Employee Relations Specialist, EMEA - 12 Month Contract

Kinaxis; Galway; Remote; EUR 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible vacation

Flexible work options

Well-being programs

Virtual fitness classes

Mentorship programs

Recognition programs

Hackathons

Job summary

Kinaxis, a global leader in supply chain planning, seeks an Employee Relations Specialist for the EMEA region. This remote role can be based anywhere in Ireland or the United Kingdom. You will advise managers, conduct investigations, and ensure compliant ER practices across multiple jurisdictions.

Join Kinaxis to influence organizational change initiatives and work with diverse teams while supporting fair outcomes and strong stakeholder relationships.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Employment Relations or related field.
• Minimum 5 years of Employee Relations experience across multiple EMEA countries.
• Experience with Works Councils and employee representative bodies.
• Experience handling investigations, disciplinary matters, grievances and terminations across EMEA.
• Strong knowledge of employment legislation across EMEA jurisdictions.
• Experience guiding organizational change initiatives in EMEA.

Responsibilities

• Provide expert employee relations support across the EMEA region as a trusted advisor.
• Coach managers on complex ER matters, policies, and HR processes.
• Support fair, legally compliant outcomes in sensitive employee matters.
• Conduct thorough investigations into workplace concerns and policy violations.
• Collaborate with employee representative bodies and Works Councils.
• Ensure compliance with local statutory requirements and consultation obligations.
• Lead country-specific legal processes as required.
• Guide leaders and employees through accommodation and policy applications.
• Identify trends in ER activity and elevate high-risk matters.
• Support organizational change, restructures, and workforce transformations.
• Partner with Legal, HR Business Partners, and leaders on complex ER issues.
• Contribute to continuous improvement of ER processes and manager capability.

Skills

Employee relations

Stakeholder management

Investigations

Employment law

Change management

Data analysis

Cross-cultural

Communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree in HR/Business

Tools

HRIS

MS Excel

Job description

About Kinaxis

Are you looking to join an innovative, market-leading company where you can truly elevate your career? At Kinaxis we are serious about culture, we are serious about technology, we are serious about customers, and we are serious about not taking ourselves too seriously. If you are looking to be part of an incredible growth story, then we might just be the place for you!

In 1984, we started out as a team of three engineers. Today, we have grown to become a global organization with over 2000 employees around the world, 6 global office and a best-in-class HQ in Ottawa, Canada. As winners of several Top Employer awards globally, we are proud to work with our customers and employees towards solving some of the biggest challenges facing supply chains today.

Kinaxis is a global leader in modern supply chain orchestration, powering complex global supply chains, and supporting the people who manage them. Our powerful, AI infused platform provides full transparency and visibility across end-to-end supply chains, enabling our customers to make faster, better decisions. We are trusted by renowned global brands to provide the agility and predictability needed to navigate today’s volatility and disruption. With more than 40,000 users in over 100 countries, we are expanding our team as we continue to innovate and revolutionize how we support our customers.

Location

This is a remote role. You can work from home and be located anywhere in Ireland or the United Kingdom

Canada : Hybrid if based in Ottawa. Remote for other locations in Canada

About The Team

The Employee Relations Specialist, EMEA is responsible for providing expert employee relations support across the EMEA region. Acting as a trusted advisor to managers, HR Business Partners, Legal, and key stakeholders, this role manages complex employee relations matters, supports organizational change initiatives, and ensures compliance with local employment legislation and consultation requirements across multiple EMEA jurisdictions.

What you will do

• Manage complex employee relations casework across EMEA, including performance management, probation reviews and extensions, disciplinary matters, grievances, investigations, and terminations.
• Provide coaching and guidance to managers on complex employee relations matters, employment legislation, global and local HR policies, and HR processes.
• Support managers in navigating sensitive employee matters, ensuring fair, consistent, and legally compliant outcomes.
• Conduct thorough, objective, and timely investigations into workplace concerns, policy violations, misconduct allegations, and employee complaints.
• Support the establishment of and ongoing collaboration with employee representative bodies, including Works Councils.
• Manage consultation activities and ensure compliance with local statutory requirements and employee representative obligations.
• Conduct country-specific legal processes as required.
• Guide leaders and employees through the accommodation process, ensuring equitable treatment and consistent application of policy and employment legislation.
• Identify trends and themes across employee relations activity and elevate complex or high-risk matters as appropriate.
• Support organizational change initiatives, restructures, acquisitions, workforce reductions, and business transformation activities.
• Partner with Legal, HR Business Partners, and business leaders on complex employee relations matters.
• Contribute to the continuous improvement of employee relations processes, documentation, manager capability, and best practices across EMEA.

What we are looking for

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Employment Relations, Labour Relations, or a related field.
• Minimum 5 years of Employee Relations experience supporting multiple EMEA countries.
• Demonstrated experience with Works Councils, employee representative bodies, and consultation processes.
• Experience managing EMEA-based investigations, disciplinary matters, grievances, performance management, probation management, and terminations.
• Strong knowledge of employment legislation and employee relations practices across EMEA jurisdictions.
• Experience supporting organizational change initiatives and restructures in EMEA.
• Experience partnering with Legal, HR Advisors/ Business Partners, and leaders on complex employee relations matters.
• Ability to analyze data and trends to identify potential employee relations issues and develop proactive solutions.
• Ability to build strong relationships with stakeholders at all levels within the organization.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills to effectively interact with employees, managers, and senior leadership.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced organization and manage multiple priorities.
• Ability to maintain a high level of discretion, confidentiality, and integrity.
• Ability to work effectively across multiple time zones and cultures.

Work With Impact

Our platform directly helps companies power the world’s supply chains. We see the results of what we do out in the world every day, when we see store shelves stocked, when medications are available for our loved ones, and so much more.

Work with Fortune 500 Brands

Companies across industries trust us to help them take control of their integrated business planning and digital supply chain. Some of our customers include Lockheed Martin, Unilever, P&G, ExxonMobil, Cisco and more.

Social Responsibility at Kinaxis

Our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee weighs in on hiring practices, talent assessment training materials, and mandatory training on unconscious bias and inclusion fundamentals. Sustainability is key to what we do and we’re committed to a long-term net-zero operations strategy. We are involved in our communities and support causes where we can make the most impact.

People matter at Kinaxis and here are some of the perks and benefits we offer, which may vary by location and employee

• Flexible vacation and Kinaxis Days (company-wide days off)
• Flexible work options
• Physical and mental well-being programs
• Regularly scheduled virtual fitness classes
• Mentorship programs, training, and career development
• Recognition programs and referral rewards
• Hackathons

For more information, visit the Kinaxis website at www.kinaxis.com or the company’s blog at http://blog.kinaxis.com.

We provide accommodations upon request to ensure fairness and accessibility throughout our recruitment process for all candidates, including those with specific needs or disabilities. If you require an accommodation, please reach out to us at [e-mail]. This contact information is for accessibility requests only and cannot be used to inquire about the status of applications.

Kinaxis is committed to ensuring a fair and transparent recruitment process. We use artificial intelligence (AI) tools in the initial step of the recruitment process to compare submitted resumes against the job description to identify candidates whose education, experience, and skills most closely match the requirements of the role. After the initial screening, all subsequent decisions regarding your application, including final selection, are made by our human recruitment team. AI does not make any final hiring decisions.