Senior Compliance Specialist

Job description

The Compliance Specialist, EMEA is a subject matter expert who owns employment, labor, and statutory compliance across the region (primarily France, Spain, Portugal, Netherlands, Ireland and UK). This is an individual-contributor role where you will be the region's go-to authority on People compliance, partnering closely with People Operations, Legal, People Business Partners and regional stakeholders to build and maintain compliant people processes that enable Datadog's continued growth in EMEA. You'll join a growing team - currently a Compliance Coordinator and an incoming Apprentice joining in September - and will work closely with them, bringing a more experienced, hands-on perspective to help scale the team's compliance capabilities across the region. This is a hands-on, operational role suited to someone who enjoys working in the details, partnering cross-functionally, and building a strong foundation of People compliance across multiple countries. At Datadog, we place value in our office culture, the relationships and collaboration it builds and the creativity it brings to the table. We operate as a hybrid workplace to ensure our Datadogs can create a work life harmony that best fits them. What You'll Do: Own ongoing compliance with employment laws and regulations across EMEA, including tracking regulatory updates Own compliance oversight for employment contracts, health and safety in our offices Manage accommodation requests end-to-end Partner with People Operations and Legal to resolve compliance questions and mitigate risk Own compliance with statutory medical requirements in EMEA (requirements differ by country) Own statutory compliance obligations related to hiring employees with disabilities, including reporting duties Lead work rule updates, Works Council coordination (France and Netherlands), and reporting Own mandatory training compliance tracking and timely submission of required government reports Design, maintain, and evolve People policies and procedures to reflect current employment law across the region, including leave entitlements, termination and redundancy rules, working hours, etc. Build and maintain a regional compliance calendar and audit cadence Lead or support internal and external audits, and manage responses to regulator inquiries and government requests for information Contribute to building scalable compliance processes within People Operations Coordinate with counterparts in the Americas and APAC regions to share best practices and harmonize policies and processes where practicable Who You Are: 5+ years of experience in People Operations, HR compliance, or employment administration in an EMEA regional role AI-savvy, with a genuine interest in identifying where AI tools can streamline compliance processes and drive efficiency gains. Comfortable applying AI to repetitive or high-volume compliance work. Detail-oriented and comfortable working with complex, multi-jurisdiction regulatory requirements Organized and reliable, with the ability to manage recurring compliance tasks and deadlines without close oversight A self-starter with solid business acumen and sound judgment; able to distinguish material compliance risk from lower-priority administrative gaps and communicate that distinction clearly to stakeholders at every level A collaborative partner who communicates clearly with cross-functional stakeholders across People Operations, Legal, Payroll, Benefits, PBPs, Security and Office Ops</li