Senior Legal Counsel (For independent contractors)

Role Description

Booking.com's Marketplace business unit owns our traveler-facing web and mobile apps, as well as our Genius program. It's also where some of our most important product innovations — including personalization and AI — get developed and deployed.

We require a Senior Legal Counsel - Privacy (Marketplace) to be embedded in our Amsterdam-based Privacy Team, ensuring our product initiatives are developed with the customer's privacy in mind.

The contractor will serve as the primary privacy counsel for our Marketplace products, establishing the legal frameworks that underpin how we collect, store and use personal data across our personalization features — from profiles and preferences to trip planning and recommendations. They will also ensure our tracking technology is deployed correctly and support AI-related initiatives where they intersect with the Marketplace.

Key Job Responsibilities and Duties

• Provide privacy legal reviews of new Marketplace product initiatives — including personalization features, AI applications and Genius benefits — in a speedy and practical way

  
  

• Develop and maintain privacy legal frameworks that apply holistically across current and planned product features, rather than treating each initiative as a standalone use case

  
  

• Advise on the appropriate legal bases (performance of contract, legitimate interest, consent) for data collection, storage and use across logged-in and logged-out experiences

  
  

• Support our consent compliance programs, including minimizing consent moments, aligning with DSA opt-out requirements and ensuring proper transparency through our Privacy Notice

  
  

• Provide privacy legal support for our tracking tech programs

  
  

• Assess the use of special category data (e.g. accessibility filters, meal preferences) and advise on the correct legal basis for processing

  
  

• Independently execute your work, collaborate with stakeholders and identify opportunities for improvement

Qualifications & Skills

• 5+ years' experience in a top tier law firm and/or major corporation in a similar role

  
  

• Hands-on experience in data protection, privacy compliance and product counseling; experience with AI governance is a plus

  
  

• Solid understanding of consumer-facing tech products, personalization technology and enterprise technology

  
  

• A Bachelors' and/or Masters' Degree, and a legal professional qualification; a CIPP/E / CIPT (or similar) certification is preferred

  
  

• A deep understanding of GDPR, familiarity with the ePrivacy Directive, DSA and AI Act, and how these apply to travel tech

  
  

• A high level of project management skill and able to "roll up sleeves" to get the job done

  
  

• Ability to be the 'voice of reason' in tense situations — the ability to quickly respond to issues at hand and able to prioritise effectively, with a 'customer first' mindset

  
  

• Fluency in English (and 'tech') with excellent communication skills; verbally, in writing and listening

Working Arrangement

This is a hybrid or fully remote role. The contractor should be available during Central European business hours.