Senior Employee Relations Partner

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 the following programs:

• Medicaid State of Texas Access Reform (STAR) program for low‑income children and pregnant women
• Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for the children of low‑income parents, which includes 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 that includes preventive care, emergency services, prescription drugs, and hospitalization available to all, regardless of pre‑existing conditions.
• Community Health Choice (HMO D‑SNP), a Medicare Advantage Dual Special Needs Plan for people with both Medicare and Medicaid that combines Medicare Part A and Part B benefits, Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage, and Medicaid benefits with additional health benefits like dental, vision, transportation, and more.

Improving members’ experiences is at the heart of every Community position. We strive every day to make sure that our members have access to the high‑quality health care they need and deserve.

Community is accredited by URAC for its health plan operations. We offer care management programs for asthma, diabetes, and high‑risk pregnancy. An affiliate of the Harris Health System (Harris Health), Community is financially self‑sufficient and receives no financial support from Harris Health or from Harris County taxpayers.

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 Sr. Employee Relations Partner provides advanced employee relations consultation and collaborates cross‑functionally with Legal, Compliance and Human Resources Centers of Excellence (COE) including Human Resources Business Partners (HRBP), Talent Acquisition (TA), 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 and elevate executive concerns; write comprehensive, legally defensible investigative reports; partner with Compliance and Legal on legally significant cases; assess patterns of behavior and identify systemic risk areas needing organizational intervention.
• 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 team members on investigation techniques, case guidance, report writing, documentation standards and communication strategies; serve as an escalation point for legal guidance; conduct training and onboarding of new staff; support quality assurance standards; participate in HR annual policy review.
• Organizational Impact & Culture Reinforcement – Promote a culture of professionalism, accountability, equity, and psychological safety; drive consistency and alignment across departments; coach and train leaders on performance management, difficult conversations, and building high‑performing teams; educate new leaders during orientation; assist leaders on retention, skill readiness, and succession planning; provide recommendations to reduce Employee Relations escalations and strengthen leader capability enterprise‑wide.
• Data, Trend Analysis & Reporting – Analyze complex data sets to identify trends, root causes, and emerging risks; present findings and recommendations to HR leadership and senior leaders; track 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 HR organisational priorities; contribute to departmental goals and process improvement plans.

Reports to: Manager, Employee Relations

Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Public Administration, Psychology or a related field required.
• Preferred: Master’s degree in Human Resources, Business, or Organizational Development or related field.
• Certification: SHRMP‑CP or SCP or HRCI‑PHR or SPHR preferred.
• Experience: 6 years in Employee Relations or equivalent required; experience in direct responsibility for complex, high‑risk investigations, performance management and compliance advisory; experience delivering training to leaders on Employee Relations principles.
• Software Proficiency: High proficiency with HR Information Systems and Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook) required; advanced MS Office skills preferred.
• Strategic Influence & Leadership Impact – confident consultation with Directors, VPs and Executive leaders; sound recommendation in high‑pressure 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.
• Complex consultation skills – capacity to seek information and work effectively with all levels of employees.
• Complex knowledge and exposure – Employee Relations, internal investigations, conflict resolution, grievance handling.
• Expertise in Title VII, ADA, ADEA, FMLA, and other employment laws.
• Volume handling – ability to manage a high volume of Employee Relations cases.
• Relationship building – ability to build strong working relationships across all levels of the organization.
• Planning & time management – excellent planning, organization, time‑management, attention to detail and ability to work in a fast‑paced environment.
• Knowledge of employment law – applies legal reasoning without overstepping into attorney functions.

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