Employee Relations Business Partner

Cox Enterprises; Tennessee; Remote; USD 85,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Cox Automotive is seeking an Employee Relations Business Partner (ERBP) to guide leaders on disciplinary actions, PIPs, and termination reviews. The ERBP collaborates with HRBPs, Legal, and ER teams to ensure compliant, values-aligned, and equitable practices.

You will manage ER cases, analyze trends, and support a remote, fast-paced environment with up to 25% travel. Strong communication and data skills are essential.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s in HR or related field with 2 years HR/ER experience; master’s or equivalent experience acceptable.
• Proficient with MS Office suite; strong numeric and analytic abilities.
• Direct experience supporting leaders on disciplinary actions, PIPs, and terminations.
• Knowledge of state and federal employment laws and union avoidance.
• Ability to communicate effectively across all employee levels.

Responsibilities

• Serve as ER subject-matter expert advising leaders on disciplinary actions and PIPs.
• Review disciplinary actions, performance improvement plans, and involuntary terminations via Workday and ServiceNow.
• Collaborate with ER team, HRBPs, Legal, and others to align with values and priorities.
• Interpret policies, educate employees, and ensure consistent application.
• Own ER cases in case management system and Ethics Hotline; document thoroughly.
• Analyze ER trends and identify opportunities for improvement.
• Promote open ER environment; ensure timely issue resolution.
• Assist with data gathering for legal complaints and charges.
• Serve as a backup ER intake role when needed.
• Conduct less complex ER investigations; perform other duties as assigned.

Skills

Employee relations

Communication

Coaching

Conflict resolution

Data interpretation

Travel readiness

Remote work

Education

Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Management, or related field

Master's degree or 6+ years experience alternative path

Tools

Workday

ServiceNow

Microsoft Office

Job description

Cox Automotive is currently seeking an Employee Relations Business Partner to join our team. Candidates must reside within the Eastern or Central Time Zones of the United States.

The Role

The Employee Relations Business Partner (ERBP) provides guidance, support, and recommendations across a range of employee relations matters. This role primarily supports business leaders with employee disciplinary actions, performance improvement plans, involuntary termination review, and related advice, as well as performing less complex risk investigations.

ERBPs build strong partnerships and collaborate closely with leaders at all levels, HR Business Partners, Legal, and other internal teams, with the goal of delivering a consistent, equitable, and positive experience aligned with our company values. The ERBP manages multiple matters simultaneously – often for competing stakeholders - in a fast-paced and evolving environment.

Responsibilities

• Serve as an employee relations subject-matter expert, advising and guiding leaders with strong listening, probing, and investigatory skills, and the ability to clearly and objectively synthetize information in a timely manner.
• Using Workday and Service Now to support business leaders with reviews of employee disciplinary actions, performance improvement plans, and involuntary termination review requests.
• Partner directly with the ER team, people leaders, HR Business Partners, Legal, and other departments to provide recommendations that align with company values and priorities.
• Act as a champion for compliance by interpreting policies and processes, ensuring consistent application, and educating employees and stakeholders as needed.
• Own assigned employee relations cases within the case management system and/or Ethics Hotline, documenting and handling matters in accordance with ER team processes and practices.
• Analyze employee relations trends and proactively identify and escalat​e areas of opportunity.
• Partner with HR Business Partners to promote a positive and open employee relations environment where employees feel comfortable seeking guidance and receiving a timely issue resolution.
• Assist with information gathering related to legal complaints and charges.
• Serve as a backup for Employee Relations intake role as needed.
• Conduct less complex employee relations investigations as needed.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Management, or related field and 2 years’ related experience in Human Resources and/or Employee Relations. The right candidate could also have a different combination, such as a master’s degree and up to 2 years’ experience; or 6 years’ experience in a related field.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office applications, including Excel, PowerPoint, and Word.
• Direct experience supporting business leaders with employee disciplinary actions, conduct/behavior issues, performance improvement plans/performance issues, and involuntary terminations.
• Working knowledge of state and federal employment laws and union avoidance.
• Ability to communicate effectively across all employee levels (exempt, non-exempt, corporate, and field).
• Strong coaching, facilitation, and conflict resolution skills.
• Demonstrated influencing skills, with the ability to advise HR Business Partners and leaders on recommendations related to discipline, performance improvement plans, and terminations.
• Ability to work independently and with a sense of urgency and prioritization.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Sound judgement and discretion when handling sensitive matters.
• Ability to collect, understand, interpret and share data effectively.
• Ability to travel up to 25% of the time, as needed.
• Ability to work successfully 100% remotely, with occasionally required travel primarily for meetings.

Preferred Qualifications

• PHR/SPHR or SHRM-CP/SCP certification.
• Experience with ServiceNow or other web-based case management systems.
• Bilingual (English/Spanish).
• Experience leveraging AI tools (Microsoft CoPilot, Claude, or similar technologies) to improve efficiency, support investigations, analyze trends, and enhance employee relations processes.