Lead, Employee Relations

The Farmer's Dog • Boca Raton, FL

8d • Onsite

About The Position

As the Lead, Employee Relations, you will lead the charge in establishing our inaugural Employee Relations (ER) Center of Excellence. Partnering with Humans Business Partners, our Legal team, and leadership, you will shape and scale our ER approach across both HQ (salaried) and Customer Care (hourly, 24/7) populations. This role demands a sharp, nuanced first principles approach that enhances all employee experiences. This isn’t just about ticking boxes or being compliant—it’s about creating a COE that reinforces our culture of trust, kindness, respect, and growth while building the best experience of our employees’ careers. This role offers a unique opportunity to shape the future of employee relations at our company. If you’re excited about the challenge of building a Center of Excellence that will have a lasting impact on our organization, this role is for you!

Requirements

• 8+ years of progressive HRBP/Employee Relations experience, with a passion for ER and its impact on culture, employee experience, and the business.
• Strong investigation, mediation, documentation, confidentiality, and judgment skills.
• Experience and authentic interest in supporting hourly employees and are excited to build relationships across our NY and Nashville teams.
• Experience building and scaling COEs and programs from scratch.
• Ability to partner effectively across functions and levels, including with HRBPs, Employment Counsel, and other COEs, while navigating competing priorities and focusing on the highest-impact work.
• Strong analytical and conceptual thinking, balancing the needs of the individual and the business to reach creative, practical solutions.
• Approximately 10% travel required, including quarterly trips to New York (and Florida once the new office opens) and travel based on investigation needs.
• Love dogs.

Responsibilities

• Build and evolve our Employee Relations Center of Excellence. Assess where we are today and build scalable frameworks, processes, tools, and best practices that create a consistent, high-quality ER experience across TFD.
• Lead complex employee relations work end-to-end, partnering closely with Humans Business Partners and Legal to navigate sensitive issues with urgency, sound judgment, and a strong understanding of our culture and business.
• Conduct rigorous, fair investigations including interviews, e-discovery, and documentation, and drive thoughtful resolutions that balance employee experience, policy, legal requirements, and business needs.
• Bring creativity and emotional intelligence to conflict resolution, using mediation and sound judgment to help people and teams move forward.
• Raise the bar on the employee experience for both salaried HQ and hourly Customer Care employees, bringing care, consistency, and investment to every interaction while ensuring alignment with policy and applicable legislation.
• Shape ER strategy and policy across TFD, identifying opportunities to strengthen our approach, developing new policies and programs, and partnering with Humans Business Partners, Humans Operations, Legal, and other functions to bring them to life.
• Design and lead ER programs, training, and initiatives that strengthen manager capability, support a high-performance culture, and help TFD handle employee matters well before they become employee relations issues.
• Use data, feedback, and first-principles thinking to identify patterns, challenge assumptions, and turn complex or ambiguous ER issues into practical solutions.
• Lead cross-functional projects from idea through execution, bringing together the right partners across Humans and the broader organization to deliver meaningful improvements.
• Help shape what’s next for ER at TFD, bringing thoughtful insights and a forward-looking perspective to organizational strategy, risk, and the employee experience.
• Build trust and credibility at every level, serving as a cultural steward and trusted partner to employees, leaders, and the broader Humans team.

Benefits

• Dog-friendly office in SoHo
• Market-competitive compensation and equity packages
• Comprehensive Healthcare, Dental, and Vision
• Company supported mental health benefits
• 12 week paid parental leave
• Competitive 401k plan with company match
• Flexible PTO
• Discounted fresh food for your pup
• Your pet interrupting video calls (and in-person meetings) is now a feature, not a bug

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed