Senior HR Compliance Partner, Employee Relations Operations

REI; Washington; On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

REI in Washington state seeks a Senior HR Compliance Partner to operationalize scalable compliance programs across HQ, retail, and distribution centers. You will design and oversee enterprise employee compliance initiatives, ensuring documentation serves as the enterprise source of truth and will partner with Legal to stay ahead of regulatory changes.

You will lead risk monitoring, audit readiness, policy governance, and training enablement, building dashboards that surface trends.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in HR, Business, Legal Studies, or related field, or equivalent experience.
• 5+ years of cross-functional HR project/program management experience.
• Experience building HR compliance dashboards and executive reporting.
• Experience maintaining enterprise compliance calendars and implementing new HR compliance programs.
• Strong working knowledge of U.S. employment laws and regulatory requirements.

Responsibilities

• Design and oversee enterprise employee compliance programs aligned with employment laws and regulations.
• Establish and manage compliance calendars, required reviews, audits, and documentation standards.
• Support audit readiness by maintaining accurate records, controls, and evidence of compliance activities.
• Partner with Legal and the Director to monitor legislative and regulatory changes and assess organizational impact.
• Support governance, policy updates, and training enablement to promote consistent practices across the enterprise.

Skills

Project management

Cross-functional collaboration

Policy compliance

Data dashboards

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Tools

SharePoint

Job description

Overview

The Senior HR Compliance Partner strengthens enterprise compliance by operationalizing scalable processes and maintaining clear, accessible documentation across the HR Compliance and Employee Relations function. The role promotes consistent practices across HQ, retail, and distribution centers and helps ensure policies, procedures, and guidance serve as the enterprise source of truth.

Responsibilities and Qualifications

Compliance Program Design & Oversight

• Implement and maintain enterprise employee compliance programs aligned with applicable employment laws and regulations (e.g., EEO, ADA, FMLA, wage & hour, OSHA, I9).
• Establish and manage compliance calendars, required reviews, audits, and documentation standards.
• Support audit readiness by maintaining accurate records, controls, and evidence of compliance activities.
• Partner with Legal and the Director to monitor legislative and regulatory changes and assess organizational impact.

Risk Identification & Monitoring

• Analyze trends across employee relations cases, investigations, complaints, and audits to identify systemic compliance risks.
• Develop early warning indicators and dashboards to surface emerging risk areas and recurring issues.
• Provide regular insights and recommendations to the Director of Compliance & Employee Relations to inform prioritization and decision making.
• Support preparation of materials and reporting for senior leadership and governance forums as needed.

Policy & Training Enablement

• Conduct compliance reviews of employment policies and practices to ensure alignment with legal requirements and enterprise standards.
• Partner with HR COEs and Legal to recommend updates to policies, guidelines, and practices based on regulatory changes or risk trends.
• Define compliance-related training requirements and partner with Learning & Development to support delivery and tracking.
• Create tools, templates, and guidance that enable HRBPs and leaders to operate compliantly and consistently.

Cross Functional Partnership & Enablement

• Serve as a key compliance subject matter partner to HRBPs, Employee Relations, HR Operations, and Legal.
• Provide consultation and guidance on compliance considerations related to workforce actions, programs, and initiatives.
• Support the Director of Compliance & Employee Relations in interactions with regulatory agencies, audits, or inquiries, as needed.
• Contribute to enterprise initiatives focused on workforce stability, equity, and risk mitigation.

Scope & Decision Making

• Operates independently within established compliance frameworks and escalation protocols.
• Exercises judgment in identifying, analyzing, and escalating compliance risks to the Director.
• Does not routinely conduct employee relations investigations or serve as a primary case handler.
• Influences outcomes through expertise, data, and partnership rather than direct authority.

Governance, Process Optimization & Knowledge Management

• Maintain governance standards, operating procedures, and documentation priorities that support consistent employee compliance and ER operations across the enterprise.
• Lead process improvement efforts that simplify fragmented practices and create scalable, repeatable workflows across HQ, retail, and distribution center environments.
• Partner with Legal, ER, HR, and Operations to maintain employee handbook content, policy guidance, and related documentation on a regular review cadence.
• Support knowledge management practices, including centralized documentation, SharePoint/intranet resources, version control, and "single source of truth" governance.
• Identify opportunities to use AI for process optimization, automation or other tools to improve process efficiency, documentation quality, and compliance operations.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business, Legal Studies, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
• 5 years+ project/program management experience leading cross-functional HR initiatives from planning through implementation.
• Experience building and maintaining Employee Relations operational processes (e.g., employee handbook updates, SOPs, SLAs, and governance).
• Experience developing HR Compliance and Employee Relations dashboards, KPIs, and executive reporting.
• Experience managing enterprise compliance calendars and implementing new HR compliance programs.
• Strong working knowledge of U.S. employment laws and regulatory requir