Senior Manager, Employee Relations and Human Resources Business Partner

Fenwick & West • Palo Alto, CA

13d • Onsite

About The Position

Fenwick is seeking a Senior Manager, Employee Relations and Human Resources Business Partner who will serve as a trusted HR advisor and dedicated employee relations partner to assigned client groups across Fenwick. The role centers on managing employee relations matters and workplace investigations, while partnering with department and practice leadership to strengthen team performance, develop talent, and build a respectful environment where our employees do their best work.

You will independently manage a caseload of complex employee relations matters end to end, conduct workplace investigations with HR leadership and in-house counsel, and help managers and employees navigate difficult conversations with judgment, empathy, and discretion. You will also coach leaders through performance and organizational challenges, translate firm talent strategy into action within your client groups, and serve as a resource on employment law and firm policy, with particular depth in California and New York.

The role also carries a visible teaching mandate: regularly designing and delivering training and presentations to managers, employees, and firm leadership on employee relations, workplace conduct, and manager capability. The work is highly confidential and demands sound judgment and professionalism at all times.

Requirements

• Hands-on experience conducting workplace investigations end to end, including harassment, discrimination, and retaliation allegations: planning, witness interviewing, credibility assessment, evidence evaluation, findings, and written reports.
• Demonstrated skill navigating sensitive and difficult conversations, including misconduct allegations, terminations, performance escalations, and accommodation discussions, with professionalism, empathy, and composure under pressure.
• Demonstrated ability to design and deliver presentations and training to managers, employees, and firm leadership, with comfort and skill in front of a group.
• Experience partnering with HR leadership and in-house counsel on higher-risk matters, with sound instincts for when to escalate.
• Working command of progressive discipline, documentation standards, and defensible decision-making.
• Experience de-escalating workplace conflict and mediating between parties
• Working knowledge of federal, state, and local employment law across multiple states, including EEO, ADA, FMLA, and wage and hour requirements.
• Track record of coaching managers and influencing without direct authority.
• Experience with Workday or a comparable HRIS required; experience with engagement survey platforms such as Peakon preferred.
• Excellent analytical, written, and verbal communication skills.
• Sound judgment, discretion, and emotional intelligence in sensitive and confidential situations.
• Strong project management skills with the ability to manage competing priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• 8+ years of progressive HR experience, with deep, hands-on employee relations as the primary focus of recent roles, plus experience as an HR business partner supporting leaders and their teams.
• Bachelor’s degree required.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with engagement survey platforms such as Peakon preferred.
• Law firm or professional services experience strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

• Conduct thorough, impartial workplace investigations with HR leadership and in-house counsel into allegations of harassment, discrimination, retaliation, and other policy violations, including intake, interviews, credibility assessment, evidence evaluation, and well-supported findings.
• Prepare clear, defensible investigation documentation and written reports for HR leadership, in-house counsel, and, where necessary, outside parties.
• Participate in and help facilitate sensitive and high-stakes conversations, including misconduct allegations, terminations, restructurings, and accommodation discussions.
• Counsel managers on performance concerns and corrective action, including coaching conversations, performance improvement plans, documentation standards, and, in consultation with in-house counsel, employment-action recommendations.
• Assess and mitigate legal and reputational risk, escalating higher-exposure issues to HR leadership and in-house counsel.
• Resolve employee complaints, grievances, and workplace conflict, mediating between parties and recommending next steps.
• Track and analyze employee relations activity to identify patterns and address root causes through manager training, policy clarification, or structural change.
• Independently manage an active employee relations caseload across assigned client groups, supporting each matter from intake to closure and prioritizing by risk and urgency.
• Design and deliver training for managers and employees on employee relations topics such as workplace conduct, anti-harassment and anti-retaliation expectations, respectful-workplace practices, and how to raise and respond to concerns.
• Advise on workplace conduct standards and behavioral expectations, promoting early intervention before issues escalate to formal complaints.
• Maintain accurate, confidential employee relations records and case files, ensuring documentation is timely, objective, and defensible.
• Stay current on employment law and employee relations developments, particularly in New York and California, translating them into practical guidance for managers and updates to firm practice.
• Serve as the HR business partner to assigned departments and practice groups, building trusted relationships with directors, managers, and attorney leadership.
• Meet regularly with client group leaders to understand business priorities and translate them into workforce plans, engagement strategies, and talent actions.
• Coach managers on leadership skills, team dynamics, and difficult conversations, building their capability over time rather than solving each issue for them.
• Advise on organizational structure, staffing levels, role design, and reporting relationships; partner with the compensation team on level and title decisions.
• Support the annual performance review cycle for assigned client groups, including timelines, calibration discussions, and on-time completion.
• Coach managers on goal setting, writing clear and useful evaluations, delivering feedback, and applying the firm’s Business Professional competency framework consistently.
• Support merit and bonus recommendations, helping managers apply ranking guidelines fairly and defensibly across departments.
• Guide managers through promotion decisions using firm frameworks to ensure consistency across departments.
• Partner with Talent Development on learning needs, career pathing, and succession planning for key roles.
• Partner with People Operations and HR colleagues to review Workday and Peakon data for assigned client groups, contributing an on-the-ground perspective on trends in engagement, turnover, employee relations activity, and performance.
• Contribute to the firm’s exit interview process, sharing themes on retention, engagement, and culture observed within assigned client groups.
• Work with HR colleagues on success measures for shared talent initiatives, sharing what is and is not working within your client groups.
• Bring recurring themes back to the HR team so solutions can be built once and applied firmwide rather than department by department.
• Partner closely with People Operations, Talent Acquisition, Talent Development, and Compensation & Benefits to deliver a consistent employee experience firmwide.
• Partner with Talent Acquisition on staffing needs, role profiles, job descriptions, interviewing, and new hire integration.
• Serve as an HR resource to office leadership in assigned offices, supporting local engagement, training and development, and workforce matters.

Benefits

• Healthcare
• Life Insurance
• Health Savings Accounts
• Flexible Spending Accounts
• Wellbeing
• A discretionary bonus for eligible employees may also be available based on performance.

What This Job Offers

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