Senior Director of Employee Relations

About the Role

The Senior Director of Employee Relations will provide management oversight and supervision to the employee relations partners and offer guidance to all employees on a wide variety of employee relations topics. This role drives culture change by aligning daily workplace practices with the MBTA’s core values, helping managers handle team conflicts early, and building trust to shift from enforcement to partnership.

Responsibilities

• Employee Relations Strategy & Leadership
  • Develop and execute the Employee Relations strategy aligned with business goals and critical stakeholders by leading the Employee Relations team to establish standards, governance, and service delivery models.
  • Create and implement sustainable, scalable initiatives, mechanisms, and programs that drive long-lasting change at all levels of the organization.
  • Produce high-quality executive-level communications that analyze challenges and move solutions from concept to execution, translating complex employee relations issues into actionable solutions.
  • Set and maintain consistent investigative standards, documentation protocols, and ER governance frameworks to ensure high-quality, uniform ER practice across the Authority.
• Leadership & Influence
  • Influence leaders to secure alignment, build support, and cultivate positive change agents across the organization.
  • Build constructive relationships with critical stakeholders and peers to share information, influence change, and leverage resources to deliver results.
  • Lead organizational culture change initiatives that foster employee engagement, accountability, and a respectful workplace.
  • Utilize employee relations information to educate leaders and managers on reported issues and guide proactive strategies for resolution.
  • Collaborate with other internal workforce groups (e.g., business partner team, training team) to ensure a cohesive internal strategy for joint culture change.
  • Lead, mentor, and provide strategic direction to Employee Relations professionals in advising HR Business Partners (HRBPs), managers, and leadership on workplace conflicts, performance management, workforce assessments, organizational restructures, job descriptions, employee complaints, and mediation efforts.
  • Coach management and serve as a trusted advisor on difficult employee situations, conflict resolution, leadership effectiveness, organizational change, and difficult conversations.
  • Partner with Training Leaders to design manager training on investigations, documentation, performance management, respectful workplace, harassment prevention, conflict management, and employment law compliance.
  • Design solutions for individuals, sites, or situations, then translate, design, and launch sustainable mechanisms for the entire agency.
  • Challenge current practices and industry status quo to generate creative, large-scale solutions that improve organizational effectiveness.
  • Work in ambiguous situations and persevere through internal and external barriers to drive resolutions.
• Assessment, Data Analytics & Analysis
  • Assess workforce trends, organizational dynamics, behaviors, and relationships to proactively identify workplace risks and gaps/opportunities to establish a positive employer-employee relationship and promote high employee morale.
  • Analyze employee relations metrics, including investigations, grievances, turnover, complaints, litigation, engagement, exit interviews, and performance trends to identify root causes and drive solutions.
  • Develop executive dashboards, reports, and data-driven recommendations to support strategic decision-making and provide guidance to leadership using workforce analytics to strengthen workplace culture, improve employee engagement, and enhance retention.
  • Support the annual employee engagement survey by participating in planning, implementation, training, analysis, and action planning.
  • Establish success measures and evaluate the effectiveness of Employee Relations programs and initiatives.
• Employment Law & Risk Management
  • Ensure compliance with federal, state, and local employment laws; partner with Legal on litigation, EEOC/MCAD charges, agency responses, subpoenas, and other legal risks to proactively reduce exposure.
  • Collaborate with Legal, Office of Diversity and Civil Rights (ODCR), and other stakeholders on litigation, agency responses, investigations, subpoenas, discrimination complaints, harassment allegations, and employment-related risk.
  • Identify compliance risks and recommend changes to HR policies, employee handbooks, codes of conduct, disciplinary guidelines, workplace standards, and complaint procedures.
  • Partner with Leave Administration to ensure compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and reasonable accommodation requirements.
  • Apply employee relations expertise to proactively identify emerging workplace risks and develop mitigation strategies that reduce legal and organizational exposure.
  • Work with ODCR to review and identify organizational trends and recommend preventative programs that improve workplace climate and reduce employee relations issues.
  • Ensure accurate reporting to address and close MBTA and ODCR cases timely, with proper communication to employees.
  • Provide strategic leadership during crisis-oriented employee relations matters while exercising sound judgment under time-sensitive conditions.
  • Support organizational retention efforts through trend analysis, workforce assessments, and targeted intervention strategies.
• Workplace Investigations
  • Oversee complex, sensitive, and high-risk investigations involving harassment, discrimination, retaliation, ethics, misconduct, workplace violence, hostile work environment, and complaints to ensure consistent investigative practices and documentation.
  • Continuously improve investigation protocols, frameworks for coaching, corrective action, terminations, and documentation, and advise leaders on complex performance situations to reduce claims and ensure consistency.
  • Develop investigative strategies, gather facts, interview witnesses, document findings, recommend corrective actions, and ensure consistent implementation of disciplinary measures.
  • Direct the Authority's EthicsPoint program by assigning investigations, monitoring case progress, participating in EthicsPoint governance meetings, and ensuring timely resolution of reported concerns.
  • Partner closely with Legal, Labor Relations, and ODCR on investigations involving discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and other protected class matters.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration & Partnerships
  • Work closely with HRBPs, ODCR, Talent Acquisition, Compensation, Benefits, Legal, Security, Compliance, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), and executive leadership.
  • Partner with Labor Relations on grievances, arbitrations, disciplinary actions, bargaining issues, contract interpretation, and union strategy.
  • Build constructive relationships with critical stakeholders to share information and influence change.
  • Cultivate collaborative partnerships across departments to promote consistent employee relations practices and a positive workplace culture.
  • Maintain strict confidentiality of information, including conversations, documents, files, complaints, and investigations.
  • Perform all other duties and projects as assigned, which may include focusing on one or more departments or locations.
• Supervision
  • Directly supervise Employee Relations team members.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited institution.
• Ten (10) or more years of progressive legal responsibilities with experience in FTA regulations, ADA, Title VI, DBE, EEO, employee relations, labor relations, human resources, employment law, workplace investigations, or a related field.
• Seven (7) years of managerial, supervisory, and/or leadership experience.
• Demonstrated expertise interpreting and applying federal, state, and local employment laws, including Title VII, ADA, FMLA, FLSA, EEO, and related regulations, and partnering effectively with legal counsel on complex employment matters.
• Strong awareness of state and federal employment regulations.
• Understanding of collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) as they relate to employee relations and grievance processes.
• Resourceful, analytical, and problem-solving aptitude.
• Excellent communication, consulting, and influencing skills.
• Demonstrated experience responding to clients with a customer service attitude.
• Strong ability to work independently, lead teams, and manage multiple competing priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong attention to detail.
• Ability to maintain professionalism and confidentiality.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office (PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook) and comfort learning new technical systems as needed.

Qualifications

• A high school diploma or GED with an additional seven (7) years of directly related experience substitutes for the bachelor’s degree requirement.
• An associate’s degree from an accredited institution and an additional three (3) years of directly related experience substitutes for the bachelor’s degree requirement.
• A master’s degree in a related subject substitutes for two (2) years of general experience.
• A nationally recognized certification or statewide/professional certification in a related field substitutes for one (1) year of experience.

Preferred Experience & Skills

• Master's degree (MBA, MPA, MSHRM, or related field).
• Juris Doctor (J.D.) from an accredited law school.
• SHRM-SCP, SPHR, or equivalent professional certification.
• Mediation or workplace investigation certifications.
• Experience with HRIS systems.

Job Conditions

• Ability to effectively read, comprehend, communicate, and respond to instructions, orders, signs, notices, and inquiries in English.
• Must be at least eighteen (18) years of age, except if participating in an approved high school internship/co-op program.
• Ability to commute to assigned work locations in the Boston, MA metro area, as required by the role.
• Ability to provide internal and external customers with courteous and professional experiences.
• Ability to work effectively, independently, and as part of a diverse workforce team (or supervise, if required).
• Ability to uphold the rights and interests of the MBTA while building and maintaining effective relationships with employees and co-workers.
• Ability to adhere to rules, regulations, collective bargaining agreements (if applicable), and policies of the MBTA, including EEO, anti-discrimination, anti-harassment, and anti-retaliation policies.
• Satisfactory work record for the two (2) years immediately prior to the closing date of this posting (unless a current student or recent graduate), including overall employment, job performance, discipline, and safety records.
• Ability to pass a Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) check.