Senior Director, Employee Relations

The Washington Post•Washington, DC

1d•Onsite

About The Position

We’re on a mission to deliver riveting storytelling for all of America. At The Washington Post, you’ll help reinvent news. Our work is driven by a deep investigative spirit and enhanced by innovation to bring audiences closer to the stories that matter most. The Washington Post is powered by the passion and talent of our people. It takes all of us to reinvent news. Beyond our award-winning Newsroom and Opinions teams, we work across many departments, including Brand & Events, Communications, Customer Care, Engineering & Product, Finance, Human Resources, Legal, Marketing & Advertising, Print Operations, and Sales. The Senior Director, Employee Relations is responsible for leading the company-wide employee relations function, ensuring consistent, fair, and effective practices across a complex, multi-union workforce. Reporting to the CHRO, this role serves as a trusted advisor to senior leadership, translating strategic priorities into disciplined execution through a team of HR Business Partners. The role combines deep expertise in investigations and labor relations with the ability to build scalable processes, strengthen manager capability, and manage organizational risk. This leader works closely with our Legal team to execute labor relations strategy while driving consistency, quality, and measurable improvements in employee relations outcomes across the company. The Senior Director, Employee Relations serves as a trusted advisor to executive leaders, managers of all levels, and employees, providing sound judgment and practical guidance on complex employee and labor relations matters. This role leads the development and enforcement of company policies and practices that support a dynamic, unionized media environment while minimizing organizational risk.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree required
10+ years of progressive experience in employee and labor relations, ideally in a unionized environment
Demonstrated experience leading complex investigations and advising senior leadership
Experience designing company policies, processes, and frameworks
Experience managing and developing teams
Exceptional judgment and ability to navigate ambiguity with fairness and consistency
Strong organizational skills and attention to detail
Strong coaching, influencing, and relationship-building skills
Strong knowledge of employment law and labor relations
Strong critical thinking and problem-solving skills
High level of integrity, discretion, and professionalism
Experience leading large-scale organizational change initiatives and projects, including significant workforce transitions

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree preferred
Experience in media or entertainment industry preferred
Experience supporting union negotiations and labor relations execution preferred
SPHR, PHR, or SHRM-SCP certification preferred

Responsibilities

Serve as a primary advisor to the CHRO and senior leadership on complex employee and labor relations matters
Lead complex, high-risk employee relations investigations end-to-end and ensure best practices in documentation and case management
Lead the enterprise-wide employee relations team and provide oversight to HR Business Partners delivering ER support across the organization
Set and enforce standards for ER practices across the HRBP team, ensuring consistency and defensibility
Partner with Legal in labor relations matters, including bargaining preparation, grievance management, and contract administration
Oversee highly complex and sensitive ER matters with legal, operational, and reputational implications
Design and implement ER policies, programs, and scalable processes
Strengthen manager capability through coaching, tools, and training
Drive measurable improvements in ER outcomes, including reducing reliance on severance through stronger performance management
Manage departmental budgets including payroll and severance-related expenses