Director, Labor & Employee Relations

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The Director, Labor & Employee Relations LS (M3) leads a team of Employee Relations professionals across Europe the Life Sciences Platform and is responsible for delivering consistent, compliant, and high-quality employee relations support across the enterprise. This role provides both strategic direction and operational oversight of employee relations case management, ensuring alignment with company policies, employment law requirements, and organizational objectives. The Manager partners closely with HR and business leaders to mitigate risk, strengthen leadership capability, and drive consistent employee relations practices across the organization. 

What you'll do: 

• Lead, develop, and manage a team of Employee Relations professionals, ensuring consistent case management standards, service quality, and technical capability. 

• Serve as the escalation point for complex, high-risk or sensitive employee relations matters and provide guidance on appropriate resolution strategies. 

• Partner with business leaders, HR Business Partners, and other stakeholders to deliver proactive employee relations support and risk mitigation. The role will offer creative and effective recommendations and solutions to challenging workplace issues and drive consistency and collaboration in the management and execution of employee relations using tools and technology for case management, standard work and continuous improvement. 

• Lead the development, standardization, and ongoing enhancement of employee relations policies, procedures, toolkits, and governance practices. 

• Oversee employee relations case reporting, trend analysis, and root-cause identification to drive data-informed improvements and reduce organizational risk. 

• Ensure compliance with employment laws, company policies, documentation standards, and audit requirements across applicable geographies. 

• Supporting project management and execution of complex reduction in force initiatives in the supported Operating Businesses and core employee relations programs and practices in an effective and consistent manner including deployment of Corporate policy and processes, ensuring an effective feedback and escalation process to Project Owners to enable on-time deployment. 

The essential requirements of the job include: 

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Employment Relations, Law, or related field. 

• 15+ years of experience in employee relations, labor relations, HR Business Partnering, employment law, or a related Human Resources discipline. 

• 3+ years of people leadership experience managing Human Resources or Employee Relations professionals. 

• Experience supporting a global or multi-country workforce. 

• Demonstrated experience managing complex and sensitive employee relations investigations, escalations, and risk-sensitive employment matters. 

• Working knowledge of employment law and employee relations practices across one or more jurisdictions in Europe . 

• Experience supporting employee representative bodies, works councils, labor unions, or similar employee representation frameworks. 

It would be a plus if you also possess: 

• Juris Doctor (J.D.) or advanced degree in Human Resources, Employment Relations, or a related field. 

• Experience leading employee relations transformation, standardization, or shared-services initiatives. 

• Experience utilizing Human Resources Information Systems (HRIS), case management systems, and reporting tools. 

• Experience in footprint, workforce planning, M&A projects  

Travel requirements: 

• Willingness to travel up to 25% of the time.