Employee Relations & People Operations Manager - Support Services United States

USA; Los Angeles (CA); Hybrid; USD 130,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Team discount

Competitive pay

Wellness support

Incentives program

Medical dental vision

401(k) matching

Career development

Recognition awards

Job summary

Cotton On, a global fashion and lifestyle retailer, is hiring an Employee Relations & People Operations Manager in Playa Vista, CA. The role leads employee relations, benefits administration, HR inbox operations, and modernizes People processes to support growth.

This hybrid role requires 5–8+ years in HR with strong ER experience, proficiency in HR tech, and a track record of scalable service delivery. Expect collaboration across leadership, payroll, and HRIS.

Qualifications

• 5–8+ years of progressive HR experience, including employee relations, People Operations, or HR shared services.
• Strong employee relations experience, including workplace investigations, employee concerns, performance matters, and policy guidance.
• Experience managing HR operations, HR inbox administration, service delivery workflows, case routing, and support standards.
• Knowledge of employment law, HR compliance requirements, employee documentation, and operational risk management.
• Experience administering employee benefits programs, partnering with vendors and brokers, and supporting annual enrollment activities.
• Demonstrated success improving operational processes, implementing HR technology or automation, and creating scalable support resources.
• Strong analytical skills, with the ability to interpret case trends, service metrics, and process efficiency opportunities.
• Excellent stakeholder management, written communication, problem-solving, and project management skills.
• Experience supporting multi-site or rapidly growing organizations.
• Experience implementing HR technology, workflow automation, or AI solutions.
• Experience with HR case management systems and service delivery models.
• Experience building self-service and employee support frameworks.
• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business, or a related field.
• PHR, SPHR, SHRM-CP, or SHR

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage employee relations matters across the organization, including workplace investigations and resolution of employee concerns.
• Partner with leaders to address performance, conduct, attendance, policy-related issues, and employee support needs in a fair, consistent, and compliant manner.
• Develop and maintain employee relations policies, procedures, documentation, and case management standards.
• Own the day-to-day delivery of People Operations services, including HR inbox administration, case routing, service standards, and response protocols.
• Establish clear service-level expectations for employee and manager support requests and drive continuous improvement in HR service delivery.
• Partner with Payroll and HRIS teams to ensure accurate employee records, data integrity, and efficient operational workflows.
• Oversee benefits administration processes, including enrollment, employee communications, vendor relationships, broker partnership, issue resolution, and compliance requirements.
• Support annual enrollment activities and employee education initiatives while monitoring service levels and the employee experience related to benefits.
• Assess and redesign People Operations processes to improve efficiency, scalability, compliance, and employee experience.
• Leverage HR technology, AI, workflow automation, self-service resources, and knowledge bases to reduce manual administration and improve support quality.
• Develop and maintain employee self-service resources, including knowledge base articles, FAQs, templates, and process guides, to enable employees and managers to resolve common HR questions efficiently and reduce reliance on one-on-one inbox support.
• Performance measures: Individual behaviour aligned to Our Way and Our Values; Team engagement; HR inbox response and resolution time; Case quality; Benefits service levels; Efficiency gains from automation.

Skills

Employee relations

HR operations

People operations

HR compliance

Benefits administration

HR tech

Data analytics

Stakeholder mgmt

Multi-site experience

Self-service KB

AI solutions

Education

Bachelor's degree

PHR/SPHR/SHRM-CP

Tools

HRIS

Case management systems

Payroll systems

Job description

Do you speak fashion? We're hiring! Let’s chat!
Born in Australia, loved around the world.

At Cotton On, we know good style goes well beyond what's in your wardrobe. We’re here to inspire, spark joy and bolster self-expression and creativity. We want our community to feel seen, heard and celebrated, and as a brand, we want to use our voice to make a positive difference in people's lives.

We’re playfully rebellious and always optimistic. Join our world and let's do good things together.

Benefits You Will Love

• 50% Team Member discount for all Brands/Products

• Competitive Pay

• Wellness Support 24/7

• Performance & Peak incentives to reward & recognize our team

• Great benefits for YOU & your family – Medical, Dental, Vision + more

• 401(k) matching program, with a commitment to financial literacy and support

• Development opportunities that could take you anywhere

• Quarterly COG Awards + real time recognition

The Role

Employee Relations & People Operations Manager

The Employee Relations & People Operations Manager is responsible for leading employee relations, benefits administration, day-to-day HR inbox administration, HR operations, and employee support services. The role plays a crucial part in modernizing People processes, improving employee and manager support, strengthening compliance, and building scalable service delivery frameworks that support organizational growth.

Work Structure & Details

• Format: Hybrid

• Schedule: 3 days in office per week

• Location: Playa Vista, CA

Key Responsibilities

Employee Relations

• Lead and manage employee relations matters across the organization, including workplace investigations and resolution of employee concerns.

• Partner with leaders to address performance, conduct, attendance, policy-related issues, and employee support needs in a fair, consistent, and compliant manner.

• Develop and maintain employee relations policies, procedures, documentation, and case management standards.

People Operations & HR Inbox Administration

• Own the day-to-day delivery of People Operations services, including HR inbox administration, case routing, service standards, and response protocols.

• Establish clear service-level expectations for employee and manager support requests and drive continuous improvement in HR service delivery.

• Partner with Payroll and HRIS teams to ensure accurate employee records, data integrity, and efficient operational workflows.

Benefits Administration

• Oversee benefits administration processes, including enrollment, employee communications, vendor relationships, broker partnership, issue resolution, and compliance requirements.

• Support annual enrollment activities and employee education initiatives while monitoring service levels and the employee experience related to benefits.

Process Improvement & Modernization

• Assess and redesign People Operations processes to improve efficiency, scalability, compliance, and employee experience.

• Leverage HR technology, AI, workflow automation, self-service resources, and knowledge bases to reduce manual administration and improve support quality.

• Develop and maintain employee self-service resources, including knowledge base articles, FAQs, templates, and process guides, to enable employees and managers to resolve common HR questions efficiently and reduce reliance on one-on-one inbox support.

Performance measures

• Individual behaviour aligned to Our Way and Our Values.

• Team engagement and stakeholder feedback results.

• HR inbox response and resolution time improvements.

• Employee relations case quality, consistency, and documentation standards.

• Benefits administration service levels and employee experience outcomes.

• Efficiency gains from automation, self-service resources, and standardized workflows.

Requirements

• 5–8+ years of progressive HR experience, including employee relations, People Operations, or HR shared services.

• Strong employee relations experience, including workplace investigations, employee concerns, performance matters, and policy guidance.

• Experience managing HR operations, HR inbox administration, service delivery workflows, case routing, and support standards.

• Knowledge of employment law, HR compliance requirements, employee documentation, and operational risk management.

• Experience administering employee benefits programs, partnering with vendors and brokers, and supporting annual enrollment activities.

• Demonstrated success improving operational processes, implementing HR technology or automation, and creating scalable support resources.

• Strong analytical skills, with the ability to interpret case trends, service metrics, employee experience indicators, and process efficiency opportunities.

• Excellent stakeholder management, written communication, problem-solving, and project management skills.

• Experience supporting multi-site or rapidly growing organizations.

• Experience implementing HR technology, workflow automation, or AI solutions.

• Experience with HR case management systems and service delivery models.

• Experience building self-service and employee support frameworks.

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business, or a related field.

• PHR, SPHR, SHRM-CP, or SHR

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

• Ability to stand, walk, lift, carry, push or pull up to 50lbs

• Ability to travel as needed

Who are we?

Cotton On’s purpose is to make a positive difference in people’s lives. Born in Australia, Cotton On is a global fashion and lifestyle retailer with eight brands across 22 countries and 1,500 stores. Powered by 20,000 team members, who together with our customers, are making a positive impact through one life‑changing Foundation. Taking their Aussie lifestyle to the world and delivering Good along the way, Cotton On brands offer youthful fashion and lifestyle products across women's, men’s, kids, body, accessories and stationery.

We are proud of our diverse global workforce of 20,000 team members from countless nationalities, and we strongly welcome and encourage individuals of all backgrounds to apply with us.

We are focused on bringing more voices, experiences and backgrounds to our workforce as we drive diverse and inclusive outcomes for our team and our customers.

If you have any individual needs in order to fully participate in the recruitment process, please contact us at [e-mail] so we may support you in completing the job application process.

In addition, Cotton On Group will consider qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with local “Fair Chance” ordinances.

CA: This is a full-time salary role with the annual wage range of $130,000- $150,000k /yr