Employee Relations Business Partner

The Employee Relations Business Partner (ERBP) serves as the dedicated employee relations consultant for an assigned portfolio of regions, partnering closely with field leaders and team members on the full range of employee relations matters. This role manages employee relations concerns, workplace investigations, grievances, complaints, whistleblower reports, and recurring trends within assigned regions, and serves as the primary point of contact for leaders and employees seeking guidance on employee relations issues. The ERBP operates as a consultant-style business partner — providing sound judgment, risk assessment, and recommended courses of action — rather than as a decision-making authority over personnel outcomes. This role also functions as a liaison between the field and HR Legal/Compliance, helping ensure consistent, legally sound practice across the organization. The primary deliverables for this position are timely and objective resolution of employee relations matters, identification of actionable trends, mitigation of organizational risk, and delivery of HR services grounded in partnership, discretion, and sound judgment.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Serve as the primary employee relations business partner and point of contact for leaders and team members within an assigned group of regions.
• Manage the full spectrum of employee relations matters, including concerns, workplace investigations, grievances, complaints, and recurring trends.
• Be readily available to leaders and team members to discuss employee relations concerns via phone, Teams, email, or in person, responding within established service-level expectations.
• Serve as a primary intake point for whistleblower complaints, ensuring appropriate documentation, escalation, and follow-through to resolution.
• Conduct thorough, objective, and well-documented investigations into workplace complaints, including allegations of harassment, discrimination, retaliation, and policy violations.
• Identify and analyze employee relations trends across assigned regions and proactively report findings and recommendations to HR leadership.
• Act as the HR liaison to Legal and Compliance on employment law matters, helping ensure consistent application of policy and legally sound decision-making across the field.
• Participate actively in high-level, sensitive conversations with leaders and employees, exercising independent, sound judgment while maintaining appropriate confidentiality.
• Represent Human Resources in frequent virtual meetings, engaging as a credible, active participant in discussions with field and senior leadership.
• Think critically to evaluate competing facts and considerations in employee relations matters and recommend appropriate, risk-informed resolutions.
• Partner with the Senior Employee Relations Business Partner and broader HR team to calibrate practices and ensure consistency of employee relations decisions across all regions.
• Coach and advise managers on progressive discipline, performance documentation, and legally compliant management practices.
• Maintain current working knowledge of applicable federal, state, and local employment laws affecting assigned regions.
• Escalate high-risk or high-exposure matters to the Senior Employee Relations Business Partner, HR leadership, or Legal as appropriate.
• Partner with Legal on responses to agency charges (e.g., EEOC), unemployment claims, and other employment-related inquiries as needed.
• Maintain accurate, audit-ready case documentation and employee relations records in accordance with company recordkeeping standards.
• Support the development and periodic update of HR policies in partnership with HR leadership and Legal.

Qualifications:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required:

• Ability to exercise independent, sound judgment when navigating ambiguous or sensitive employee relations situations.
• Strong critical thinking and problem-solving skills, with the ability to weigh competing facts and business considerations.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, with the ability to deliver difficult messages clearly and professionally.
• High emotional intelligence and the ability to build trust so leaders and employees feel comfortable raising concerns without fear of negative recourse.
• Demonstrated discretion and the ability to maintain confidentiality in highly sensitive matters.
• Ability to manage a high volume of concurrent, sensitive matters across multiple regions with sound prioritization.
• Comfortable operating in a high-visibility virtual meeting environment, including frequent camera-on participation in leadership discussions.
• Ability to work independently as a consultant-style partner, influencing outcomes without direct management authority over field personnel.
• Working knowledge of investigation methodology, evidence-gathering, and documentation standards.
• Highly computer literate, with comfort using Workday, MS Office applications, and virtual meeting platforms (e.g., Microsoft Teams).
• Effective at building relationships across field and corporate teams.

Education and/or Experience:

• Degree of certificate in Human Resources, Business, or a related field preferred.
• 5+ years of progressive Human Resources experience, including 2–3+ years focused specifically on employee relations and/or workplace investigations.
• Knowledge of federal, state, and local employment law (e.g., Title VII, ADA, FMLA, FLSA) and related best practices.
• Experience partnering directly with Legal or Compliance on employment matters strongly preferred.
• Multi-state or multi-region field HR experience preferred.
• PHR/SPHR or SHRM-CP/SCP certification a plus.

Physical Demands:

• Must be able to remain in a stationary position regularly.
• Occasionally move about inside the office to access conference rooms, trainings, office machinery, etc.
• Constantly operate a computer.
• Occasionally may require light lifting up to 25 pounds.

Work Environment:

• Office environment.
• Frequent virtual meetings requiring camera-on participation.
• Occasional travel to assigned regions as needed.

This job description reflects management’s assignment of essential functions, and nothing in this herein restricts management’s right to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this job at any time.

It is the policy of World Acceptance Corporation to provide equal employment opportunity (EEO) to all persons regardless of age, color, national origin, citizenship status, physical or mental disability, race, religion, creed, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, genetic information, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law. The duties listed are the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made unless they create an undue hardship to the Company. Physical and environmental requirements are representative of those needed to successfully perform the job.