Employee Relations Lead, EEMEA - Midrand at MSD

Job Description

EEMEA Employee Relations Partner creates value through trusted partnership, by finding solutions that consider the experience of our employees and the interests of our Company. This position is responsible for coaching and training leaders and HR Business Partners to create a Safe to Speak up culture, operating on a balanced, neutral perspective to support successful navigation through challenging moments, which will contribute to the positive reputation of our Company.

This position will be responsible for investigating cases that are channeled through Human Resources. Position’s responsibilities will include intake, case planning, interviews, data review, documentation, and making recommendations regarding corrective actions regarding remediation or & escalation.

Main non-limiting responsibilities:

• Manage, conduct, and complete and track investigations in EEMEA. Act as investigator or as a point of escalation for complex complaints including but not limited to those involving allegations of discrimination, harassment, hostile work environment, retaliation, and other potential violations of company policy and labor/employment law and serve as a point of handoff/escalation from internal partners.
• Provide thought leadership to business leaders and the HR organization, engaging internal and external partners and stakeholders to drive business initiatives to conclusion when needed.
• Promote a culture of Speak up that can generate psychological safety for employees by demonstrating that verified cases of misconduct will be acted upon and the belief that unethical behavior is not tolerated.
• Partner with Legal, Compliance and HR to ensure we have the appropriate processes, systems and tools to support the safe to speak up culture in EEMEA.
• Together with Compliance and Legal, reinforce Manager’s education in all these related matters. Train managers to encourage employees to speak out. Managers must visibly demonstrate actions taken for misconduct.
• Ensure managers are prepared to manage and escalate concerns by seeking transparency of messaging in verified cases of misconduct.
• Support HR Teams to build a culture of trust that permeates every level of the organization with a focus on the misconduct reporting process, so they feel more comfortable speaking up. Support HRBPs capabilities and education in Compliance. Draws insights and identifies opportunities from the day-to- day operation across populations at a site, country, and regional level. Provides quarterly ER Business Insights to EEMEA senior leadership.
• Ensure there are escalation paths for serious issues and send regular self-check reminders to help managers reinforce good behaviors.
• Partner with legal & compliance and the Office of Ethics to track cases, mitigate risk, minimize litigation, and propose action to continue reinforcing the safe to speak environment.
• Build transparency into systems and processes that support expression and provide a comfortable and conducive environment for reporting misconduct with the HR community.
• Understand local labor laws for correct application.
• Expand compliance risk registers and impact metrics for organizational risks and analyze data to continue provide improvement proposals, identifying areas where we have policy gaps, as well as influencing and advising on changes necessary to ensure local or regional policies are clear, relevant, an applicable.
• Demonstrate the expected behaviors beyond specific training, reinforcing more transparent investigation processes.
• Incorporate DE&I metrics along with tracking compliance metrics.

Qualifications & experience:

• Experience of conducting and managing investigations from intake to conclusion
• Familiarity with compliance guidelines and data protection legislation.
• Previous experience working with cross-functional teams (not mandatory).
• Proven ability to develop sustainable, cooperative professional relationships at all levels of the organization.
• Demonstrated ability to leverage technology and data to generate insights as a foundation for diagnosis, recommendations, and decisions.
• Preferably knowledge and experience with all aspects of compliance including laws, regulations, procedures, policies and standard operating procedures, and knowledge of the guidelines.
• Preferably change management experience and understanding
• Language: must be fluent in English. Arabic and French good knowledge would be considered a plus.

Education & Experience

• Bachelor's Degree required.
• Minimum 5 years work experience in related areas (HR, Compliance, Legal, Business Practices and related fields etc.)

Skills & Behaviors

• Impactful verbal and written communication, and interpersonal skills
• High ethical standards, being a role model of compliance and business integrity.
• Pronounced diplomacy with great negotiating, mediation, and coaching skills; strong cultural awareness and ability to instill a mindset of compliance among all areas and stakeholders of the organization.
• Collaboration: ability to achieve collective goals and coordinate effectively to achieve them.
• Solutions to complex problems, creating order and simplicity from complex problems.
• Work plan development: ability to identify, group and sequence the tasks necessary to achieve a given goal and assign deadlines and responsibilities.
• Time Management and Prioritization: ability to identify urgent and important activities, prioritize them appropriately, and choose the most efficient way to complete them.
• Highly skilled at having difficult conversations, able to coach and use the creative mindset to help people see a situation differently.