Senior Manager Employee Relations

Vantagedc; Greater London; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Vantage seeks a Senior Manager, Employee Relations, EMEA to lead day-to-day ER delivery across the region. You will own intake, risk rating, investigations, consultation, and provide country-aware guidance to managers in the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Poland.

You will establish practical playbooks, templates and process guidance, ensuring timely closure of ER cases while maintaining high-quality documentation and reporting for continuous improvement.

Qualifications

• 10+ years HR experience, including 5+ years in ER, investigations or employment risk.
• Experience leading ER case delivery across multiple jurisdictions.
• Strong knowledge of EMEA employment law, consultation and employee representative processes.
• Proficient in HRIS/case management tools, plus data analytics and reporting.

Responsibilities

• Lead the EMEA ER casework model from intake to closure across UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Poland.
• Triage cases by risk, urgency, country, complexity and business impact.
• Develop and maintain country playbooks, templates and local process guidance.
• Maintain ER dashboards covering volume, risk, ageing, jurisdiction and counsel dependency.
• Support restructures, consultations and policy rollouts with clear plans and risk logs.

Skills

Fluent English

German language

Analytical skills

Communication skills

Tools

Workday

HRIS

Excel

PowerPoint

Outlook

Job description

About Vantage

Vantage powers, cools, protects and connects the technology of the world's well-known hyperscalers, cloud providers and large enterprises. Developing and operating across North America, EMEA and Asia Pacific, Vantage has evolved data center design in innovative ways to deliver dramatic gains in reliability, efficiency and sustainability in flexible environments that can scale as quickly as the market demands.

Position Overview

The Senior Manager, Employee Relations, EMEA leads day-to-day ER delivery across EMEA while staying close to complex casework. The role owns intake, triage, risk rating, investigations, consultation, performance, absence, conduct, litigation support, reporting and case closure. It sets clear standards, keeps cases moving, escalates risk early and ensures managers receive practical, country-aware ER guidance across the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Poland.

What success looks lik e

100% of ER cases are triaged, risk-rated, owned and tracked to closure.

90%+ of standard ER cases close within agreed service expectations.

100% of high-risk cases have Legal, counsel or leadership escalation where required.

Seven priority EMEA jurisdictions have practical playbooks, templates and process guidance.

Manager documentation gaps and repeat process errors reduce by at least 20% year on year.

Monthly ER reporting drives at least three process, policy or training improvements each year.

Core Accountabilities

ER Delivery & Case Governance

• Lead the EMEA ER casework model and own or oversee complex matters from intake to closure.
• Triage cases by risk, urgency, country, complexity and business impact.
• Set standards for case plans, evidence, notes, approvals, actions, deadlines and closure records.
• Keep live trackers current and elevate overdue actions, ageing cases and capacity risks.

Investigations, Performance & Consultation

• Lead or review workplace investigations, from allegation scoping to findings and next steps.
• Coach managers on PIPs, conduct, consultation, absence and sensitive employee conversations.
• Prepare or approve scripts, meeting packs, decision documents and outcome letters.
• Act as escalation point for dismissals, discrimination, whistleblowing, safety, data protection and litigation risk.

Litigation, Evidence & Counsel Coordination

• Coordinate with Legal and counsel on litigation, settlement and high-risk ER matters.
• Prepare evidence packs, chronologies, redaction logs, witness notes and counsel instructions.
• Track court, counsel and internal deadlines and elevate blockers quickly.

Country, Language & Market Capability

• Deliver ER support across the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Poland.
• Identify when Legal, Works Council, employee representative, payroll, benefits, translation or counsel input is needed.
• Keep country playbooks, templates and local process guidance practical and current.

Reporting, Controls & Continuous Improvement

• Maintain ER dashboards covering volume, risk, ageing, jurisdiction, counsel dependency and overdue actions.
• Use ER data to spot trends, improve controls and recommend manager training.
• Partner with P&C, Legal, payroll, benefits and regional leaders to complete ER actions on time.
• Support restructures, consultations and policy rollouts with clear plans, trackers and risk logs.

Additional Duties

• Handle additional duties as assigned by Management.

Job Requirements

• Capability requirements: Fluent English required; German strongly preferred. French, Italian, Polish, Dutch or another EMEA language is advantageous.
• 10+ years' HR experience, including 5+ years in ER, investigations, consultation or employment risk.
• Experience leading ER case delivery, governance, triage, escalation and reporting across multiple jurisdictions.
• Strong practical knowledge of EMEA employment law, consultation and employee representative processes.
• Able to manage investigations, grievances, disciplinaries, PIPs, absence cases, settlements and litigation support.
• Strong case documentation skills, including investigation reports, chronologies, outcome letters and evidence packs.
• Practical understanding of GDPR, confidentiality, privilege, redaction and retention.
• Confident coaching managers and senior leaders through sensitive ER matters.
• Experience building playbooks, templates, dashboards, trackers and process controls.
• Strong analytical, written and verbal communication skills.
• Proficient in Workday or other HRIS/case management tools, plus Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook.
• Able to manage deadlines across countries, time zones and competing priorities.
• Willing to travel up to 15% and flex hours for global stakeholders when needed.

Physical Demands and Special Requirements

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions o