Employee Relations Senior Manager / Manager, Central Region

Leadout Capital; Berlin; On-site; EUR 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Leadout Capital is seeking an Employee Relations Senior Manager to join the EMEA Employee Relations function. Based in Germany, you will lead end-to-end ER casework, conduct investigations, and advise people managers on performance improvements in line with local laws and company values.

You will collaborate with HRBPs, Employment Legal, and Works Councils to ensure high-quality ER support across regions, drive restructures compliant with co-determination, and coach leaders through ER challenges

Qualifications

• Demonstrated experience in employee relations with robust Betriebsrat management in Germany.
• Experience navigating labor laws in Germany; Austria experience advantageous.
• Excellent written and verbal communication in German and English.
• Proven negotiation skills and ability to influence across levels.

Responsibilities

• Manage end-to-end ER casework including disciplinary, grievance and separation processes.
• Conduct investigations and witness interviews with local compliance.
• Support managers with performance improvements and PIF alignment.
• Lead restructures and co-determination compliant changes across regions.
• Coach leaders on ER challenges and mitigate business risk.
• Deliver ER trainings and report key metrics and trends.
• Collaborate with ER, HRBP and Legal to provide seamless HR support.
• Liaise with Works Councils as required across jurisdictions.

Skills

German language

English language

Employee relations experience

Negotiation skills

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

HR/IR degree

Job description

The Employee Relations Senior Manager / Manager is a part of the EMEA Employee Relations team and Global Employee Relations function. This role will report to the Director of Employee Relations covering France, Central and South region.

This role will be responsible for end-to-end case management of disciplinary and grievance investigations, conducting witness interviews, collating findings, and maintaining compliance with local law. They will also support people managers in addressing underperformance, using standard methodologies to ensure consistent application of the Performance Improvement Framework (PIF) in alignment with Salesforce values.

Scope of Role

• Regional Scope: Primary responsibility for the Central Region (Germany and Austria) initially, with the scope expected to be extended depending on structural and business needs.

• Collaborate and partner with HRBPs, Employment Legal, and Employee Success COEs to achieve high-quality, seamless HR support, and represent as “1 HR” to the business.

• Partner closely with ER team members across EMEA; share best practices and leverage support from each other to sustain positive employee relations programs.

• Lead ER cases across designated regions (conduct investigations, support performance management, and run disciplinary, grievance, and separation processes).

• Demonstrate a proven track record of managing complex casework, including conducting internal investigations in close consultation and collaboration with local Works Councils (Betriebsräte).

• Manage restructures and reorganization programs, strictly applying local legal processes, Works Council co-determination requirements, and Salesforce practice and policy across diverse jurisdictions.

• Coach business leaders and people managers through ER challenges, managing business risk, and balancing commercial decisions with employee welfare.

• Deliver and facilitate training as required on ER processes and leadership best practices.

• Generate, analyze, and report on metrics to share themes and trends with the business.

• Track, report, and analyze case trends utilizing the internal ER case management system.

• Lead or participate in special projects/programs requiring ER internal partner input, as needed (e.g., HR Compliance activity).

Desired Skills and Experience

• Demonstrated experience in employee relations and robust Works Council (Betriebsrat) management in Germany; experience navigating labor laws in Austria is highly advantageous.

• Experience as an HR BP with material ER exposure or as a dedicated ER specialist.

• Language skills: Excellent written and verbal communication skills — must speak German and English to a fluent level.

• Proven negotiation skills and a strong ability to influence others at all levels of the organization.

• Ability to build strong partnerships and work effectively in a highly matrixed, international environment with leaders and Employee Success colleagues.

• Education: A Human Resources, Industrial Relations, or other related degree.

• Background: Experience working in a fast-paced environment, preferably in a high-growth technology company (although this is not a strict requirement).