Legal & Regulatory Research Director

The Legal & Regulatory Research Director will be part of SIA’s global research team and will be responsible for managing the conduct of research, development of reports and articles providing information and guidance to clients of SIA on the legal and regulatory aspects of contingent work and workforce solutions. The successful candidate will be focused on the provision of legal research to SIA’s Contingent Workforce Strategies (CWS) Council members and SIA Corporate Members. The role is based in London. Candidates should be able to work from our central London office on a regular basis; a hybrid working pattern, including working from home, is available.

Responsibilities include:

• Developing unsurpassed expertise on how laws and regulations impact those organisations involved in supplying or using contingent labour including temporary agency workers, independent contractors, consultants, and related ancillary services.
• Monitoring changes in legislation and supporting clients of SIA (suppliers and buyers of contingent labor) to understand the implications for their businesses.
• Producing periodic comprehensive written reports that communicate key business intelligence and analysis in clear and precise language using data from primary and secondary sources. This will include the production of quarterly regional Legal Updates for Americas, EMEA and APAC together with ad hoc reports covering specific jurisdictions and significant legal developments in more detail.
• Maintenance of SIA’s global Contingent Workforce Compliance Database.
• Working closely with co-workers to develop extensions of current research product offerings as well as assisting in the development and planning for new research-related offerings and services/products.
• Participating in data collection and manipulation of publicly available data, in support of understanding attitudes and reactions to legislative and regulatory trends.
• Responding to queries from SIA’s clients regarding compliance and risk issues.
• Participation in SIA’s global conferences and webinars as presenter or moderator and assisting, as needed, with conference planning activities, including speaker recruitment and support work related to the development and construction of speaker presentations.
• Moderating or participating in client-sponsored webinars, particularly those covering legal topics.
• Assisting the editorial and CCWP training teams with providing legal content, updating course materials and presenting modules relating to compliance and risk management as required.
• Developing a network among legal professionals working within the staffing industry including working closely with national staffing associations and third-party legal experts to create mutually beneficial relationships.

Qualifications:

The ideal candidate will have extensive expertise on European legal issues to complement our established US-based Legal Research Analyst, and, therefore, is likely based in the UK. You will be an experienced legal professional with knowledge and expertise in the following areas:

• Legal Knowledge: You will be a qualified lawyer with a demonstrated track record of working in, or advising, the staffing industry. You will have a deep understanding of the legal and regulatory environment in relation to the wider workforce solutions ecosystem and its implications for both clients and intermediaries. This will extend to compliance with employment law, national and sectoral regulation relating to the provision of contingent labour including via MSP, data protection, AI, tax, health & safety and immigration law in addition to the ability to craft legal research on other issues impacting the provision of staffing services such as AI legislation, GDPR and data protection.
• Commercial Awareness and Research Skills: You have a passion for legal drafting, writing, and analysis, with uncompromising attention to detail. Your general analytical and problem-solving skills are excellent, and you have the ability to identify what information is relevant for your audience out of a mass of information. You will need to be able to understand the nuances of the political, economic, legal and technological environment affecting the workforce solutions sector, how this is evolving, and how this affects your clients' businesses to determine what research will be of most use to them.
• Communication Skills: You are comfortable interacting with CEO’s and top executives to build relationships and engender confidence. You can communicate the results of your research both in writing and orally to business executives in a succinct and compelling manner. You are a confident public speaker. You have excellent writing skills and experience of writing about compliance for an executive level business audience. Your attention to detail is important as is the ability to convey complex information clearly and concisely.
• Flexibility and Autonomy: You demonstrate initiative and can prioritize and manage your own work and time. You can demonstrate good time management and experience of setting and meeting deadlines. You will also be comfortable working in a flexible team environment and are eager to collaborate with others as needed to achieve the organisation’s goals.
• Values: Those you have worked with, co-workers and clients, respect you, trust you and would recommend you as an adviser and someone they would wish to work with again. You understand and can demonstrate the qualities of honesty, integrity and ethical behavior.
• Languages: You will be fluent in English. The ability to understand other languages would be an advantage.
• Technology proficient: A strong understanding of Microsoft Office (Word, Excel and PowerPoint), search engines, generative AI and other online research tools.

Relevant experience, as outlined below, would be an advantage:

• Position as general counsel within the staffing industry (with a staffing firm, MSP, PEO, EOR or other related service provider).
• Lawyer with an understanding of employment law (in particular, how this applies to contingent labour) data privacy laws, AI regulation, employment taxation, health and safety or immigration laws would also be useful.
• Familiarity with SIA research including SIA methodology, research standards, and report production.
• CCWP accreditation.

About SIA: Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA) is the global research and advisory firm focused on staffing and workforce solutions. Our proprietary research covers all categories of employed and non-employed work including temporary staffing, independent contracting and other types of contingent labour. SIA’s independent and objective analysis provides insights into the services and suppliers operating in the workforce solutions ecosystem, including staffing firms, managed service providers, recruitment process outsourcers, payrolling/compliance firms and talent acquisition technology specialists such as vendor management systems, online staffing platforms, crowdsourcing and online work services. We also provide training and accreditation with our unique Certified Contingent Workforce Professional (CCWP) program. Known for our award-winning content, data, support tools, publications, executive conferences and events, we help both suppliers and buyers of workforce solutions make better-informed decisions that improve business results and minimize risk. SIA was founded in 1989 by staffing pioneer Peter Yessne. A brand of Crain Communications, a leading business news and information company, SIA is headquartered in Mountain View, California, with offices in London, UK.