Director, Employee Relations

About the role

Location: Orange County, CA. The Employee Relations function will play a critical role in enabling Envista’s culture, protecting the organization, and ensuring fair, consistent, and compliant employment practices across our global workforce. We are seeking a Director, Employee Relations to build and lead a global Employee Relations Center of Excellence focused on delivering a consistent high-quality employee experience while proactively mitigating risk. In this role, you will partner closely with HR Business Partners, HR Centers of Excellence, Compliance, Employment Law, and HR Technology to advise on complex workplace matters, lead investigations, strengthen ER processes, and identify trends that inform scalable programs, policies, and practices. The ER Director will bring deep employee relations expertise, strong judgment, and a proactive mindset to help build a forward-looking ER roadmap that supports business needs, reinforces accountability, and ensures employees are treated fairly and consistently. This position reports to the VP, Global Human Resources. Operating company: Corporate. Travel up to 25%.

Responsibilities

• Build and lead Envista’s Employee Relations Center of Excellence (COE)
• Design and implement a consistent, scalable ER operating model across regions and businesses
• Develop a group of highly skilled, high performing ER Partners
• Partner with business leaders to collaborate and coach regarding ER matters
• Lead complex employee relations cases and investigations, ensuring neutrality, consistency, and compliance
• Serve as a key strategic partner to execute on key business strategies while minimizing risk
• Develop ER playbooks, processes, and standard work for conducting investigations, managing performance, handling disciplinary actions, and resolving employee issues
• Establish intake, triage, escalation, and resolution processes aligned to ServiceNow and HR Service Delivery
• Partner closely with Legal on high-risk matters and ensure strong risk management practices
• Coach leaders and HR partners on employee relations matters and difficult conversations
• Develop ER metrics, dashboards, and insights to identify trends, risks, and improvement opportunities
• Identify systemic issues and partner with HR leaders to address root causes through policy, training, or process changes

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree required
• Minimum of 10+ years of experience in Employee Relations, investigations, or employment law
• Deep expertise in conducting investigations and managing complex employee issues
• Experience building or scaling an ER function, COE, or centralized capability preferred
• Strong understanding of employment law and compliance requirements
• Excellent judgment and ability to handle sensitive and high-risk situations
• Strong communication, coaching, and interpersonal skills, while earning trust
• Ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced, evolving environment through an inclusive leadership style

Benefits

• Annual performance bonus
• Medical, dental, vision benefits
• 401K match
• Other applicable compensation plans