Employee Relations Business Partner

Cox Enterprises; United States; Remote; USD 67,000 - 101,000; Full time

Job summary

Cox Automotive is seeking an Employee Relations Business Partner (ERBP) to join our team. Candidates must reside within the Eastern or Central Time Zones of the United States and be ready to travel up to 25%.

The ERBP provides guidance on disciplinary actions, performance improvement plans, and termination reviews, partnering with HR, Legal, and regional leaders to ensure compliant and equitable outcomes. This role emphasizes collaboration, investigation, and data-driven decision making.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Management, or related field; 2+ years HR/ER experience or equivalent mix.
• Experience supporting leaders with disciplinary actions, performance improvements, and terminations.
• Working knowledge of state and federal employment laws; union avoidance.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office, including Excel, PowerPoint, and Word.

Responsibilities

• Serve as ER subject-matter expert; advise leaders using strong listening and investigatory skills.
• Support reviews of disciplinary actions, performance improvement plans, and termination reviews via Workday and ServiceNow.
• Partner with ER team, HRBPs, Legal, and others to provide compliant, value-aligned recommendations.
• Interpret policies to educate employees and ensure consistent application.
• Own assigned ER cases in case management or Ethics Hotline and document per ER processes.
• Analyze ER trends and escalate opportunities; promote a positive ER environment.
• Assist with information gathering related to legal complaints and charges.
• May serve as a backup for ER intake and conduct less complex investigations.

Skills

Communication skills

Coaching

Conflict resolution

Data interpretation

Remote work readiness

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources or related field

Tools

Workday

ServiceNow

Job description

Company

Cox Automotive - USA

Job Family Group

People Solutions

Job Profile

Employee Relations Analyst II

Management Level

Individual Contributor

Flexible Work Option

Can work remotely but need to live in the specified city, state, or region

Travel %

Yes, 25% of the time

Work Shift

Day

Compensation

Compensation includes a base salary in the range of $67,100.00 - $100,700.00. The base salary may vary within the anticipated base pay range based on factors such as the ultimate location of the position and the selected candidate’s knowledge, skills, and abilities. Position may be eligible for additional compensation that may include an incentive program.

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 escalated 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.

Drug Testing

To be employed in this role, you’ll need to clear a pre-employment drug test. Cox Automotive does not currently administer a pre-employment drug test for marijuana for this position. However, we are a drug-free workplace, so the possession, use or being under the influence of drugs illegal under federal or state law during work hours, on company property and/or in company vehicles is prohibited.

Benefits

The Company offers eligible employees the flexibility to take as much vacation with pay as they deem consistent with their duties, the company’s needs, and its obligations; seven paid holidays throughout the calendar year; and up to 160 hours of paid wellness annually for their own wellness or that of family members. Employees are also eligible for additional paid time off in the form of bereavement leave, time off to vote, jury duty leave, volunteer time off, military leave, and parental leave.

About Us

Through groundbreaking technology and a commitment to stellar experiences for drivers and dealers alike, Cox Automotive employees are transforming the way the world buys, owns, sells – or simply uses – cars. Cox Automotive employees get to work on iconic consumer brands like Autotrader and Kelley Blue Book and industry-leading dealer-facing companies like vAuto and Manheim, all while enjoying the people-centered atmosphere that is central to our life at Cox. Benefits of working at Cox may include health care insurance (medical, dental, vision), retirement planning (401(k)), and paid days off (sick leave, parental leave, flexible vacation/wellness days, and/or PTO). For more details on what benefits you may be offered, visit our benefits page. Cox is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer – All qualified applicants/employees will receive consideration for employment without regard to that individual’s age, race, color, religion or creed, national origin or ancestry, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, physical or mental disability, veteran status, genetic information, ethnicity, citizenship, or any other characteristic protected by law. Cox provides reasonable accommodations when requested by a qualified applicant or employee with disability, unless such accommodations would cause an undue hardship.

EOE, including disability/vets

Applicants must currently be authorized to work in the United States for any employer without current or future sponsorship. No OPT, CPT, STEM/OPT or visa sponsorship now or in future.