Regional Director, Employee Relations

Greystar•Columbia, SC

5d•$160,000 - $180,000•Remote

About The Position

Reporting to the Senior Director of Employee Relations, the Regional Employee Relations Director (West) leads a team of ER Directors across 14 states spanning the West and Midwest, and serves as the regional authority on employee relations strategy, compliance, investigations, and people risk management. The West Region is one of Greystar’s most complex operating environments. California alone represents a dense portfolio spanning multiple lines of business, each operating under one of the most demanding regulatory and employment law frameworks in the country. The broader 14-state footprint adds significant geographic and jurisdictional breadth. Together, the West Region’s unique structure requires an ER regional leader who is as fluent in California labor law as they are in leading a team and supporting a sizable employee and senior leadership portfolio — someone who can operate proactively, build manager capability across a geographically dispersed business, and serve as a trusted strategic partner to senior leaders navigating real and daily people risk.

Requirements

10+ years of progressively responsible Human Resources experience, culminating in a Director or Regional Director-level ER role; substantial, years-long multi-unit, field-based, and multi-state experience is essential, with significant California-specific experience required.
Deep, practiced fluency in California employment law is required — not just familiarity with it.
Significant hands-on experience directly managing complex, multi-state employee relations issues from beginning/in-take to conclusion, manager and leadership coaching, and implementation of outcomes.
Demonstrated experience leading and developing a team of HR or ER professionals across a distributed geography; experience leading a remote team is an enormous plus.
Experience using HR and ER metrics for strategic action-planning and executive-level reporting.
Bachelor’s Degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field required.
California HR certification required (e.g., SHRM-CP/SCP with California focus, PHR/SPHR, or equivalent state-specific credential).

Nice To Haves

Experience with Workday and Dayforce a plus.
Master’s Degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field a plus.
Multi-lingual a plus.

Responsibilities

Lead and Develop the West Region ER Team: Direct, coach, and develop a team of ER Directors embedded across the region, building bench strength and ensuring consistent, high-quality ER support to business leaders. Establish and maintain clear team norms, case management standards, and quality calibration practices across the region. Identify developmental opportunities for team members and actively sponsor their growth within the ER function.
Navigate Regulatory and Compliance Complexity: Serve as the subject-matter authority on California employment law — including wage and hour compliance, PAGA potential exposure and cure strategies, worker classification framework, Cal/OSHA obligations, and California’s expanding pay transparency requirements. Stay ahead of the legislative calendar across the portfolio, translating emerging obligations into proactive regional practice. Lead the regional response to regulatory inquiries, agency charges, and government audits in partnership with senior business and People & Culture leaders, Legal, and internal process and system SMEs.
Manage Complex Employee Relations Matters and Investigations: Personally manage and oversee the team’s handling of the region’s highest-complexity ER matters and cases. Work closely with business leaders, Regional Director peers, and the Senior Director to resolve complicated ER issues, team member complaints, and a broad range of HR generalist initiatives.
Be a Trusted Strategic Partner to the Business: Serve as a strategic consultant and executive coach to West Region business leaders, enhancing manager capability and decision-making quality on people matters. Provide strategic guidance on HR activities to mitigate risk and optimize resources, translating ER data and trends into actionable insights for regional leadership. Ensure that employment practices across the West Region comply with Greystar’s policies and guide ER activities to help leaders, managers, and team members resolve issues effectively. Participate in executing Company strategies, initiatives, and programs that build and sustain a high-performance culture.
Drive Training, Data, and Continuous Improvement: Work with the business to highlight key trends in employee relations case law across the region and actively drive training, systems, and process improvement in response. Design and deliver manager education on the region’s most complex compliance and ER topics, equipping leaders with the knowledge and tools to make sound, well-informed people decisions. Provide rigorous data analysis and reporting on ER trends, case outcomes, and compliance metrics to inform business decisions and Senior Director reporting. Integrate and partner with fellow Regional Directors, the ER team, Legal, and the Senior Director to implement consistent, best-in-class ER solutions.

Benefits

Competitive Medical, Dental, Vision, and Disability & Life insurance benefits.
Low (free basic) employee Medical costs for employee-only coverage; costs discounted after 3 and 5 years of service.
Generous Paid Time off. All new hires start with 15 days of vacation, 4 personal days, 10 sick days, and 11 paid holidays. Plus your birthday off after 1 year of service!
Additional vacation accrued with tenure.
For onsite team members, onsite housing discount at Greystar-managed communities are available subject to discount and unit availability.
6-Week Paid Sabbatical after 10 years of service (and every 5 years thereafter).
401(k) with Company Match up to 6% of pay after 6 months of service.
Paid Parental Leave and lifetime Fertility Benefit reimbursement up to $10,000 (includes adoption or surrogacy).
Employee Assistance Program.
Critical Illness, Accident, Hospital Indemnity, Pet Insurance and Legal Plans.
Charitable giving program and benefits.