Senior Employee Relations Partner

LE0001 Relativity ODA LLC; Illinois; Hybrid; USD 112,000 - 168,000; Full time

Job summary

Relativity ODA LLC in Illinois seeks a Senior Employee Relations Specialist to lead complex ER investigations and advise leaders. You will partner with Legal and Sr. HRBPs to ensure defensible, fair outcomes across regions while mitigating risk and maintaining compliant practices.

Ideal candidates bring 5+ years in HR with a strong ER background, excellent written documentation, and the ability to scale processes as Relativity grows globally.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in HR with 3+ years in Employee Relations or compliance.
• Evidence of leading investigations end-to-end with discretion.
• Knowledge of multi-state and global employment regulations.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end investigations into complex ER matters with structured interviews.
• Advise on high‑risk performance cases, PIPs, and separations.
• Collaborate with Legal to manage risk, escalation, and compliance.
• Ensure fair, consistent policy application globally and across regions.
• Coach managers on feedback, documentation, and difficult conversations.
• Analyze ER data to identify patterns and drive improvements.

Skills

Employee Relations

HR Business

HR Strategy

Human Resources Consulting

Leadership Training and Development

Organizational Development (OD)

Recruiting

Succession Planning

Talent Management

Workforce Planning

Education

PHR, SPHR, SHRM-CP, or SHRM-SCP certification

Tools

Workday

Rippling

Job description

Posting Type Remote/Hybrid Job Overview

The Employee Relations Specialist serves as a trusted advisor and practitioner responsible for navigating complex workplace matters with sound judgment, legal fluency, and a commitment to both people and organizational health. The Senior Employee Relations Specialist (Level 6) is a senior IC expert responsible for leading complex employee relations and performance management cases end-to-end, ensuring consistent, defensible, and equitable outcomes across the organization. This role operates as a strategic partner to Sr. HRBPs, absorbing high‑risk and high‑complexity ER work while enabling HRBPs to focus on business strategy, talent decisions, and organizational effectiveness. This role partners closely with HRBPs, Legal, and senior leadership to resolve issues swiftly and fairly while strengthening the company's culture as we scale.

Job Description and Requirements

Employee Relations & Investigations

• Lead end‑to‑end investigations into complex employee relations matters (e.g., misconduct, discrimination, retaliation, policy violations).
• Conduct structured interviews, assess credibility, synthesize evidence, and produce clear, legally defensible findings and recommendations.
• Partner closely with Legal to manage risk, escalation thresholds, and compliance requirements.
• Ensure consistent application of policies globally, accounting for regional legal and cultural differences.

Performance & Disciplinary Processes

• Advise on high‑risk performance cases, including PIPs, coaching plans, and involuntary separations.
• Ensure performance processes follow structured, documented frameworks with clear expectations, timelines, and success metrics.
• Support differentiation between performance, capability, and organizational/system issues in partnership with HRBPs.
• Drive consistency in disciplinary actions and ensure fairness across managers and teams.

Risk Mitigation, Compliance & Governance

• Act as a subject matter expert in employment law (multi‑state and global) and internal policy frameworks.
• Ensure rigorous documentation standards and audit readiness across all ER and performance cases.
• Identify and mitigate legal, reputational, and employee experience risks before escalation.
• Own ER case governance, including escalation pathways and decision frameworks.

Manager & HRBP Advisory Coach

• Coach managers on feedback delivery and documentation, navigating difficult conversations, and determining when and how to escape ER matters.
• Partner with Sr. HRBPs to align ER decisions with broader talent, calibration, and organizational outcomes.
• Provide real‑time case consultation for ambiguous or sensitive situations.

Insights, Trends & Systemic Improvement

• Analyze ER case data to identify patterns by manager, function, or region and repeat manager risk patterns.
• Identify policy gaps and organizational friction points.
• Drive improvements to ER playbooks, templates, and workflows.

Capability Building & Enablement

• Design and deliver manager education on performance management rigor, documentation standards, bias mitigation, and fair process.
• Build scalable tools (templates, guides, intake frameworks) that improve quality and consistency of ER handling.
• Partner with HRBPs to elevate overall organizational capability in managing performance and ER proactively.

Decision Rights

• Recommend outcomes, risk mitigation strategies, and disciplinary actions while owning ER process integrity, case quality, and documentation standards.
• Escalate high‑risk decisions to HRBPs, Legal, or leadership as appropriate.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of progressive HR experience with at least 3 years in a dedicated Employee Relations or HR compliance role.
• Demonstrated experience leading workplace investigations independently from intake through resolution.
• Working knowledge of multi‑state employment law and regulatory compliance requirements.
• Proven ability to manage sensitive, high‑risk cases with discretion and sound judgment.
• Strong written communication skills—able to produce clear, legally defensible documentation.

Preferred Experience

• Experience in a global SaaS/technology or pre‑IPO company environment.
• Experience partnering with HRBPs in a global, matrixed organization.
• PHR, SPHR, SHRM‑CP, or SHRM‑SCP certification.
• Experience using HRIS platforms (Workday, Rippling, or similar) and case management tools.

Relativity is committed to competitive, fair, and equitable compensation practices. This position is eligible for total compensation which includes a competitive base salary, an annual performance bonus, and long‑term incentives. The expected salary range for this role is $112,000 to $168,000. The final offered salary will be based on several factors, including but not limited to the candidate's depth of experience, skill set, qualifications, and internal pay equity. Hiring at the top end of the range would not be typical, to allow for future meaningful salary growth in this position.

Required Skills

• Employee Relations
• HR Business
• HR Strategy
• Human Resources Consulting
• Leadership Training and Development
• Organizational Development (OD)
• Recruiting
• Succession Planning
• Talent Management
• Workforce Planning

We’re solving big data challenges in the legal tech industry, and we’re always looking for more people to join us on the journey. At Relativity, you’ll learn cross‑functional skills to grow your career and have the chance to make a big impact on our customers, our industry, and our communities. We admire and value our employees, so it’s no surprise that our hiring process is designed to help us really get to know you – and for you to get to know us, too.