Senior Employee Relations Manager

About the role

The Senior Employee Relations Manager at Crusoe is responsible for conducting internal investigations, managing sensitive matters, and ensuring workplace safety and respect. This role requires a deep understanding of California labor law and a strong ability to navigate complex situations with empathy and pragmatism.

Responsibilities

• Conduct Investigations: Personally run the majority of internal investigations across the company regarding workplace complaints or concerns.
• Manage Sensitive Matters: Act as a trusted point of contact for employees and leaders dealing with sensitive, confidential, or emotionally charged situations.
• Consistency: Partner with Legal, Compliance, and People Operations to ensure workplace policies are clear, fair, and compliant with both federal and state labor laws, with particular attention to California-specific mandates.
• Track Historical Cases: Make sure similar issues receive consistent outcomes by tracking historical cases.
• Manager Advisory: Act as a sounding board and advisor to managers and People Success Partners, coaching them through tough employee situations, difficult conversations, and complex policy questions.
• California Law Guidance: Provide clear guidance to leadership on California-specific nuances, such as mandatory harassment prevention training, meal/rest break compliance issues, and independent contractor guidelines.
• Collaboration & Education: Work with teammates to deliver practical training for managers on conflict resolution, documentation best practices, and spotting early ER risks.
• Identify Risks: Pay close attention to workplace dynamics, using regular communication and observation to spot early signs of morale issues or cultural strain.
• Trend Reporting: Share regular insights and trend data from your observations with leadership to help guide proactive culture improvements or policy adjustments.

Qualifications

• HR Generalist Leadership & Advisory: 8+ years of deep HR generalist experience with a proven ability to act as a trusted advisor to leaders on complex performance management, compensation, benefits, and talent management issues.
• Experience: Experience working in a fast-growing, scaling, or volatile business environment is highly preferred; comfort adapting ER processes dynamically as the company grows is a major plus.
• Labor Law Expertise: Proven, deep knowledge of employment law and regulatory environments across multiple U.S. states, with specific, hands-on experience navigating California’s complex labor laws, wage-and-hour regulations, and CRD compliance frameworks.
• Interpersonal Strength & Trust Building: Exceptional communication and conflict resolution skills, with a proven ability to listen deeply and build immediate trust with employees and leaders alike. You excel at reading team dynamics and emotional cues, navigating high-stress or sensitive situations with absolute discretion, composure, and empathy.