Specialist, Employee Relations, Ford Energy
About The Position
Ford Energy is a newly formed, wholly-owned subsidiary of Ford Motor Company dedicated to accelerating U.S. energy independence. Leveraging Ford’s century of manufacturing excellence and world-class battery energy storage systems (BESS) technology, Ford Energy designs, manufactures, and services grid-scale and commercial DC battery energy storage systems (BESS). Ford Energy is uniquely positioned to capture the growing demand for reliable, US-built energy storage systems. We are not just building batteries; we are building the infrastructure for the next generation of the American grid. At Ford Energy, you have the backing of an industrial manufacturing powerhouse with the agility of a dedicated energy startup offering industry leading technology. We offer a competitive compensation package including performance-based bonuses, Ford vehicle discounts, and the opportunity to shape the energy strategy of one of the world's most iconic brands. Learn more at https://fordenergy.com. In this position... Consult & Partner: Act as a trusted advisor to frontline and mid-level operational leaders, providing guidance on performance management, policy application, and employee engagement. Drive Operational Excellence: Manage day-to-day HR operations, resolve complex employee inquiries, and maintain high standards of data integrity. Resolve & Escalate: Run independently on standard employee relations and operational matters, while partnering with and learning from Senior Specialists on highly complex, sensitive, or high-risk escalations.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Management, or a related field (or equivalent work experience).
- 3–5 years of progressive HR experience, demonstrating solid growth in an HR Generalist, HR Specialist, or HR Generalist-adjacent role.
- Practical, working knowledge of federal and Kentucky state labor laws and HR regulatory requirements.
- Strong proficiency in Microsoft Excel (e.g., v-lookups, pivot tables, data sorting) and experience working within HR Information Systems (e.g., Oracle, Workday, SAP, or Visier).
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to connect effectively with shop-floor team members and salaried leadership alike.
- An emotionally intelligent professional who balances empathy for employees with a strong sense of accountability to business objectives.
- A proven ability to build trust and partner effectively across departments (Operations, Payroll, Recruiting) to resolve systemic issues.
- Skilled at navigating moderately ambiguous situations, utilizing data and policy to move from identifying a problem to implementing a solution.
- Ability to manage multiple administrative and consultative priorities simultaneously in a fast-paced environment.
- An emotionally intelligent professional who handles sensitive employee relations matters with absolute discretion, empathy, and professionalism.
- Excellent communication skills with the ability to build trust and work effectively in a multicultural, fast-paced team environment.
- A proactive self-starter who takes initiative to build and refine HR frameworks, rather than just maintaining existing ones.
- Maintain a strong foundation of compliance awareness, including basic knowledge of OSHA, FMLA, Worker’s Compensation, and I-9 protocols.
Nice To Haves
- Professional HR certification (PHR or SHRM-CP).
- Prior HR experience in a manufacturing, logistics, or high-growth industrial startup environment.
- Direct experience managing position data, reporting, or organizational changes within Oracle HCM.
Responsibilities
- Guide and coach frontline leaders through the end-to-end performance management process, including coaching conversations, performance documentation, and performance improvement plans (PIPs).
- Address and resolve standard employee inquiries, complaints, and conflict resolution on the shop floor. Partner with the Senior ER Specialist to support larger, high-risk investigations.
- Provide proactive coaching to supervisors and team leaders on employee morale, retention strategies, and building a positive work culture.
- Support HR Business Partners (HRBPs) in executing local workforce planning, annual people processes, and key moments across the employee life cycle.
- Intake, investigate, and strategically resolve elevated HR inquiries (e.g., payroll/paycheck discrepancies, position changes, benefits escalations) that require cross-functional coordination.
- Proactively identify "friction points" in the employee experience. Partner with centralized teams (Payroll, HR Tech, Recruiting) to implement practical, sustainable solutions.
- Maintain high HCM data integrity within HR systems (Oracle, WorkDay). Perform standard data analysis to identify local workforce trends (absenteeism, turnover) that drive HR decision-making.
- Support organizational design changes, job architecture updates, and position management audits.
- Ensure local operations adhere to federal, state, and local labor laws, including FMLA, ADA, FLSA, and OSHA record-keeping.
- Develop and update standard work instructions for local HR processes to ensure consistency as the site scales.
- Support timekeeping administration, including schedule reviews, corrections, and direct employee guidance.
- Assist employees and leaders with questions related to attendance, pay accuracy, and basic workforce policies.
- Partner with payroll and HR teams to resolve employee payroll and timekeeping inquiries efficiently.
- Assist with timekeeping review, payroll processing, and benefits enrollment.
- Maintain compliance with federal, state, and local manufacturing labor laws and OSHA safety documentation.
- Assist in developing and implementing new HR policies, handbooks, and procedures to support the scaling site.
Benefits
- Immediate medical, dental, vision and prescription drug coverage
- Flexible family care days, paid parental leave, new parent ramp-up programs, subsidized back-up child care and more
- Family building benefits including adoption and surrogacy expense reimbursement, fertility treatments, and more
- Vehicle discount program for employees and family members and management leases
- Tuition assistance
- Established and active employee resource groups
- Paid time off for individual and team community service
- A generous schedule of paid holidays, including the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day
- Paid time off and the option to purchase additional vacation time.
- performance-based bonuses
- Ford vehicle discounts
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Mid Level
