ABOUT OUR ORGANIZATION

Youth Guidance creates and implements school-based programs that enable children to overcome obstacles, focus on their education, and ultimately, to succeed in school and in life. We believe that no matter what challenges a young person faces, they are more likely to succeed when they have caring adults in their lives. Our highly trained staff guides kids to overcome the life and academic challenges facing the youth. We meet kids where they are — physically and emotionally — to help them focus on their education, make positive choices, and remain on the right path toward life success.
Founded in 1924 and celebrating 100 years of impact this year, Youth Guidance is a leading provider of outcomes-driven programs serving more than 18,000 youth around the country. For more information, visit www.youth-guidance.org.
Position Summary:
The Senior Manager of Employee Relations leads the organization’s efforts to foster a fair, respectful, and inclusive work environment by managing employee relations strategies, programs, and policies. This role is responsible for driving resolution of complex employee issues, partnering with leadership to ensure compliance with employment laws, and developing systems to monitor ER trends and risks. The ideal candidate will bring a strategic mindset and strong analytical acumen to create dashboards and ER metrics that guide proactive decision-making and risk mitigation.

Essential Duties/Responsibilities:

• Plans, leads, coordinates, and implements policies, processes, training, initiatives, and surveys to support the organization’s human resource compliance and strategy needs.
• Manages the development and execution of HR programs encompassing disciplinary processes, employee disputes, internal investigations, and performance management.
• Design and lead the development of the Employee Relations strategy and dashboards to monitor trends in grievances, investigations, turnover, and engagement across departments and regions.
• Manage employee records policies and requests in partnership with the Chief Risk Officer & General Counsel, overseeing processes and conducting periodic audits to ensurelegal compliance
• Monitors and ensures the organization’s compliance with federal, state, and local employment laws and regulations, and recommends best practices; reviews and modifies policies and practices to maintain compliance.
• Maintains knowledge of trends, best practices, regulatory changes, and new technologies in human resources, talent management, and employment laws; applies this knowledge to communicate changes in policy, practice, and resources to upper management.
• Manage and update the agency policies for employees, including annual review and updates to the employee handbook
• Provide training on compliance areas
• Provide expert-level coaching and guidance to HR Business Partners and managers in managing employee performance and engagement challenges.
• Partner with Training & Development to create and deliver training programs for leaders on ER topics, conflict resolution, and compliance.
• Lead cross-functional ER initiatives aligned with culture, engagement, and organizational values.
• Collaborate with program and regional leaders to gather audit-related data and ensure compliance with internal policies, employment laws, and grant or contract requirements.
• Prepare reports for leadership, the board of directors, and external stakeholders as appropriate
• Other duties as needed

Minimum Qualifications:

Education/Experience/Training

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources or related field. A Master’s degree is preferred.
• HRCI or SHRM certified preferred
• Data-driven & analytical
• 8+ years of overall business experience including HR and operations management (minimum of 4 – 8 years HR experience required; non-profit experience preferred)
• Demonstrated experience in employee relations within an academic or unionized educational environment is preferred.
• Experience with BambooHR, Paycom, or similar HRIS operations

SKILLS/ABILITIES

• In-depth knowledge of human resources and government contractor standards and regulations
• Management experience of a team in a manner that cultivates and sustains a strong team-oriented culture, with an emphasis on results and accountability
• Experience working and managing multi-state operations
• Experience designing and implementing new business capabilities
• Engagement in strategic planning activities; ability to modify strategies in response to dynamic operating conditions in which economic, political, and cultural realities are changing constantly
• Change leadership capability to lead the organization through culture changes and processes.
• Strong consulting, influencing, and coaching skills, and an ability to build trust and relate to people at all levels
• Proven track record of building and maintaining highly engaged, high-performing teams
• Highly ethical with strong decision-making skills and judgment to drive the right impact for Youth Guidance
• Serve as a strong champion of inclusion and diversity
• Proven ability to manage confidential and sensitive situations with professionalism and discretion.
• Strong consulting, influencing, and conflict resolution skills.
• Exceptional knowledge of employment law, workplace investigations, and best practices in Employee Relations.
• High analytical acumen and experience using data to drive strategic decisions.
• Strong organizational and project management skills; ability to manage competing priorities.
• Commitment to continuous improvement, DEIB, and fostering a positive workplace culture.

Essential Duties/Responsibilities:

• Plans, leads, coordinates, and implements policies, processes, training, initiatives, and surveys to support the organization’s human resource compliance and strategy needs.
• Manages the development and execution of HR programs encompassing disciplinary processes, employee disputes, internal investigations, and performance management.
• Design and lead the development of the Employee Relations strategy and dashboards to monitor trends in grievances, investigations, turnover, and engagement across departments and regions.
• Manage employee records policies and requests in partnership with the Chief Risk Officer & General Counsel, overseeing processes and conducting periodic audits to ensurelegal compliance
• Monitors and ensures the organization’s compliance with federal, state, and local employment laws and regulations, and recommends best practices; reviews and modifies policies and practices to maintain compliance.
• Maintains knowledge of trends, best practices, regulatory changes, and new technologies in human resources, talent management, and employment laws; applies this knowledge to communicate changes in policy, practice, and resources to upper management.
• Manage and update the agency policies for employees, including annual review and updates to the employee handbook
• Provide training on compliance areas
• Provide expert-level coaching and guidance to HR Business Partners and managers in managing employee performance and engagement challenges.
• Partner with Training & Development to create and deliver training programs for leaders on ER topics, conflict resolution, and compliance.
• Lead cross-functional ER initiatives aligned with culture, engagement, and organizational values.
• Collaborate with program and regional leaders to gather audit-related data and ensure compliance with internal policies, employment laws, and grant or contract requirements.
• Prepare reports for leadership, the board of directors, and external stakeholders as appropriate
• Other duties as neede