Employee Relations Leader — Coach Teams, Mitigate Risk

The Wrap; Denver (CO); Hybrid; USD 151,000 - 186,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive base pay

Equity (RSUs)

Total Rewards benefits

Job summary

Gusto, a leader in people operations, is seeking an experienced Employee Relations Manager to lead a specialized ER team and partner with Legal, HR, and business leaders on high-risk matters. The role focuses on policy alignment, coaching, and trusted guidance through difficult conversations.

You will drive end-to-end ER casework, translate conduct codes into fair practice, track trends, and advocate for improvements that balance employee experience with business risk.

Qualifications

• 7–10+ years of HR/ER experience with team leadership.
• Strong knowledge of EEOC, ADA, FMLA, FLSA and investigations.
• Proven coaching and mentoring skills.
• Excellent judgment navigating ambiguity in changing environments.
• Data literacy with ER metrics to guide decisions.
• Experience in a fast-scaling tech company.

Responsibilities

• Manage, mentor, and coach a team of Employee Relations Partners.
• Lead high-risk investigations with airtight documentation.
• Own end-to-end performance-management casework and coaching.
• Translate codes of conduct into fair practices across departments.
• Enable managers on performance processes and difficult conversations.
• Track ER metrics and surface opportunities to reduce risk.
• Advise senior leaders on personnel decisions with ER excellence.
• Operate with urgency and focus on high-impact issues.
• Use AI to synthesize trends, draft docs, and protect data.

Skills

HR/ER experience

Employment law knowledge

Coaching & mentoring

Judgment under ambiguity

Data literacy

Tech-scale experience

Education

Bachelor's degree in HR/related field

Advanced degree or JD (nice to have)

Job description

Gusto, a leader in people operations, is seeking an experienced Employee Relations Manager to lead a specialized ER team and partner with Legal, HR, and business leaders on high-risk matters. The role focuses on policy alignment, coaching, and trusted guidance through difficult conversations.

You will drive end-to-end ER casework, translate conduct codes into fair practice, track trends, and advocate for improvements that balance employee experience with business risk.