Director, Employee Relations and Workplace Effectiveness

Amylyx Pharmaceuticals; Cambridge (MA); On-site; USD 197,000 - 222,000; Full time

Job summary

Amylyx Pharmaceuticals seeks a Director of Employee Relations and Workplace Effectiveness to lead employee relations, investigations, and performance management. You will partner with HRBPs, guide managers on complex issues, and advance workplace policies to ensure a compliant, inclusive environment.

Travel to support investigations is expected. Role requires 10+ years in HR, strong US employment law knowledge, and ability to operate in a dynamic biotech setting.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree and 10+ years of progressive HR experience supporting employee relations, investigations, and performance management.
• Demonstrated experience independently conducting and documenting complex workplace investigations.
• Ability to travel as needed to conduct investigations.
• Strong knowledge of U.S. employment laws across multiple states is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a subject matter expert for employee relations matters and partner with HRBPs on complex cases.
• Lead and/or support workplace investigations, including interviews, documentation, findings, and recommendations.
• Provide guidance on performance management, corrective actions, and employee communications.
• Build manager capability to address routine matters and escalate higher‑risk situations when needed.
• Partner with Legal and HR leadership on risk mitigation and policy development.

Skills

Employee relations

Investigations

Performance management

Manager coaching

Policy development

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Tools

HRIS

Job description

Director, Employee Relations and Workplace Effectiveness

Cambridge, MA

Amylyx has an audacious mission to usher in a new era for treating diseases with high unmet needs. Where others see challenges, we see opportunities that we pursue with urgency, rigorous science, and unwavering commitment to the communities we serve. We are a clinical-stage company currently focused on post-bariatric hypoglycemia (PBH), Wolfram syndrome, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Our mission is powered by our people. Our core values – be audacious, be curious, be authentic, be engaged, and be accountable – creating a culture of caring. Amylyx has assembled an experienced team ready to take action because the communities we serve have no time to wait. If you share our passion and are determined to tackle some of medicine’s toughest problems, we encourage you to read the opportunity below and apply.

The Opportunity

The Director, Employee Relations and Workplace Effectiveness is responsible for supporting a positive, productive, inclusive, and compliant workplace by providing expertise across employee relations, workplace investigations, performance management, manager coaching, and organizational effectiveness. Serving as a key partner to the HR Business Partner team, this role will provide consultation and hands‑on support for complex employee matters, helping ensure consistent, thoughtful, and legally compliant practices across the organization. This person will also identify trends and opportunities across employee relations activities and translate those insights into proactive manager education, tools, policies, and workplace practices.

Responsibilities

Employee Relations & Workplace Investigations

• Serve as a subject matter expert for employee relations matters, partnering closely with HR Business Partners on complex or sensitive employee situations.
• Lead and/or support workplace investigations involving employee complaints, conduct concerns, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, workplace behavior, and other policy matters.
• Conduct objective, thorough, and timely investigations, including interviews, documentation review, findings, and recommendations.
• Provide guidance regarding corrective action, performance concerns, conflict resolution, and employment decisions.
• Ensure appropriate documentation and consistency in the handling of employee relations matters.
• Partner with Legal and HR leadership on matters presenting heightened employment, compliance, or organizational risk

Manager Coaching & Performance Management

• Provide managers and HR Business Partners with practical guidance on performance management, accountability, communication, conflict resolution, and difficult employee conversations.
• Support the development and review of performance improvement plans, written warnings, corrective actions, and other performance documentation.
• Help managers distinguish between performance, conduct, capability, and workplace relationship issues and determine appropriate interventions.
• Build manager capability so that routine employee matters can be effectively addressed at the manager and HRBP level while appropriately escalating higher‑risk situations.

Workplace Effectiveness & Culture

• Partner with HR Business Partners and HR leadership to identify opportunities to strengthen team effectiveness, employee engagement, communication, and retention.
• Identify recurring workplace themes and organizational pain points and recommend proactive solutions.
• Support interventions for teams experiencing conflict, leadership challenges, communication breakdowns, or other workplace effectiveness concerns.
• Partner across HR on initiatives designed to strengthen manager effectiveness and the overall employee experience.

Compliance & Policy Management

• Help ensure employment practices are consistent with applicable federal, state, and local employment laws and company policies.
• Maintain and enhance employee relations policies, guidelines, templates, and manager resources.
• Partner with Legal on policy development and employment‑related risk mitigation.
• Support consistent application and interpretation of HR policies across the organization.
• Remain current on evolving employment practices and regulatory requirements and translate changes into practical guidance for HR and managers
• Partner with Learning and Organizational Development to develop and deliver training and resources for managers and employees on topics such as performance management, respectful workplace practices, effective feedback, conflict resolution, investigations, and employee relations fundamentals.
• Identify training needs based on employee relations trends and recurring manager challenges.
• Partner with HR colleagues to incorporate employee relations learnings into broader manager and leadership development programs.

Organizational Insights & Reporting

• Establish meaningful tracking and reporting of employee relations matters, including case types, outcomes, recurring themes, and organizational trends.
• Analyze employee feedback, turnover, exit interview information, employee relations cases, and other workforce data to identify emerging risks or opportunities.
• Provide HR leadership and HR Business Partners with actionable insights and recommendations.
• Use trends and case learnings to inform policies, manager education, organizational interventions, and broader people strategies.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree and 10+ years of progressive Human Resources experience supporting employee relations, investigations, and performance management; equivalent relevant professional experience will also be considered in lieu of education requirements.
• Demonstrated experience independently conducting and documenting complex workplace investigations.
• Ability to travel as needed to conduct investigations.
• Strong working knowledge of U.S. employment laws and HR/employee relations best practices; experience supporting employees across multiple states strongly preferred.
• Experience partnering with HR Business Partners and advising managers and leaders on complex employee situations.
• Strong judgment and ability to appropriately assess employee relations risk and determine when matters should be escalated.
• Excellent interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills, including the ability to navigate sensitive and difficult situations with professionalism and discretion.
• Strong organizational and documentation skills with the ability to manage multiple employee matters simultaneously.
• Experience in a growing, changing, or highly regulated organization preferred; biotechnology, pharmaceutical, or life sciences experience is a plus.
• Comfortable operating in an environment where responsibilities may evolve as the organization grows

Work Location and Conditions

• At Amylyx, we proudly support remote work opportunities within the United States. However, due to business considerations related to health insurance coverage and state tax regulations, we are unable to hire employees who reside and/or work in certain states. Currently, we are not considering applicants from Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Michigan and Tennessee.
• Preference will be given to candidates who reside in the New England region and can be in person on an as needed basis.
• You will be expected to travel to our corporate location in Cambridge, MA several times a year and attend other company‑related events as necessary and requested, which may include travel by air, driving or public transportation.
• You must have access to work in setting that meets all requirements of the role (including privacy, reliable internet access, phone, ability to communication via video conference, etc.) at your remote location.

Compensation

The pay range posted below represents our good faith estimate of compensation for this role, based on market data and internal benchmarks. The final offer may vary depending on a candidate’s experience, skills, and qualifications, as well as considerations of internal equity.

$197,000 - $222,000 USD

To stay connected with us, follow Amylyx Pharmaceuticals on LinkedIn .

Amylyx Pharmaceuticals is an Equal Opportunity Employer that does not discriminate on the basis of actual or perceived race, color, creed, religion, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, age, sex or gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, pregnancy‑related conditions, and lactation), gender identity or expression (including transgender status), sexual orientation, marital status, military service and veteran status, physical or mental disability, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws and ordinances. Amylyx’s management team is dedicated to this policy with respect to recruitment, hiring, placement, promotion, transfer, training, compensation, benefits, employee activities, access to facilities and programs, and general treatment during employment. Accommodations are available for candidates who require them in our selection process. If you need an accommodation, please let your Amylyx Talent Acquisition contact know.

It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.