Senior Manager Employee Relations

OpenText; Reading; On-site; GBP 75,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

OpenText is seeking a Senior Manager, Employee Relations, to lead Employee Relations across the UK and Ireland. This role involves managing complex ER matters, advising senior business leaders, and ensuring legal compliance in employee practices. The ideal candidate will have significant HR experience, deep knowledge of UK employment law, and strong communication and advisory skills. This position offers the opportunity to influence ER strategy and standards locally and regionally.

Qualifications

• Significant experience (typically 10–12+ years) in HR with a focus on UK Employee Relations.
• Expert knowledge of UK employment law and ER best practices.
• Strong communication skills for difficult conversations.

Responsibilities

• Act as the lead ER authority for the UK on complex matters.
• Coach senior leaders on handling sensitive people matters.
• Own UK and Ireland ER policy governance and documentation.

Skills

UK Employee Relations experience

UK employment law expertise

Stakeholder influencing

Coaching and advisory skills

Analytical skills

Education

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional experience

CIPD qualified (Level 5 or 7)

Job description

As Senior Manager, Employee Relations, you will be a senior member of the Global Employee Relations Centre of Excellence, with primary accountability for Employee Relations across the UK and Ireland, while also providing thought leadership and oversight across selected EMEA markets as the function continues to mature.

This role plays a critical advisory and leadership position, partnering closely with senior business leaders, HR Business Partners and Legal to manage complex ER matters, mitigate risk and embed consistent, legally compliant and fair people practices. You will bring deep expertise in UK and Ireland employment law, balanced with the judgement and credibility required to operate effectively in a global organisation.

Based in the TVP office, Reading, this role offers meaningful scope to influence ER strategy, capability and standards both locally and regionally.

Key Responsibilities

• Act as the lead ER authority for the UK, providing expert advice on complex and high‑risk matters including performance management, grievances, investigations, disciplinaries, dismissals and organisational change.
• Coach and advise senior leaders on handling sensitive people matters with fairness, consistency and confidence, ensuring robust documentation and defensible outcomes.
• Lead or oversee complex investigations, including determining appropriate investigation structures, ensuring procedural fairness, and advising on outcomes and next steps.
• Own UK and Ireland ER policy governance, including drafting, reviewing and updating policies in response to legislative change, case law and organisational needs.
• Ensure UK ER practices align with the organisation’s global governance framework, while remaining practical and appropriate for the local employment landscape.
• Partner closely with internal Legal to assess risk, determine strategy and manage contentious or escalated employee relations matters.
• Provide senior oversight of complex leave cases, long‑term absence scenarios and workplace accommodations, ensuring legal compliance and clear, empathetic communication.
• Collaborate with HR Shared Services, Benefits and Occupational Health partners to ensure effective end‑to‑end case management and sustainable return‑to‑work outcomes.
• Provide regional ER subject‑matter expertise across selected EMEA countries, supporting HR colleagues with guidance on investigations, ER process and risk assessment as required.
• Contribute to the ongoing development of the ER Centre of Excellence by leading or supporting the creation of ER frameworks, tools, templates and training.
• Coach, mentor and quality‑assure the work of ER colleagues, supporting capability uplift and consistency across the region.
• Produce regular ER reporting and insights, identifying trends, root causes and opportunities to improve the employee experience and reduce organisational risk.
• Translate ER data into practical recommendations for leaders and HR, driving proactive and preventative ER strategies.

Experience & Skills Required

• Significant experience (typically 10–12+ years) in HR, with deep specialism in UK Employee Relations within a complex, matrixed organisation.
• Expert knowledge of UK employment law and ER best practice; Ireland experience strongly preferred, with broader EMEA exposure advantageous.
• Proven experience managing complex investigations, disciplinaries and sensitive ER issues with sound judgement and credibility.
• Demonstrable ability to influence senior stakeholders and operate as a trusted advisor at leadership level.
• Strong coaching, mediation and advisory skills, with a pragmatic and commercially aware approach to ER.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to navigate difficult conversations clearly and sensitively.
• Experience contributing to ER policy development, governance frameworks and process improvement.
• Strong analytical skills, with the ability to interpret ER data and recommend evidence‑based actions.

Qualifications & Professional Membership

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional experience.
• CIPD qualified (Level 5 or 7) or equivalent professional accreditation strongly preferred.