Senior Employee Relations Specialist

FINRA • Rockville, MD

7d • $131,200 - $238,300 • Hybrid

About The Position

At FINRA, we're looking for a Senior Employee Relations Specialist to bring expertise, integrity, and strategic vision to our Employee Relations team. In this high-impact role, you'll be a trusted advisor to leaders across the organization — helping shape a culture of accountability, fairness, and inclusion. As a Senior Employee Relations Specialist, you'll operate with a high degree of autonomy and make decisions that meaningfully impact our people and organization. You'll be a go-to resource for navigating complex employee matters while building lasting partnerships across the business.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience
• Minimum of 10 years of progressive HR/employee relations experience, including at least 5 years of focused experience advising all levels of management on employee relations matters
• Demonstrated expertise in managing moderate to complex ER investigations and producing high-quality written investigative reports
• Strong working knowledge of federal, state, and local employment laws
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to deliver difficult messages and navigate conflict professionally and constructively
• Proven ability to build relationships and connect with people from diverse backgrounds at all levels of an organization
• Ability to manage multiple competing priorities effectively in a fast-paced environment
• High degree of independent judgment and discretion in handling sensitive matters

Nice To Haves

• Juris Doctor (JD) or specialized training/certification in labor and employee relations
• Experience working within a regulated industry (e.g., financial services, legal, healthcare)
• Familiarity with ER case management platforms and people analytics
• Track record of developing and delivering ER training programs

Responsibilities

• Lead thorough, timely, and impartial investigations into employee complaints and allegations of misconduct
• Assess the scope and severity of conduct issues and recommend appropriate resolutions
• Utilize our ER case management system to track cases, surface trends, and develop proactive, data-driven risk mitigation strategies
• Serve as a trusted advisor to managers and employees on a broad range of employee relations matters, including policy interpretation, federal/state/local employment law, performance management, conflict resolution, reasonable accommodations, progressive discipline, and reductions in force
• Provide pragmatic, timely guidance on employee conduct matters, including drafting and reviewing disciplinary actions
• Partner with Business Partners, Centers of Excellence (COEs), Legal, Compliance, Internal Audit, Security, Data Privacy & Protection, and other internal bodies to reach effective, holistic resolutions
• Collaborate with our Training & Development Team to design and deliver engaging ER training programs with an emphasis on prevention
• Share expertise and mentorship with junior ER staff to build team capability
• Lead and contribute to ER initiatives, including monitoring and responding to new employment legislation and refreshing ER policies to keep pace with a dynamic regulatory environment
• Drive delivery and continuous refinement of ER metrics and reporting to key stakeholders

Benefits

• Comprehensive health, dental and vision insurance
• Basic life, accidental death and dismemberment, supplemental life, spouse/domestic partner and dependent life, and spouse/domestic partner and dependent accidental death and dismemberment
• Short- and long-term disability
• Long-term care
• Business travel accident, disability and legal
• Immediate participation and vesting in a 401(k) plan with company match
• Eligibility for participation in an additional FINRA-funded retirement contribution
• Tuition reimbursement
• Commuter benefits
• Adoption assistance
• Backup family care
• Surrogacy benefits
• Employee assistance
• Wellness programs
• Generous time-off program starting at 15 days of paid time off (increasing with years of service, up to 25 days)
• 5 personal days
• 9 sick days
• Two volunteer service days
• Military leave
• Jury duty leave
• Bereavement leave
• Voting and election official leave
• Care of a family member leave
• Childbirth and parental leave
• Nine paid holidays

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior