Regional Employee Relations Manager

The purpose of this role is to oversee and enhance employee relations across field offices within a region. This involves fostering a positive workplace culture by addressing employee concerns, resolving disputes, managing investigations, and delivering effective training programs.

This position ensures alignment with the organization's standards, local labor laws, and organizational policies to maintain compliance and promote fairness across all operations.

• Employee Relations Management

The Regional Employee Relations Manager will act as a trusted advisor to field office managers and HR teams on employee relations matters. They will develop and implement strategies to maintain positive employee relations in alignment with organizational values.

Investigations

The successful candidate will lead and manage sensitive and complex workplace investigations, including allegations of misconduct, harassment, and policy violations. They will maintain confidentiality and impartiality throughout investigation processes.

Key Responsibilities:

• Prepare high-quality and detailed investigation reports with actionable recommendations.
• Ensure investigations comply with organizational policies, local labor laws, and donor requirements.
• Mediate and resolve employee disputes effectively, fostering dialogue and collaboration between parties.
• Provide coaching and support to managers in handling grievances, disciplinary actions, and performance management.
• Facilitate formal grievance hearings as needed.
• Facilitate informal resolutions pathways to promote positive relations and peacebuilding.
• Recognize, intercept, and mitigate HR risks and cases at an early stage to prevent snowballing and unwarranted use of HR resources.

Training and Capacity Building

The ideal candidate will design and deliver training sessions for field office/global managers and HR staff on employee relations, workplace ethics, and conflict resolution. They will develop resources and tools to enhance understanding of employee relations policies and procedures.

Policy Development and Compliance

The Regional Employee Relations Manager will ensure compliance with local labor laws, donor requirements, and INGO standards across all employee relations practices. They will contribute to the development and periodic review of organizational policies and HR handbooks related to employee relations or best practice.

Stakeholder Collaboration

The successful candidate will work closely with country office HR teams to provide guidance and ensure consistent application of employee relations policies. They will collaborate with local legal counsel on complex cases to mitigate organizational risks. The candidate will liaise with Global HR teams to align regional practices with organizational standards.

Reporting and Metrics

The Regional Employee Relations Manager will track and report on employee relations metrics, trends, and outcomes to the Associate HR Director. They will ensure efficient and high-speed completion of investigations to service level standard and SLAs.

The ideal candidate will have:

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field.
• 7+ years of HR experience with a focus on employee relations, including at least 3 years in a managerial role and iNGO sector.
• Proven experience conducting workplace investigations and resolving disputes.
• Strong ability to interpret regional labor laws and employment practices.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and interpersonal skills.
• Demonstrated ability to manage sensitive issues with discretion and integrity.
• Experience in training and capacity building for HR teams and managers.
• Willingness to travel frequently to field offices.
• Master's degree or certification in HR (e.g., SHRM, CIPD, or equivalent).
• Experience in the INGO sector or other international organizations.
• Familiarity with donor compliance standards, Field Office Ops, and safeguarding policies.
• Multilingual capabilities relevant to the region.