Executive Director, ER/LR COE Lead

Description

The Executive Director of the Employee Relations Center of Excellence (ER CoE) is an enterprise leader responsible for designing, leading, and continuously evolving the organization's employee & labor relations strategy, capabilities, and practices. This is a key role in enabling positive employee relations and a high-integrity culture. This role partners across the People function, with HR Business Partners and our People Experience Team, and with the Legal & Compliance teams.

Strategic Leadership

• Define and champion the enterprise employee & labor relations strategy, aligning ER philosophy with organizational values, business objectives, and workforce trends.

• Build and lead the ER Center of Excellence as a scalable, data-driven function that delivers consistent, equitable, and legally sound employee relations practices across the organization.

• Serve as a trusted advisor on sensitive employee matters, workforce culture & engagement, policies and labor relations strategy.

Policy & Program Development

• Own the development, governance, and ongoing refinement of enterprise-wide ER policies, practices, frameworks, and standards.

• Establish and maintain global investigation protocols, discipline and performance management guidelines, and conflict resolution frameworks.

• Lead the design and delivery of ER training programs for HR practitioners, managers, and leaders at all levels.

Case Management & Risk Oversight

• Provide oversight and guidance to the People Experience teams on relations matters.

• Responsible for leading select ER matters which are highly complex, confidential or sensitive.

• Ensure consistency, fairness, and legal defensibility in the handling of all ER cases across business units and geographies.

• Partner with Legal (Employment & Compliance) to proactively guide, manage risk and respond to ER matters and policy initiatives.

Insights & Continuous Improvement

• Build and leverage ER metrics and trend analysis to identify systemic issues that inform leadership decision-making and drive proactive intervention. Establish an approach to reviews which utilizes data to shape culture strategy and reduce organizational risk.

• Benchmark practices externally and drive continuous improvement in ER processes, tools, and outcomes.

Team & Stakeholder Leadership

• Recruit, develop, and lead a high-performing team of ER, LR and policy professionals, fostering a culture of expertise, consistency, and empathy.

• Build strong cross-functional partnerships with HR Business Partners, the People Experience Team, Talent, Total Rewards, ID&E, Legal, Ethics & Compliance, and Business leadership.

• Represent the ER function in organizational transformation initiatives.

Qualifications

• 12-15+ years of progressive HR experience, with proven employee relations leadership. Experience leading in a matrixed and global organization.

• Expertise in employee relations, workplace investigations, labor relations, and HR compliance across geographies

• Demonstrated track record of building or significantly maturing a functional capability area. Experience doing this for ER is a plus.

• Experience advising senior leadership on sensitive workforce matters.

• Strong analytical acumen; ability to translate ER data into strategic insight and action.

• Exceptional judgment, discretion, and the ability to navigate ambiguity with confidence and integrity.

• Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree a plus.

Leadership Competencies

• Enterprise mindset with the ability to balance empathy, fairness, and business pragmatism.

• Highly credible communicator who can influence without authority at all levels.

• Courageous leader willing to surface difficult truths and challenge the status quo.

• Strong influencer who can navigate a variety of organizational dynamics.

Equal Opportunity Employer

It is Company's policy not to discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, age, sex or gender (including pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions), gender identity or gender expression (including transgender status), sexual orientation, marital status, military service and veteran status, physical or mental disability, protected medical condition as defined by applicable state or local law, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws and ordinances. The Company will endeavor to provide a reasonable accommodation consistent with the law to otherwise qualified employees and prospective employees with a disability and to employees and prospective employees with needs related to their religious observance or practices. Should you wish to apply for this position or any other position with the Company and you believe you require assistance to complete an application or participate in an interview, please contact USApplicantAccommodations@Estee.com.