Engagement & Employee Relations Specialist

Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Oak Ridge (TN); On-site; USD 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is seeking an Employee Relations and Engagement Specialist to provide guidance and support across employee relations and engagement matters within the Human Resources Directorate.

You will manage case intake, documentation, reporting, facilitated discussions, and cross-functional collaboration with HR Business Partners, managers, and legal teams to promote consistency and data-informed decision making.

Qualifications

• BS/BA in Human Resources, Business Administration, Organizational Development, or related field with ≥5 years of experience.
• Experience advising managers on employee relations matters and conduct/workplace concerns.
• Experience conducting or supporting investigations and producing documentation and recommendations.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and HR/case-management tools.

Responsibilities

• Support and coordinate accommodation requests and employee relations intake, documentation, tracking, follow-up, investigations, facilitated discussions, mediation-related activities, coaching conversations, and other early intervention efforts.
• Assess employee relations matters, identify organizational and compliance risks, and recommend practical, consistent, and well-documented courses of action.
• Develop investigation plans, conduct interviews, review relevant documentation, evaluate findings, and prepare clear, objective reports, recommendations, and case summaries.
• Maintain accurate, confidential, and timely case records, timelines, status updates, outcome records, documentation packets, trackers, dashboards, reports, and other case-management tools.
• Partner with HR Business Partners, Legal, Senior Leaders, and other stakeholders to address complex, sensitive, or cross-functional workplace matters.
• Document, standardize, and continuously improve Employee Relations processes, workflows, checklists, intake tools, templates, procedures, engagement programs, and tracking practices.
• Identify employee relations trends, recurring workplace issues, engagement themes, training needs, manager support needs, and prevention opportunities through case data, employee feedback, and applicable workforce metrics.
• Support the design, administration, analysis, and follow-up of employee engagement surveys, pulse surveys, focus groups, listening sessions, and related feedback mechanisms.
• Translate employee feedback, case trends, and workforce data into actionable insights, recommendations, presentations, tools, and organizational solutions.
• Build trusted relationships while maintaining professional independence, appropriate boundaries, confidentiality, and consistent treatment of employees.
• Stay informed of developments in employment law, employee relations practices, workplace investigations, and employee engagement strategies.
• Foster a respectful workplace by aligning work, behaviors, and interactions with ORNL’s core values of Impact, Integrity, Teamwork, Safety, and Service.
• Ability to build trusted relationships while maintaining professional independence, appropriate boundaries, and confidentiality.
• Deliver ORNL’s mission by aligning behaviors, priorities, and interactions with our core values of Impact, Integrity, Teamwork, Safety, and Service. Promote equal opportunity by fostering a respectful workplace – in how we treat one another, work together, and measure success.

Skills

Employee relations

Investigation skills

Documentation

Analytical skills

Stakeholder collaboration

Education

BS/BA in HR or related field

MS/MA in HR or related field (preferred)

Tools

MS Office

HR systems

Case management systems

Job description

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is seeking an Employee Relations and Engagement Specialist to provide guidance and support across employee relations and engagement matters within the Human Resources Directorate.

You will manage case intake, documentation, reporting, facilitated discussions, and cross-functional collaboration with HR Business Partners, managers, and legal teams to promote consistency and data-informed decision making.