Director, Employee Relations

College Board

1d•Remote

About The Position

As a Director, Employee Relations, you are a trusted expert and enterprise thought partner who ensures fairness, equity, and consistency in how the organization manages performance, conduct, and conflict. As the primary executor of Employee Relations (ER) work, you advise complex and sensitive workplace situations. You partner closely with Talent and Legal to investigate concerns, advise on performance and conduct issues, and ensure fair, consistent, and compliant outcomes. You serve as a trusted resource and a key advisor to internal partners, strengthening organizational health through effective issue resolution and clear communication. You bring deep expertise in investigations, performance accountability, mediation, and risk mitigation, and you elevate the function from simple case resolution to building healthy culture and recognizing patterns we should disrupt. In partnership with a team of Talent Business Partners, you will lead the ER agenda across the enterprise to enable high-performance, mitigate risk, and create strong cultures aligned with our Operating Principles and Manager Expectations. In this role, you will partner with Talent Business Partners and others to: Guide and Execute Organizational Approach to Employee Relations & Risk Management (60%) Serve as the enterprise owner of ER standards, ensuring consistency, fairness, and compliance across the organization. Assess and manage elevated employee relations risk across teams (e.g., performance, conduct, conflict, compliance). Lead improvement plan processes across the enterprise ensuring strong execution and manager development along the way Create standards for and guide managers through improvement plan processes and other performance documentation to ensure clarity, quality, and consistency. Hold managers accountable to strong execution of performance plans, including quality of feedback, documentation, and follow-through. Monitor active cases and plans, ensuring timely progress, appropriate escalation, and closure. Conduct thorough, objective, and timely investigations and resolution of complex ER matters, delivering actionable outcomes and monitoring follow-up. Draft high-quality investigation summaries and documentation in alignment with legal and executive standards Provide expert guidance on disciplinary decisions, policy interpretation, and fair applications across business units. Act as a neutral third-party mediator in complex interpersonal or team conflicts, ensuring objective assessment and clear, documented outcomes. Support Infrastructure, Talent Systems & Continuous Improvement (20%) Design and implement standardized frameworks, templates, investigation tools, dashboards, and reporting mechanisms to ensure consistency, fairness, and compliance across the organization. Analyze case data, trends, and team-level metrics to surface patterns (e.g., repeat off-boarding causes, manager escalation hotspots, engagement dips) and present risks and recommendations to senior Talent leaders. Build manager pre-escalation coaching practices (e.g., “early-stage manager check-in” triggers) to reduce reactive case volume and embed stronger accountability. Provide input into performance management, onboarding/offboarding, and talent systems (e.g., Workday) to ensure consistency with ER strategy and mitigate emerging risks. Lead special projects to streamline ER case management processes (e.g., digital case tracking, manager self-service pre-escalation interventions). Stay current on employment law, regulatory developments, industry benchmarks, and best practices; translate these into organizational policy, training, and manager guidance. Enable Manager Capability & Team Culture (20%) Partner with Talent Business Partners to build manager capability in performance management, feedback, and difficult conversations Provide hands-on coaching to managers navigating real-time employee issues, reinforcing expectations for quality and accountability Contribute ER expertise to the development of practical toolkits, templates, and training grounded in real casework Reinforce a culture where managers are expected to address issues early, document effectively, and follow through consistently Provide subject matter expertise to Talent colleagues for the development of manager toolkits, training modules, and just-in-time resources focused on feedback, performance issues, difficult conversations, and ER risk awareness.

Requirements

10+ years of progressive experience in employee relations / human resources, including managing complex investigations, performance accountability, and manager advisory on complex issues such as reorganizations
Expertise in performance management, investigatory best practices, discipline frameworks, and HR policy development.
Advanced, practical knowledge of employment law with the ability to partner effectively with Legal.
Proven ability to effectively analyze data and derive insights that influence leadership decisions.
Ability to travel as needed.
A passion for expanding educational and career opportunities and mission-driven work.
Authorization to work in the United States for any employer.
Curiosity and enthusiasm for emerging technologies, with a willingness to experiment with and adopt new AI-driven solutions and a comfort learning and applying new digital tools independently and proactively.
Clear and concise communication skills, written and verbal.
A learner's mindset and a commitment to growth: welcoming diverse perspectives, giving and receiving timely, respectful feedback, and continuously improving through iterative learning and user input.
A drive for impact and excellence: solving complex problems, making data-informed decisions, prioritizing what matters most, and continuously improving through learning, user input, and external benchmarking.
A collaborative and empathetic approach: working across differences, fostering trust, and contributing to a culture of shared success.

Nice To Haves

SPHR or similar credentials a plus.

Responsibilities

Serve as the enterprise owner of ER standards, ensuring consistency, fairness, and compliance across the organization.
Assess and manage elevated employee relations risk across teams (e.g., performance, conduct, conflict, compliance).
Lead improvement plan processes across the enterprise ensuring strong execution and manager development along the way.
Create standards for and guide managers through improvement plan processes and other performance documentation to ensure clarity, quality, and consistency.
Hold managers accountable to strong execution of performance plans, including quality of feedback, documentation, and follow-through.
Monitor active cases and plans, ensuring timely progress, appropriate escalation, and closure.
Conduct thorough, objective, and timely investigations and resolution of complex ER matters, delivering actionable outcomes and monitoring follow-up.
Draft high-quality investigation summaries and documentation in alignment with legal and executive standards.
Provide expert guidance on disciplinary decisions, policy interpretation, and fair applications across business units.
Act as a neutral third-party mediator in complex interpersonal or team conflicts, ensuring objective assessment and clear, documented outcomes.
Design and implement standardized frameworks, templates, investigation tools, dashboards, and reporting mechanisms to ensure consistency, fairness, and compliance across the organization.
Analyze case data, trends, and team-level metrics to surface patterns (e.g., repeat off-boarding causes, manager escalation hotspots, engagement dips) and present risks and recommendations to senior Talent leaders.
Build manager pre-escalation coaching practices (e.g., “early-stage manager check-in” triggers) to reduce reactive case volume and embed stronger accountability.
Provide input into performance management, onboarding/offboarding, and talent systems (e.g., Workday) to ensure consistency with ER strategy and mitigate emerging risks.
Lead special projects to streamline ER case management processes (e.g., digital case tracking, manager self-service pre-escalation interventions).
Stay current on employment law, regulatory developments, industry benchmarks, and best practices; translate these into organizational policy, training, and manager guidance.
Partner with Talent Business Partners to build manager capability in performance management, feedback, and difficult conversations.
Provide hands-on coaching to managers navigating real-time employee issues, reinforcing expectations for quality and accountability.
Contribute ER expertise to the development of practical toolkits, templates, and training grounded in real casework.
Reinforce a culture where managers are expected to address issues early, document effectively, and follow through consistently.
Provide subject matter expertise to Talent colleagues for the development of manager toolkits, training modules, and just-in-time resources focused on feedback, performance issues, difficult conversations, and ER risk awareness.