Employee Relations Consultant

Job DescriptionWe are currently looking for a full time Employee Relations Consultant to join our team as we embark on a strategic initiative to shift the Employee Relations team from a proactive escalation point to being a proactive center of excellence. This role will primarily support AMER (US/Canada) but will also have opportunities to be involved with issues and initiatives across Zendesk's global footprint.Primary Responsibilities:• Establishing and maintaining an in depth knowledge of labor laws and employee relations practices across AMER to ensure compliance with legal and regulatory requirements;• Providing advice and counsel across the business on topics ranging from internal investigations, performance management, harassment, discrimination, reductions in workforce and unfair dismissal;• Partnering with the employment legal team to mitigate risk and align on ER strategies and approaches;• Ensuring consistent application of policies and procedure;• Providing timely, skilled support with the least amount of touchpoints;• Using mediation, facilitation, influencing, and coaching skills to support managers and employees with early dispute resolution as needed;• Responding effectively to ER queries and ensure all cases are monitored and tracked in the ER case management system;• Contributing and driving global ER projects to support the design and improvement of the ER model.• Follow service level agreements in a timely response and follow up to issues including appropriate use of the case management system, effective and thorough documentation and reporting, and all associated processes. Escalates sensitive or critical issues appropriately.• Providing support and guidance to managers when an accommodation is requested• Participating in ad-hoc HR projects (e.g. Rewards cycle, Employee engagement survey);• Continually looking to grow and improve the ER function for the organization.Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:• Outstanding interpersonal skills exemplified by great communication (written and oral) and a high EQ;• A phenomenal team player who knows how and when to collaborate to ensure success, and comfortable liaising with multiple levels of leadership, Legal, People Partners, and other stakeholders to get things done;• Ability to build and contribute to a positive, equitable, and transparent employee relations model;• Experience in conducting workplace investigations into highly sensitive ER issues;• Well-versed in federal employment law and able to look up relevant state legislation as needed.Requirements:• BA degree preferred with extensive experience in Employee Relations and labor law with a proven track record of successfully leading employee relations initiatives;• Experience in conducting workplace investigations into highly sensitive ER issues;• Outstanding verbal and written communication skills; comfortable with giving and receiving open, constructive feedback in a way that fosters trust and respect;• Knowledge of leave and accommodations regulations in US• Able to communicate succinctly with all levels of the organization.• Detail-oriented and excellent organizational skills. Accuracy is crucial;• Resourceful, self-motivated, and able to independently handle shifting workloads in a high-paced and constantly evolving environment. You know how to prioritize and deliver on opportunities;• Outstanding judgment and ability to balance the needs of the company, managers and employees.• Ability to build and contribute to a positive, equitable, and transparent employee relations model;• Excited about ER and working at Zendesk!What's the team like?• The team is distributed globally and works across multiple time zones and works with stakeholders across the business.• It's an expanding team at Zendesk that alongside delivering our day to day objectives is currently focused on creating scalable processes and solutions to free up bandwidth to focus on more proactive, value-adds for our customers (our employees).• And finally, it's a team full of good humans who pride themselves on their work and their team ethos.The US annualized base salary range for this position is $93,000.00-$139,000.00. This position may also be eligible for bonus, benefits, or related incentives. While this range reflects the minimum and maximum value for new hire salaries for the position across all US locations, the offer for the successful candidate for this position will be based on job related capabilities, applicable experience, and other factors such as work location. Please note that the compensation details listed in US role postings reflect the base salary only (or OTE for commissions based roles), and do not include bonus, benefits, or related incentives.Hybrid: In this role, our hybrid experience is designed at the team level to give you a rich onsite experience packed with connection, collaboration, learning, and celebration - while also giving you flexibility to work remotely for part of the week. This role must attend our local office for part of the week. The specific in-office schedule is to be determined by the hiring manager.The intelligent heart of customer experienceZendesk software was built to bring a sense of calm to the chaotic world of customer service. Today we power billions of conversations with brands you know and love.Zendesk believes in offering our people a fulfilling and inclusive experience. Our hybrid way of working, enables us to purposefully come together in person, at one of our many Zendesk offices around the world, to connect, collaborate and learn whilst also giving our people the flexibility to work remotely for part of the week.Zendesk is an equal opportunity employer, and we're proud of our ongoing efforts to foster global diversity, equity, & inclusion in the workplace. Individuals seeking employment and employees at Zendesk are considered without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, medical condition, ancestry, disability, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. We are an AA/EEO/Veterans/Disabled employer. If you are based in the United States and would like more information about your EEO rights under the law, please click here.Zendesk endeavors to make reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities and disabled veterans pursuant to applicable federal and state law. If you are an individual with a disability and require a reasonable accommodation to submit this application, complete any pre-employment testing, or otherwise participate in the employee selection process, please send an e-mail to peopleandplaces@zendesk.com with your specific accommodation request.Employment Type: OTHER