Manager, Employee Relations - People Matters

Ford; Dearborn (MI); Hybrid; USD 116,000 - 218,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical coverage

Dental coverage

Vision coverage

Parental leave

Tuition assistance

Paid time off

Holidays

Job summary

Ford Motor Company is seeking an Employee Relations Manager in Michigan with a focus on performance coaching, investigations, and policy development. The role supports enterprise projects and requires project management and stakeholder engagement across Ford.

Based at World Headquarters with up to 20% travel, this leadership position emphasizes integrity, collaboration, and continuous improvement of ER processes while aligning with operations and HR.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• 5+ years investigating and addressing HR matters.
• Experience advising on complex HR issues and policies.
• Empathetic, collaborative approach with teams across Ford.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Resilient with problem-solving and adaptability.

Responsibilities

• Provide high-quality employee relations support, including coaching, disciplinary actions, investigations and advising on HR policies.
• Ensure the quality of employee relations programs and processes.
• Prepare investigative documentation and interviews.
• Use case management to track cases from intake to resolution.
• Collaborate cross-functionally to support Ford goals and ER team.
• Partner with control functions on investigations and outcomes.
• Drive process improvements and use data to inform policy updates.
• Monitor regulations and best practices to inform actions.

Skills

Investigations

Policy writing

Performance management

Stakeholder management

Written and verbal communication

Empathy

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master’s degree in HR/Business/Law

Tools

Case management system

Job description

In this position...

As Employee Relations Manager, you will have a key role in helping to ensure a healthy work environment. The demands of this role are dynamic and require an individual who has a positive mindset and thrives on working hard to tackle challenging tasks and to build new processes, products, and policies. The individual must be a self-starter, resilient and able to work in a fast-paced environment and have deep prior experience with performance management, policy writing, and investigating workplace concerns and complaints. In addition to having a strong background in traditional employee relations, the role will also support on impactful enterprise projects related to employee relations products, policy, and processes. This includes project management skills, change management skills, engaging and aligning key stakeholders, reviewing existing policies and processes, and updating with competitive practice along with a mindset for improving the employee experience.

This role will be based in Michigan and located at World Headquarters, with expected occasional travel to Ford facilities inside and outside of Michigan as required, in some cases up to 20% of the time.

What you'll do...

• Providing high quality employee relations support that includes performance coaching and counseling, supporting on disciplinary actions, managing separations, investigating and advising on complex HR matters ranging from employee concerns, complaints and disputes to resolution, responding to agency charges, and advising on HR policies.
• Assuring the quality of assigned employee relations programs and processes.
• Prepare investigative documentation, including interview notes and reports.
• Using the case management system to manage and track cases from intake to resolution.
• Collaborate well cross functionally to further the goals of the Company and Employee Relations team.
• Partner with relevant control functions on investigations and outcomes.
• Look for and drive process improvements and efficiencies to support high quality employee relations.
• Proactively utilize data and metrics to inform improvements to policy, process, and training to educate employees.
• Scan the external environment for regulations, best practices, and trends to be proactive and inform continuous improvement actions.
• Internally, the role will make recommendations to and liaise with operations and across HR.
• Acting with the highest integrity.
• Other duties as assigned.

You'll have...

• Bachelor’s degree.
• 5+ experience conducting investigations.
• Experience investigating and advising on complex HR matters
• Passion for the employee and ability to empathize with their needs.
• A collaborative and empathetic approach to solving problems with teams across Ford.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Resiliency, creative thinking and strong problem-solving skills.

Even better, you may have...

• Master’s degree in HR, Business, Law or other related subject areas
• Employee relations, performance management, employment separations and investigations experience at a global company
• Familiarity with Title VII, ADEA, ADA, and related U.S. employment laws
• Experience handling charges from the EEOC and similar state agencies
• Proven ability to deliver high-quality results while handling multiple priorities.
• Prior experience working with agile cross-functional teams.
• Strong business acumen – Possesses both systems thinking and holistic perspectives (understands how the different parts of the organization interact to generate results)
• Demonstrates a growth mindset.
• Aptitude for critical thinking
• Self-starter, capable of communicating across skill teams, regions, and at all levels.
• Strong coaching and facilitation skills.

This description outlines the general nature and scope of work typically performed in this job. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities, knowledge, skills, work requirements, etc. It may vary slightly based on business or geographic needs and is subject to being reviewed and updated periodically.

As an established global company, we offer the benefit of choice. You can choose what your Ford future will look like: will your story span the globe, or keep you close to home? Will your career be a deep dive into what you love, or a series of new teams and new skills? Will you be a leader, a changemaker, a technical expert, a culture builder…or all of the above? No matter what you choose, we offer a work life that works for you, including:

• Immediate medical, dental, vision and prescription drug coverage
• Flexible family care days, paid parental leave, new parent ramp-up programs, subsidized back-up childcare and more
• Family building benefits including adoption and surrogacy expense reimbursement, fertility treatments, and more
• Vehicle discount program for employees and family members and management leases
• Tuition assistance
• Established and active employee resource groups
• Paid time off for individual and team community service
• A generous schedule of paid holidays, including the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day
• Paid time off and the option to purchase additional vacation time.

This position is leadership level 6 and ranges from $115,500-$218,100.

Final determination of salary grade will be based on candidate's skills and experience, and base salary will be set within the applicable range according to job scope, responsibility and competitive market value.

Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.

Candidates for positions with Ford Motor Company must be legally authorized to work in the United States. Verification of employment eligibility will be required at the time of hire.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, age, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability status or protected veteran status. In the United States, if you need a reasonable accommodation for the online application process due to a disability, please call 1-888-336-0660.

This position is hybrid. Candidates who are in commuting distance to a Ford hub location may be required to be onsite four or more days per week.