Associate Director - Employee Relations & HR Services Lead

Clear Street•New York, NY

1d•$160,000 - $175,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Clear Street is modernizing the brokerage ecosystem. Founded in 2018, Clear Street is a diversified financial services firm replacing the legacy infrastructure used across capital markets. We started from scratch by building a completely cloud-native clearing and custody system designed for today’s complex, global market. Clear Street’s proprietary prime brokerage platform adds significant efficiency to the market, while focusing on minimizing risk, redundancy, and cost for clients. Our goal is to create a single source-of-truth platform for every asset class, in every country, and in any currency. By combining highly-skilled product and engineering talent with seasoned finance professionals, we’re building the essentials to compete in today’s fast-paced markets. We are seeking a Lead, Employee Relations & HR Services to own two critical and complementary pillars of Clear Street's people function. Reporting to the Head of People, Programs, and Rewards, this is a senior individual contributor role for someone who derives satisfaction from personal ownership of hard problems and the operational excellence to back it up. On the ER side, you will be the firm's primary resource for investigations, performance management, involuntary separations, reductions in force, and the policy and compliance framework that underpins all of it. On the HR Services side, you will own leave of absence administration, immigration, and also serve as a capable backup to the HR Business Partner team when coverage demands it. The expectation is full ownership of both pillars not coordination, not oversight of others doing the work, but direct personal accountability for outcomes. If you are someone who wants to build, own, and improve rather than manage and delegate, this role is the right fit.

Requirements

8–12 years of progressive HR experience with depth in both employee relations and HR operations; financial services or fintech experience strongly preferred
A track record of personal ownership: you have run ER processes, built RIF models, managed leave caseloads, and administered immigration programs yourself, not through a team
Direct experience with the full lifecycle of investigations, PIPs, involuntary separations, and RIFs in a regulated, fast-moving environment
Demonstrated ability to build RIF cost models and partner with Finance on restructuring budgets: you model scenarios with precision and present economics clearly to senior audiences
Deep working knowledge of FMLA, ADA, WARN Act, Title VII, and applicable state equivalents, applied practically
Strong financial modeling skills; clean, defensible models you can stand behind in a room with Finance leadership
Strong written skills across PIPs, separation agreements, policies, and investigation summaries
Enough HRBP instinct to read business context and support leaders credibly when called upon
Direct, confident communicator who delivers difficult messages clearly and constructively
High personal accountability, you own outcomes, not tasks

Responsibilities

Own all ER matters end to end investigations, workplace conduct, performance issues, and sensitive complaints personally conducting each with rigor, fairness, and clean documentation
Advise managers and HR leadership with grounded recommendations that reflect both legal risk and business reality
Partner with Legal and Compliance on matters with regulatory or litigation exposure
Identify patterns across ER cases and bring forward proactive recommendations to address systemic issues before they escalate
Own the firm's Performance Improvement Plan process end to end advising managers on when / how to initiate and execute a PIP, as well as when a performance issue is beyond repair, exiting the employee with expediency and respect
Advise on performance-related separations, ensuring the firm's approach is legally sound and treated with appropriate sensitivity
Manage all involuntary exits personally — decision support, separation agreements, Legal coordination, and offboarding logistics through final day
Track separation costs and severance liabilities, keeping Finance informed with accurate, timely data
Own the RIF process in partnership with HR, Finance, and Legal — selection criteria, adverse impact analysis, WARN Act compliance, and severance administration
Build and maintain detailed RIF cost models — severance, benefits continuation, accrued PTO, outplacement, and contractual commitments — presenting scenario-based analyses before decisions are finalized
Partner directly with Finance on restructuring budgets: fully loaded cost projections, cash flow timing, and scenario modeling by function, geography, and seniority level
Build and maintain RIF playbooks and documentation templates that allow the firm to execute quickly and compliantly when needed
Own the HR policy library writing, maintaining, and auditing policies across all jurisdictions to ensure they are current, compliant, and clearly written
Maintain a pulse on the market to ensure new applicable regulations are understood and implemented
Partner with Legal, Compliance, and HR leadership to keep the employee handbook current and legally sound
Manage all leave of absence programs directly FMLA, ADA accommodations, state and local leave laws, parental leave, and military leave across all jurisdictions in which Clear Street operates
Serve as the primary resource for employees and managers navigating leave, providing clear guidance, managing timelines, and coordinating return-to-work processes personally
Ensure leave policies and practices remain current as federal, state, and local requirements evolve, and maintain clean documentation across all active cases
Manage the firm's immigration program in partnership with outside counsel — H-1B, green card, visa support — serving as the internal point of contact for employees and the business
Act as a capable, credible backup to the HR Business Partner team when coverage demands it supporting business leaders on workforce planning, headcount decisions, manager coaching, and day-to-day HR questions