Job DescriptionThe Senior Employee Relations Partner (Sr. ERP) is a strategic and trusted HR advisor responsible for driving fair, consistent, and risk aligned management of employee relations issues across HQ Corporate Functions. The role provides expertise in workplace investigations, performance management, ADA and accommodation processes, ethics inquiries, compliance activities, and policy governance. The Sr. ERP influences leader capability and organizational maturity through proactive coaching, structured processes, OPEX aligned reporting, and facilitation of high value training on ER related topics. This role strengthens culture, supports legal compliance, and ensures HR processes are applied with integrity, transparency, and professional courage.
Key Responsibilities Employee Relations & Investigations - Serve as the primary HR advisor for complex ER matters, applying expert risk assessment, pattern identification, and root cause analysis.
- Conduct impartial investigations using a structured, repeatable methodology, including information gathering, credibility assessment, documentation, and collaboration with Legal or Ethics as appropriate.
- Assess nuanced situations such as interpersonal conflict, behavioral issues, policy violations, retaliation concerns, and potential ethical lapses.
- Present findings and recommended actions to leaders with clarity and defensible rationale.
- Partner with leaders to build sustainable action plans and ensure adherence to timelines, documentation standards, and follow through.
- Drive end-to-end ER case lifecycle management, ensuring timely triage, structured prioritization, clear case categorization, and alignment with enterprise protocols.
- Ensure quality, accuracy, and consistency of all ER case documentation, including fact-finding notes, decision rationales, and closure summaries, reinforcing audit-ready compliance standards.
ADA & Workplace Accommodation Management - Lead the ADA interactive process with empathy, consistency, and legal alignment, ensuring thorough factfinding and coordination with HR leadership and Legal if needed.
- Evaluate work restrictions, job requirements, and potential accommodations, balancing employee needs and operational capability.
- Communicate outcomes clearly to employees, managers, and HR peers, reinforcing documentation standards and adherence to timelines.
- Proactively identify systemic trends in accessibility, job design, or work practices that may require organizational attention.
Ethics & Compliance - Partner with the Ethics Office on investigations, ensuring confidentiality, neutrality, and consistency with policy expectations.
- Support compliance audits, monitor open items, and contribute to remediation plans.
- Identify risk trends and recommend preventative actions (refresher training, manager capability building, policy clarity, structural controls).
Coaching & Performance Management - Serve as a highly skilled coach to managers, influencing how leaders diagnose performance issues, communicate expectations, deliver feedback, and uphold standards.
- Lead PIP development and execution, ensuring SMART objectives, clear documentation, intentional coaching, and rigorous monitoring.
- Challenge leaders when expectations are unclear, inconsistent, or misaligned; reinforce fairness, transparency, and proactive intervention.
Policy Review & Communication - Deep understanding of HR and operational policies to ensure clarity, compliance alignment, practical application, and accessibility.
- Partner with SMEs (Legal, Ethics, Compliance, HR COEs) to evaluate policy implications, identify gaps, and propose updates.
- Communicate policy updates with strong change management practices.
- Support leaders through interpretation, equitable application, and navigation of nuanced or complex scenarios.
Operational Excellence & Reporting - Monitor ER trends, root causes, and patterns to inform OPEX insights, risk mitigation strategies, and senior leadership reporting.
- Leverage ER case system data to identify patterns, emerging risks, and repeat issues, translating insights into actionable recommendations for leaders and COEs.
- Use structured metrics and dashboards to highlight emerging issues, systemic risks, and opportunities for workflow or policy improvements.
- Monitor caseload volume and cycle time, surfacing capacity risks early and recommending workflow or structural adjustments to sustain responsiveness and quality.
- Collaborate with peers to align ER insights with broader People & Culture initiatives, HRBP priorities, and enterprise strategy
Leader & Employee Capability Building - Develop and facilitate learning experiences on ER, investigations, ADA, ethics, policy, compliance, and performance management, in partnership with HR Directors.
- Enhance leader self-awareness, decision making, and conflict resolution skills through structured practice, discussion, and reflection.
- Create scalable toolkits, guides, and job aids that leaders can use independently (e.g., conversation guides, templates, checklists).
- Partner with HR peers and COEs to ensure content accuracy, alignment, and usability across diverse leader audiences.
Required Skills and Education- A bachelor's degree with 8-10+ years of HR experience; equivalent combination of education and experience in lieu of a degree; master's preferred.
- Strong background in employee relations, investigations, and performance management.
- Demonstrated knowledge of ADA processes, ethics programs, and HR compliance requirements.
- Clear communication, coaching, facilitation, and relationship building skills.
- Ability to manage sensitive, complex matters with discretion and sound judgment.
- Experience applying HR policies consistently across varied employee situations.
- Experience with ER case management and HR systems (ServiceNow, PeopleSoft, etc.).
- Ability to be onsite at Falls Church, VA four (4) days a week.
Preferred Skills and Education- HR certification (PHR, SPHR, SHRMCP/SCP).
- Experience in government contracting or highly regulated environments.
- Strong analytical capability and familiarity with HR reporting and metrics.
