Senior Employee Relations Partner

Job Number: , Job Title: Senior Employee Relations Partner, Salary: $92,800.00 - $116,000.00

Community Health Choice, Inc. (Community) is a non‑profit managed care organization (MCO), licensed by the Texas Department of Insurance. Through its network of more than 10,000 providers and 94 hospitals, Community serves over 400,000 members with programs such as Medicaid State of Texas Access Reform (STAR) for low‑income children and pregnant women, Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) including CHIP Perinatal benefits for unborn children of pregnant women who do not qualify for Medicaid STAR, Health Insurance Marketplace Plans that offer individual health coverage, and Community Health Choice (HMO D‑SNP), a Medicare Advantage Dual Special Needs plan. Community is accredited by URAC and offers care management programs for asthma, diabetes, and high‑risk pregnancy.

Job Summary

The Sr. Employee Relations Partner serves as a trusted senior advisor and strategic partner to leadership and employees on matters related to workplace culture, performance, compliance, and risk mitigation. The role provides advanced employee relations consultation and collaborates cross‑functionally with Legal, Compliance, and Human Resources Centers of Excellence, including Human Resources Business Partners, Talent Acquisition, Total Rewards, and Employee Learning & Experience to promote an equitable, compliant, and high‑performing work environment.

The Sr. Employee Relations Partner independently conducts complex, high‑risk investigations, provides strategic consultation to senior leadership, influences organizational culture through Employee Relations insights, and mentors Employee Relations team members. This role handles the most legally sensitive cases, including director‑level and above issues and discrimination, harassment, retaliation, workplace misconduct investigations.

Job Specifications and Core Competencies

• Complex, High‑Risk Investigations & Legal Defensibility : Independently lead complex investigations involving allegations of discrimination, harassment, retaliation, hostile work environment, leadership misconduct, ethics violations, and policy breaches; serve as employee relations primary investigator for senior leadership; write comprehensive, legally defensible investigative reports; partner with Compliance and Legal on legally significant cases; assess patterns of behavior and identify systemic risk areas.
• Strategic Consultation : Serve as a subject matter expert for senior leaders on performance, culture, behavior, conflict resolution, and corrective action strategy; identify organizational risks and recommend preventative measures; provide strategic input into organizational culture, psychological safety, team climate, and leadership accountability trends; coach and train leaders through complex and high‑risk employee relations matters; influence leaders to adopt best practices in communication, documentation, and decision‑making.
• Mentoring, Quality Assurance & Capability Building : Review investigative work of Employee Relations team members to ensure quality, neutrality, completeness, and compliance; coach and train staff on investigation techniques, case guidance, report writing, documentation standards and communication strategies; serve as an escalation point for technical or legal guidance; conduct training and onboarding of new Employee Relations staff; support quality assurance standards and participate in Human Resources annual policy review.
• Organizational Impact & Culture Reinforcement : Promote a culture of professionalism, accountability, equity, and psychological safety; drive consistency and alignment across departments to ensure equitable treatment and fair application of policy; coach and train leaders on performance management, difficult conversations, and building high‑performing teams; responsible for educating new leaders during New Leadership Orientation and serve as backup for educating new hires during New Employment Orientation on employee relations matters; partner with HR Business Partners and Employee Learning & Experience to assist leaders on retention, skill readiness, and succession planning; provide progressive recommendations to reduce employee relations escalations and strengthen leader capability enterprise‑wide.
• Data, Trend Analysis & Reporting : Analyze complex data sets to identify employee relations trends, root causes, and emerging risks across business units; assist with presenting findings and recommendations to Human Resources leadership and senior leadership; assist with tracking Employee Relations KPIs: investigation timeliness, corrective action patterns, turnover drivers, repeat case trends and leadership escalations.
• Other Duties as Assigned : Support cross‑functional projects, department initiatives, and Human Resources led organizational priorities; actively contribute to achievement of departmental goals, including specific departmental process improvement plans.

Qualifications

• Education / Specialized Training / Licensure : Bachelor’s degree in human resources, Public Administration, Psychology or a related field required. Master’s degree in human resources, Business, Organizational Development or related field preferred.
• Certification : SHRMP‑CP or SCP or HRCI‑PHR or SPHR preferred.
• Work Experience : 6 years in an Employee Relations role or equivalent required. Equivalent HR roles include investigator, HR Generalist, HR Specialist, HR Business Partner or People Partner roles that involve advising leaders and supporting employee relations or workforce matters. Experience with direct responsibility in handling complex, high‑risk investigations, performance management, and compliance advisory required. Experience delivering training to leaders on employee relations principles, policies, and best practices required.
• Software Proficiencies : High proficiency with HR Information systems and Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook) and HRIS software required. Advanced MS Office skills preferred.
• Strategic Influence & Leadership Impact : Confidently consults with Directors, VPs and Executive leaders; makes sound recommendations in high‑pressure and ambiguous situations; strong emotional intelligence and diplomacy.
• Advanced Investigative Expertise : Mastery of witness interviewing techniques; ability to analyze conflicting evidence; skilled in legal‑style documentation; expert in neutrality, due process, and fairness.
• Consultation & Communication Skills : Complex consultation skills and ability to seek out information and work effectively with all levels of employees. Complex knowledge and exposure of employee relations, internal investigations, conflict resolution, grievance handling, and related matters.
• Legal Knowledge : Expert‑level knowledge of Title VII, ADAA, FMLA, ADEA, federal, state and local laws governing employment policies and practices.
• Operational Skills : Ability to manage a high volume of Employee Relations cases; build strong working relationships across all levels of the organization; excellent planning, organization and time management skills, attention to detail; ability to handle multiple tasks in a fast‑paced, time‑sensitive environment.
• Employment Law Knowledge : Demonstrated knowledge of employment law, applies legal reasoning without overstepping into attorney functions.

Reports to Position Title: Manager, Employee Relations

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