Senior Compliance Counsel – Speak Up & Investigations

As Senior Compliance Counsel – Speak Up & Investigations, you will play a key role in Vanderlande's Compliance & Ethics team. The team is responsible for the development, implementation and continuous improvement of several core compliance areas (Anti-Corruption, Competition Law, Data Privacy & AI Governance, Trade Compliance, and Speak-Up & Investigations), and for fostering a culture of integrity and ethical business conduct across the organization.

You will support and further develop Vanderlande's Speak-Up & investigations framework, lead or support sensitive investigations, and help ensure that cases are handled in a consistent, careful and proportionate way. You will work closely with HR, Internal Audit, Legal, Information Security, management, and other stakeholders, depending on the nature of the matter.

In addition to leading and supporting investigations, you will play an important role in monitoring follow-up actions, identifying recurring themes, driving the strengthening of controls, and translating lessons learned into practical improvements.

The role reports to the Executive Director Ethics, Risk & Compliance. While there are no direct reports, leadership is an important aspect of the role. You will provide guidance, coaching and support to colleagues involved in investigations, Speak-Up activities and framework development, and regularly interact with management and other senior stakeholders.

Depending on business needs and your profile and interests, there may be opportunities to contribute to broader compliance initiatives. These may include areas such as anti-corruption, regional compliance support, policy development, training, or other compliance-related projects.

• Preferred location: Veghel (The Netherlands)
• Alternative location: Nuremberg (Germany)
• Contract type: Full time

What you will do

Speak-up framework and investigations

• Further develop, modernize and maintain Vanderlande’s Speak-Up and investigations framework, including intake, triage, investigation procedures, reporting and follow-up.
• Lead or support investigations into potential breaches of law, the Code of Conduct, or company policies.
• Conduct case assessments, evidence reviews, interviews, reporting and recommendations.
• Work closely with HR, Internal Audit, Legal, management, and any other relevant stakeholders, on the handling and resolution of sensitive matters.

Monitor, follow-up and continuous improvement

• Monitor implementation of agreed remediation and follow-up actions arising from investigations.
• Identify recurring themes, root causes, control weaknesses, and improvement opportunities.
• Translate investigation outcomes into practical recommendations for improvements to policies, processes, controls, training or awareness activities.
• Contribute to investigation reporting, trend analysis and lessons learned.

Speak-up culture, communication, and training

• Support communication and awareness initiatives that promote a speak-up culture and encourage employees to raise concerns.
• Develop practical guidance and training materials for managers, investigators and other stakeholders involved in case intake, escalation, and follow-up.
• Help ensure that there is a consistent understanding of topics such as confidentiality, non-retaliation, and appropriate handling of concerns.

Investigation capability and framework ownership

• Act as a subject matter expert on investigations, case assessment and Speak-Up governance.
• Provide guidance and coaching to colleagues involved in investigations and Speak-Up activities.
• Strengthen investigation standards, templates, playbooks and ways of working across our Compliance & Ethics team.

What you bring

Education and background

• Master’s degree or equivalent experience in law (e.g., the Germany Second State Examination / Volljurist qualification), compliance, criminology, forensic investigations, business ethics, risk management or a related field.
• Professional training or certifications in investigations, fraud examination, or related areas, are a plus.

Experience

• Typically, 7-12 years of relevant experience in investigations, compliance, fraud risk management, forensic services, or related fields, within an international organization.
• Strong and demonstrable hands-on experience with internal investigations, including case intake, assessment, investigation planning, interviews, evidence review, reporting and remediation follow-up.
• Experience with Speak-Up or whistleblowing programs in a multinational and matrixed organization.
• Hands-on experience in anti-corruption, integrity, fraud, conflicts of interest, third-party risk, or broader compliance topics, is a strong advantage.
• Experience coaching or guiding colleagues in investigations, even without formal line management responsibility.

Skills & capabilities

• Strong judgment, discretion and integrity when dealing with sensitive matters.
• Strong interviewing, analytical and report-writing skills.
• Ability to conduct investigations in a structured, fair and professional way, applying sound judgment and cultural awareness across different countries, cultures and stakeholder groups.
• Ability to clearly distinguish between allegations requiring investigation, concerns requiring management follow-up, and broader process or control issues requiring monitoring or audit attention.
• Ability to translate investigation outcomes into practical improvements and provide guidance, coaching and support to colleagues involved in investigations.
• Confident communicator, able to engage with senior stakeholders while remaining objective, balanced and fact-based.
• Comfortable working with ambiguity, incomplete information and sensitive stakeholder dynamics.
• Pragmatic, solution-oriented and able to drive matters forward independently.
• Fluent in English. Additional languages are an advantage.

About Vanderlande

Vanderlande is a leading global partner in future-proof logistics process automation for distribution centers, airports, and the parcel market. Our comprehensive portfolio of integrated solutions – innovative systems, intelligent software, and life-cycle services – enables the delivery of fast, reliable, and efficient automation technology.

As a subsidiary of Toyota Industries Corporation (TICO), we combine entrepreneurial engineering with a strong focus on operational excellence, reliability, and long‑term partnerships with our customers.

What we offer

We offer a position in an international and professional working environment with room for personal development and growth.

On top of your fixed salary, you’ll receive the following secondary benefits*:

• 40 vacation days (20 statutory days and a flexible budget worth 20 days)
• Flexible working hours
• A hybrid workplace (40% working from home and 60% in the office)
• A Health & Wellbeing budget worth € 300 per calendar year.
• Commuting allowance, including full reimbursement of travel by public transport
• Working from home allowance
• Collective pension scheme and discount on additional health insurance
• On-site company health centres with a gym, physiotherapists and occupational therapists
• Vanderlande Academy and training facilities to boost your skills
• A variety in Vanderlande Network communities and initiatives

* Please note that a/n benefits apply to NL only. For Germany other benefits will apply.