Experience building rapport with stakeholders at all levels of seniority across the business and the ability to explain complex concepts. Proven experience in managing a team of legal professionals.

Preferred Qualifications:

Prior in-house experience at a technology company with a product serving users across at least two of the following verticals across multiple international jurisdictions: consumer, enterprise, and education. Demonstrated experience counseling global, cross-functional teams regarding data privacy. Demonstrated experience implementing/maintaining foundational aspects of a global privacy compliance program, including experience working with privacy compliance tools and developing processes to enforce internal privacy protocols. Possess a practical approach to problem-solving and be able to counsel internal clients with clear, concise, and creative advice on timelines to meet business needs. Operate autonomously while being a team player who brings a positive, “can do” attitude to the workplace and works collaboratively with other members of the Legal and Compliance team and with internal clients. Thrives in an ever-changing, start-up environment, and works quickly under time-pressure deadlines.