Senior Employee Relations Specialist

POSITION OVERVIEW:

The Senior Employee Relations Specialist strengthens organizational effectiveness by resolving complex workplace matters, advising leaders, and ensuring fair, consistent employment practices across Empower Pharmacy. Operating in a hyper-growth, highly regulated 503A/503B environment, this role owns sensitive investigations, employee relations case management, leave administration, and accommodation processes while balancing business needs, employee experience, and legal compliance. The specialist translates employment regulations and company policies into practical guidance, strengthens leadership accountability, and identifies patterns that inform preventive action. Success requires strategic thinking, disciplined execution, sound judgment, discretion, and the agility to navigate evolving business priorities. Through effective cross-functional partnerships, accurate documentation, and proactive risk identification, this role supports operational continuity, reinforces a respectful workplace, and enables leaders to make timely, defensible decisions that sustain organizational performance and employee trust.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:

Employee Relations and Investigations

• Complex Investigations: Lead sensitive workplace investigations involving misconduct, policy violations, interpersonal conflict, and employee complaints, ensuring timely fact-finding, objective analysis, thorough documentation, and defensible resolutions.
• Conflict Resolution: Resolve complex employee relations matters through structured interventions, balanced assessments, and practical recommendations that protect employee trust, reinforce accountability, and minimize organizational risk.
• Performance Guidance: Advise leaders on performance management, corrective actions, disciplinary decisions, and terminations, ensuring consistent application of policies, appropriate documentation, and compliance with applicable employment requirements.

Employment Compliance and Risk Management

• Regulatory Compliance: Interpret and apply federal and state employment requirements, including EEO, ADA, FMLA, and PWFA, to support compliant decisions and reduce employment-related exposure.
• Case Documentation: Maintain accurate, confidential records of investigations, corrective actions, accommodation requests, and employee relations cases, ensuring documentation supports consistent decisions and legal compliance.
• Risk Assessment: Identify emerging employee relations risks, evaluate policy application and workplace practices, and recommend corrective measures that strengthen organizational consistency and operational stability.

Leave Administration and Accommodations

• Leave Administration: Manage the full life cycle of employee leave requests, including FMLA, parental leave, and discretionary leave, coordinating timely determinations, communications, and documentation.
• Accommodation Management: Facilitate ADAAA interactive processes by evaluating medical documentation, assessing reasonable accommodation options, and partnering with stakeholders to identify compliant, practical solutions.
• Vendor Coordination: Partner with UNUM, employees, and business leaders to coordinate leave and accommodation cases, resolve administrative issues, and support accurate, timely case management.

Leadership Advisory and Organizational Effectiveness

• Leadership Coaching: Equip managers with practical approaches to employee concerns, difficult conversations, corrective action, and conflict management, strengthening leadership judgment and consistent workplace accountability.
• Training Delivery: Develop and facilitate employee relations training that improves manager capability, reinforces policy understanding, and enables proactive management of workplace concerns and performance issues.
• Change Support: Support organizational changes by anticipating employee relations implications, advising stakeholders on potential risks, and recommending communication approaches that promote clarity and employee trust.

Workplace Culture and Continuous Improvement

• Trend Analysis: Analyze employee relations cases, investigation outcomes, and recurring workplace concerns to identify actionable trends, recommend preventive interventions, and improve organizational decision-making.
• Process Improvement: Evaluate employee relations workflows, documentation standards, and policy application to identify inefficiencies, strengthen consistency, and improve responsiveness without compromising confidentiality or compliance.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with HR leadership, managers, and business stakeholders to align employee relations practices with operational priorities, reinforce workplace standards, and support sustainable growth.

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS:

• Advanced knowledge of employment laws, including EEO, ADA, FMLA, PWFA, and applicable state requirements, with practical expertise in workplace compliance.
• Strong investigative capabilities, including interviewing, evidence evaluation, objective documentation, conflict resolution, and sound judgment when handling sensitive employee matters.
• Proven ability to influence and coach leaders, communicate difficult decisions, and balance employee advocacy with business requirements and organizational risk.
• Proficiency in employee relations case management, leave administration, accommodation processes, trend analysis, and continuous improvement of HR policies and practices.

EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS: 

• Minimum seven years of progressive experience in employee relations, human resources, or related functions, including complex workplace investigations and conflict resolution. Required.
• Bachelor's degree in human resources, business administration, or a related field; equivalent combinations of education and relevant practical experience considered. Preferred.
• Demonstrated experience advising managers and senior leaders on employee performance, corrective actions, policy interpretation, and sensitive employment decisions. Required.
• Practical knowledge of federal and state employment regulations, including experience managing leave requests, disability accommodations, and confidential employee relations documentation. Required.
• Professional HR certification such as PHR, SPHR, SHRM-CP, or SHRM-SCP, with experience supporting employee relations in a growing organization. Preferred.