Senior Director, Employee Relations & HR Governance

Vertex Inc. • Boston, MA

1d

About The Position

The Senior Director of Employee Relations and HR Governance is a strategic leader responsible for shaping, directing, and executing the organization’s global employee relations strategy, ensuring fair, consistent, and legally compliant employment practices. This role provides enterprise oversight for HR governance, policy management, workplace investigations, labor and employment risk mitigation, and ER-related data and insights. The Senior Director partners closely with HR leadership, Legal, Compliance, and business leaders to proactively strengthen the employee experience, reduce risk, and ensure operational excellence in all workforce-related practices.

Requirements

• 12+ years of progressive HR experience, with deep expertise in employee relations, investigations, and employment law.
• Experience leading & developing ER practitioners as well as evolving ER functions at a complex, matrixed, global organization.
• Demonstrated success developing and managing HR policies and governance frameworks.
• Proven ability to advise senior executives on sensitive and high-risk matters.
• Exceptional communication skills, sound judgment, and high emotional intelligence.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities; experience with ER case management tools and analytics.
• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree or JD preferred.

Responsibilities

• Define and execute the global employee relations vision, strategy, and operating model, leading a high-performing ER team for investigations, coaching, and conflict resolution.
• Ensure consistent, high-quality investigations into misconduct, policy violations, and workplace concerns, while establishing proactive risk management frameworks.
• Own the enterprise HR governance framework, driving policy development, compliance, and global alignment in partnership with Legal, Compliance, and HR COEs.
• Advise on complex ER matters and partner with Legal on compliance, litigation support, audits, and preventative risk strategies through training and trend analysis.
• Design and implement ER and policy training for managers, embed competencies into leadership programs, and create scalable tools to reduce ER escalations.
• Lead ER analytics strategy, case management systems, and reporting; analyze trends to identify systemic issues and present insights to senior leadership.
• Act as a trusted advisor to executives and HRBPs, fostering fair employment practices and influencing culture through ethical leadership and consistent decision-making.

Benefits

• This role is eligible for an annual bonus and annual equity awards.
• Some roles may also be eligible for overtime pay, in accordance with federal and state requirements.
• At Vertex, our Total Rewards offerings also include inclusive market-leading benefits to meet our employees wherever they are in their career, financial, family and wellbeing journey while providing flexibility and resources to support their growth and aspirations. From medical, dental and vision benefits to generous paid time off (including a week-long company shutdown in the Summer and the Winter), educational assistance programs including student loan repayment, a generous commuting subsidy, matching charitable donations, 401(k) and so much more.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Number of Employees: 1,001-5,000 employees