Regulatory Legal Counsel

France and Germany preferred / wider EU scope considered

About Safetykleen

Imagine working for a company where your role genuinely matters for the planet.

At Safetykleen, we help businesses operate more safely, responsibly and efficiently through specialist cleaning, waste and environmental services. A world leader with 50 years’ experience across 16 countries, empowering global businesses to keep their critical operations safer and cleaner. Across our international business, we support customers with critical operational needs while helping reduce environmental impact.

We are growing and evolving as an organisation, strengthening collaboration across our markets. As part of this journey, we are building our risk and regulatory capability in the areas that matter most to our future with environmental governance at the forefront.

About The Role

We are looking for a high-calibre Regulatory Legal Counsel with environmental compliance experience to help shape and strengthen our regulatory capability globally.

This is not a traditional in‑house legal role. It is a rare opportunity to build and define an important area of capability in an international organisation, working at the intersection of Legal, Operations and Health & Safety.

You’ll provide expert guidance on regulatory and environmental risk, help the business navigate complex obligations across multiple markets, and translate technical requirements into clear, practical action. You will also play a key role in building a more consistent, scalable approach to compliance and governance across the group.

This role would suit someone who enjoys combining deep technical expertise with real business impact – someone comfortable moving between strategic thinking, stakeholder influence and detailed regulatory problem‑solving.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Leading on regulatory and environmental legal matters across the organisation
• Advising on risk relating to waste, hazardous materials, environmental compliance, storage, licensing and transport obligations
• Helping shape a more coherent and scalable compliance approach across multiple countries
• Translating complex legal and regulatory requirements into practical guidance for business leaders
• Supporting and educating stakeholders on regulatory exposure, obligations and good practice
• Acting as a key interface between Legal, Operations, Health & Safety and HR
• Working closely with internal teams and external legal partners where required
• Bringing greater structure, clarity and assurance to an area that is business‑critical and still developing

About You

We are looking for someone with strong technical depth, sound judgement and the confidence to operate in a fast‑moving, evolving environment.

You will likely bring:

• Qualified lawyer in any of our main EU jurisdictions, with at least 5+ years post‑qualification experience
• Strong background in regulatory and environmental law
• Experience gained in private practice or in‑house, with exposure to regulatory and environmental risk within sectors such as waste, chemicals, environmental services, or industrial operations
• Above all, you’ll have experience within corporate environments where regulatory, environmental and operational risk are central to the business (e.g. energy, FMCG, chemicals, waste, environmental services, or industrial operations)
• Strong understanding of UK, EU or comparable environmental and waste legislation
• Ability to assess complex risk and advise in a clear, commercial and pragmatic way
• Confidence working across both high‑level strategy and detailed legal issues
• Strong stakeholder skills, with the ability to build credibility across different functions and levels
• A proactive, capable and solutions‑focused mindset
• Comfort working in an environment where not everything is fully built yet

What Makes Someone Successful In This Role

• Enjoy building as well as advising
• Can bring clarity to ambiguity
• Are commercially aware without compromising standards
• Are curious about operations and how things work in practice
• Can influence senior stakeholders while staying close to operational reality

Why Join Safetykleen

This is an opportunity to step into a role with real scope and visibility.

You will have the chance to:

• Shape an important capability from the ground up
• Broaden your international exposure quickly
• Work closely with senior stakeholders across the business
• Make a direct contribution to business resilience, governance and growth
• Take on a role with genuine influence, challenge and long‑term impact

Location

France or Germany are the preferred location for this role, although other EU locations may be considered.

English language capability will be essential.