Senior Manager, Employee Relations

Cushman & Wakefield; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 113,000 - 133,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, vision, and dental insurance

Retirement savings plans

Paid time away from work

Job summary

Cushman & Wakefield is seeking a Senior Manager, Employee Relations to lead the ER COE, partnering with business managers, HR staff, and employees on complex ER matters.

You will influence policy, coach leaders, and drive investigations while ensuring compliance with EEO laws and internal procedures. This role requires strong communication, leadership, and analytical skills in a dynamic environment.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of progressive HR experience with significant ER experience.
• Bachelor’s Degree in HR or related area, or equivalent experience.
• Advanced degree preferred (MBA, Master’s in HR, law degree).
• 3+ years of experience managing a team.

Responsibilities

• Leads the Employee Relations COE staff, recruiting, selecting, orienting and training the team.
• Provides solutions to routine/complex ER issues and plans COE activities.
• Ensures a safe, legal work environment supporting growth for the team.
• Serves as a resource on employment law, harassment, discrimination, retaliation, accommodations, and related matters.
• Counsels on EEO laws including Title VII, ADA, ADEA and other federal/state laws.
• Creates and runs reports to identify ER trends using the case management system.
• Develops training materials on EEO compliance, investigations, accommodations, and ER matters.
• Partners with internal/external legal counsel for guidance and disposition of cases.
• Assists with sensitive performance issues, PIPs, exit strategies and separations; conducts investigations as needed.
• Drafts key case information for counsel and EEOC responses; responds to requests and holds.
• Oversees resolution of leave of absence decisions and accommodations discussions.
• Leads creation/refinement of company-wide HR policies and non-HR policy guidance.
• Drives stakeholder buy-in and change management; supports organizational change strategies.
• Participates in cross-functional project work supporting Global ER COE/HR.
• Occasional travel for investigations and meetings.

Skills

ER management

Conflict management

Employment law

Influence skills

HR knowledge

Education

Bachelor’s degree in HR or related field

Advanced degree preferred (MBA or law degree)

Tools

MS Excel

MS Office

Workday

ServiceNow

Job description

Job Description Summary

The Sr. Manager Employee Relations consults with Cushman & Wakefield business managers, HR staff, and employees on Employee Relations matters and support the Employee Relations centralized team model. Key skills required to be successful in this role are exceptional communication skills—especially in a virtual environment, solid leadership, connection and relationship skills, strong ability to influence, action orientation and responsive mindset, plus the ability to write and document issues with clarity and precision.

Job Title

Senior Manager, Employee Relations

Job Description

• Accomplishes the objectives of the Employee Relations COE, by leading staff; recruiting, selecting, orienting, training, performance management of team.
• Provides solutions to routine/complex Employee Relations issues, planning and evaluating COE activities.
• Ensures a safe, secure, and legal work environment that develops professional and personal growth opportunities for the team.
• Serves as a resource for Employee Relations and HR teams concerning issues of employment law, harassment, discrimination, retaliation, reasonable accommodations, position elimination activities, etc.
• Counsels the company on concerns related to applicable Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) laws including Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and other similar federal and state laws.
• Using case management system, creates and runs reports to identify trends of Employee Relations matters and works with business stakeholders to mitigate and resolve.
• Creates and delivers training material in the areas of EEO compliance, workplace investigations, reasonable accommodations, and other Employee Relations matters as needed.
• Partners with internal and external legal counsel concerning legal guidance, interpretations and the disposition of cases.
• Consults on highly sensitive or complex performance management issues, including PIPs, exit strategies and involuntary separations; conducts high level investigations as needed.
• Guides the Employee Relations and HR teams in the drafting and preparing of key case information for internal and external counsel to respond to EEOC charges, attorney demands, litigation holds, etc.
• Oversees and facilitates the resolution of escalated Leave of Absence employment decisions and requests for workplace accommodations by facilitating and influencing discussions with HRBPs, managers, employees, Legal and HR Benefits.
• Leads the creation and refinement of company-wide HR policies; collaborates and consults on non-HR policies.
• Motivates stakeholders to help implement and support change as well as developing strategies in response to resistance to change.
• Participate in project work that supports the Global ER COE, HR team, or other functions.
• Occasional travel to participate in investigations and meetings as needed.

Qualifications

7 + years of progressive HR experience with significant ER experience

Bachelor’s Degree in HR or related area, or equivalent experience

Advanced degree preferred (MBA, Master’s in HR, law degree)

3+ years of experience managing a team

Knowledge, Skills And Abilities, Competencies

• Seasoned and proven skills in managing difficult ER situations, conflict management, employment law, influence skills, as well as deep and broad knowledge of Human Resources in general
• In-depth knowledge of employment law
• Superior diagnostic and analytical skills; proficient in MS Excel Spreadsheets
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Solid business intelligence
• Ability to influence leaders and colleagues, skilled counselor, consultant, and facilitator
• Strong organization skills and project management skills
• Proficiency in MS Office, knowledge of HRMS systems such as Workday, Service Now
• Expert knowledge of internal investigation principles

Cushman & Wakefield also provides eligible employees with an opportunity to enroll in a variety of benefit programs, generally including health, vision, and dental insurance, flexible spending accounts, health savings accounts, retirement savings plans, life, and disability insurance programs, and paid and unpaid time away from work. In addition to a comprehensive benefits package, Cushman and Wakefield provide eligible employees with competitive pay, which may vary depending on eligibility factors such as geographic location, date of hire, total hours worked, job type, business line, and applicability of collective bargaining agreements.

The compensation that will be offered to the successful candidate will depend on factors such as whether the position is covered by a collective bargaining agreement, the geographic area in which the work will be performed, market pay rates in that area, and the candidate’s experience and qualifications.

The company will not pay less than minimum wage for this role.

The compensation for the position is: $ 112,710.00 - $132,600.00

Cushman & Wakefield is an Equal Opportunity employer to all protected groups, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities. Discrimination of any type will not be tolerated.

In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA), if you have a disability and would like to request an accommodation in order to apply for a position at Cushman & Wakefield, please call the ADA line at 1-888-365-5406 or email [e-mail]. Please refer to the job title and job location when you contact us.

INCO: "Cushman & Wakefield"