Senior Employee Relations Partner

About the role

The Employee Relations Specialist serves as a trusted advisor and practitioner responsible for navigating complex workplace matters with sound judgment, legal fluency, and a commitment to both people and organizational health. The Senior Employee Relations Specialist (Level 6) is a senior individual contributor expert who leads complex employee relations and performance management cases end-to-end, ensuring consistent, defensible, and equitable outcomes across the organization. This role operates as a strategic partner to Senior HR Business Partners (HRBPs), absorbing high-risk and high-complexity employee relations work while enabling HRBPs to focus on business strategy, talent decisions, and organizational effectiveness. The role partners closely with HRBPs, Legal, and senior leadership to resolve issues swiftly and fairly while strengthening the company's culture as it scales.

Responsibilities

• Employee Relations & Investigations
  • Lead end-to-end investigations into complex employee relations matters (e.g., misconduct, discrimination, retaliation, policy violations).
  • Conduct structured interviews, assess credibility, synthesize evidence, and produce clear, legally defensible findings and recommendations.
  • Partner closely with Legal to manage risk, escalation thresholds, and compliance requirements.
  • Ensure consistent application of policies globally, accounting for regional legal and cultural differences.
• Performance & Disciplinary Processes
  • Advise on high-risk performance cases, including Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs), coaching plans, and involuntary separations.
  • Ensure performance processes follow structured, documented frameworks with clear expectations, timelines, and success metrics.
  • Support differentiation between performance vs. capability vs. organizational/system issues in partnership with HRBPs.
  • Drive consistency in disciplinary actions and ensure fairness across managers and teams.
• Risk Mitigation, Compliance & Governance
  • Act as a subject matter expert in employment law (multi-state and global) and internal policy frameworks.
  • Ensure rigorous documentation standards and audit readiness across all employee relations and performance cases.
  • Identify and mitigate legal, reputational, and employee experience risks before escalation.
  • Own employee relations case governance, including escalation pathways and decision frameworks.
• Manager & HRBP Advisory
  • Coach managers on feedback delivery and documentation, navigating difficult conversations, and when/how to escalate employee relations matters.
  • Partner with Senior HRBPs to align employee relations decisions with broader talent, calibration, and organizational outcomes.
  • Provide real-time case consultation for ambiguous or sensitive situations.
• Insights, Trends & Systemic Improvement
  • Analyze employee relations case data to identify patterns by manager, function, or region (e.g., repeat manager risk patterns, policy gaps, organizational friction points).
  • Drive improvements to employee relations playbooks, templates, and workflows.
• Capability Building & Enablement
  • Design and deliver manager education on performance management rigor, documentation standards, bias mitigation, and fair process.
  • Build scalable tools (templates, guides, intake frameworks) that improve quality and consistency of employee relations handling.
  • Partner with HRBPs to elevate overall organizational capability in managing performance and employee relations proactively.
• Decision Rights
  • Recommend outcomes, risk mitigation strategies, and disciplinary actions.
  • Own employee relations process integrity, case quality, and documentation standards.
  • Escalate high-risk decisions to HRBPs, Legal, or leadership as appropriate.

Requirements

• Required
  • 5+ years of progressive HR experience with at least 3 years in a dedicated Employee Relations or HR compliance role.
  • Demonstrated experience leading workplace investigations independently from intake through resolution.
  • Working knowledge of multi-state employment law and regulatory compliance requirements.
  • Proven ability to manage sensitive, high-risk cases with discretion and sound judgment.
  • Strong written communication skills — able to produce clear, legally-defensible documentation.
• Preferred
  • Experience in a global SaaS/technology or pre-IPO company environment.
  • Experience partnering with HRBPs in a global, matrixed organization.
  • PHR, SPHR, SHRM-CP, or SHRM-SCP certification.
  • Experience using HRIS platforms (Workday, Rippling, or similar) and case management tools.

Skills

• Employee Relations
• HR Business
• HR Strategy
• Human Resources Consulting
• Leadership Training and Development
• Organizational Development (OD)
• Recruiting
• Succession Planning
• Talent Management
• Workforce Planning

Pay

The expected salary range for this role is $112,000 to $168,000. The final offered salary will be based on several factors, including but not limited to the candidate's depth of experience, skill set, qualifications, and internal pay equity. This position is eligible for total compensation which includes a competitive base salary, an annual performance bonus, and long-term incentives.