Senior Manager, Employee Relations (m/w/d)

Job Description

As a leader in advancing New York's energy transition, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) has remained a credible, objective and trusted partner in our State's energy planning as well as deploying new and innovative technologies to expand New York's economy. NYSERDA has worked for the past 50 years to protect the environment and help New Yorkers increase energy efficiency, lower energy costs and reduce reliance on fossil fuels. NYSERDA engages with stakeholders including residents, business owners, developers, community leaders, local government officials, universities, utilities, investors, entrepreneurs, and more, to develop, invest, and foster conditions that:

• Attract the private sector capital investment needed to expand New York's clean energy economy.
• Overcome barriers to using clean energy at a large-scale in New York.
• Enable New York's communities and residents to benefit equitably in the clean energy transition.

Job Overview

The Sr. Employee Relations Manager, reporting to the Director of People Governance and Leadership Development, serves as a trusted advisor to managers and employees, and supports the stewardship of NYSERDA's People practices. This role is responsible for leading employee relations policy, programs, practices, and case management to promote a fair, respectful and compliant workplace. This role partners closely with leaders, People Team Members, Legal, DEI and other stakeholders to address workplace concerns, support performance and conduct processes, manage investigations, interpret policy, and reduce organizational risk while maintaining a positive employee experience. The selected candidate will further play a key role in fostering a positive and productive workplace by ensuring our processes align with state and federal labor laws and NYSERDA policies.

Success in this role requires the ability to navigate effectively within a mission-driven public organization while providing business-driven employee relations practices. The ideal candidate demonstrates strong ownership and a proactive approach, identifying and addressing employee relations issues early and implementing preventative strategies to promote a healthy and productive work environment. This position requires strong judgement, confidentiality, exceptional, people-forward communication skills, and the ability to balance employee support with business and compliance needs.

This role is preferred to be based out of NYSERDA's Albany, NY office with travel up to 30 percent to NYC and other NYSERDA locations. Consideration for NYSERDA's NYC office as the primary location may be provided for exceptionally qualified candidates.

Primary Responsibilities

Manage a portfolio of employee relations matters, including but not limited to:

• Performance concerns
• Conduct and behavior issues
• Workplace conflict
• Policy violations
• Harassment/discrimination complaints
• Attendance concerns
• Discipline and termination support
• Employee grievances

Investigations:

• Conduct workplace investigations (e.g.,) misconduct, harassment, discrimination, policy, violations, retaliation)
• Plan and execute investigations, including intake, witness interviews, evidence review, findings, and recommendations
• Prepare investigation summaries, reports, and leadership briefings as needed, balancing compliance, consistency and NYSERDA values
• Partner with Legal and/or external investigators when required for complex or sensitive matters
• Manage cases, related data, documentation and reporting in the Case Management system

Performance Management and Correction Action Support:

• Guide managers and People Partners on performance improvement processes, coaching documentation, written warning and other corrective actions
• Partner with managers to resolve conflicts, mediate disputes, and recommend corrective actions when necessary
• Support consistency and quality in performance management practices across teams
• Provide practical guidance on documentation standards, timelines, and communication approaches
• Lead termination planning and execution, including risk review and coordination with relevant stakeholders
• Draft responses to employee grievances

Policy Interpretation and Administration:

• Interpret and apply company policies, procedures and workplace standards in a consistent and equitable manner
• Identify policy gaps, trends, or recurring issues and recommend updates
• Support policy development, rollout, and manager/employee communication (Employee Handbook, related policies and guidance documents)
• Ensure alignment with employment laws, internal governance standards, and organizational values

Manager Coaching and Stakeholder Partnership:

• Serve as a trusted advisor to leaders and managers on employee relations matters, difficult conversations and workplace dynamics
• Coach leaders on de-escalation, documentation, communication and conflict resolution
• Partner closely with People Partners, Talent Acquisition and People Operations as Needed.
• Build strong working relationships with Legal, DEI, L&D and other internal and external partners

Compliance and Risk Management:

• Monitor federal, state, and local employment laws and regulations and ensure that policies and employee relations practices are compliant
• Monitor emerging risks and partner with Legal and the People Team on mitigation strategies
• Support responses to agency charges, claims, audits, or internal reviews by gathering documentation and coordinating case materials
• Maintain confidentiality and handle sensitive matters with professionalism and discretion

Reporting, Trends, and Continuous Improvement:

• Track and analyze employee relations case trends, root causes, organization patterns and corrective actions
• Develop ER dashboards and metrics (case volume, case types, time to resolution, repeat issues, business unit trends)
• Identify opportunities to improve processes, manager capability, policy clarity, training and employee experience
• Contribute to training and prevention efforts to reduce recurring Employee Relations issues
• Develop reports and presentations for the leadership team

Design and delivery of training for managers and employees (in partnership with L&D Team) on topics such as:

• Respectful workplace expectations
• Performance documentation
• Conflict resolution
• Anti-harassment/anti-discrimination
• Policy awareness
• Manager Escalation protocols
• Promote proactive practices that strengthen workplace culture and reduce risk

Other:

• Manage and oversee staff resources reporting to this role.
• Perform all managerial and supervisory responsibilities with respect, fairness, consistency, and inclusion across the workforce
• Provide additional generalized support across People Governance & Leadership Development as needed

Minimum Qualifications

• Sr. Employee Relations Manager (Salary range: $115,283-$145,682)
• Bachelor's Degree with a focus on Human Resources or related disciplines and at least 7 years of experience in a role primarily focused on employee relations, including independent management of complex workplace investigations and policy interpretations.
• Experience working in HR Information Systems (ADP, Workforce, Paychex, Paylocity etc.)
• Demonstrated experience conducting workplace investigations end-to-end (intake, scoping, interview strategy, evidence review, credibility assessment, findings, report writing, recommendations)
• Proven track record applying progressive discipline and advising leaders through high-risk decisions (suspension, last chance warnings, termination) with documentation that withstands scrutiny.
• Hands-on ownership of policy administration (drafting, interpreting, updating, training, rollout and change management).
• Experience supporting performance management escalations (PIPs and above), including ensuring procedural fairness and consistency.
• Ability to write clear, defensible investigation reports and leadership-ready case summaries (facts, analysis, findings, rationale, recommended action).
• Proficiency using HRIS/case management tools to maintain case logs, evidence, outcomes, and trend reporting with disciplined records management.
• Strong written, verbal and presentation skills with ability to build trust and credibility across the organization.
• Ability to navigate successfully through difficult conversations.
• High level of discretion and sensitivity in handling confidential information.
• Ability to build effective relationships across departments.
• Exceptional working knowledge of employment laws, labor relations, and HR best practices.
• Working knowledge in conducting moderate to severe workplace investigations.
• Ability to analyze data and trends to drive decisions and recommend solutions.
• Strong organizational and time management skills; able to handle multiple priorities effectively.

Preferred Qualifications

• Sr. Employee Relations Manager (Salary range: $115,283-$145,682)

• Master's Degree with a focus on Human Resources or related disciplines and at least 5 years of Employee Relations experience and 2 years in a supervisory capacity.

• PHR, SPHR, SHRM-CP, SHRM-SCP or specific workplace investigation training/certification a plus.

• Advanced skill in investigation methodology; trauma informed interviewing, neutrality, due process confidentiality boundaries, and anti-retaliation controls.

• Comfort delivering unpopular recommendations when warranted, with logic, evidence and fairness.

• Strong cross-functional partnership skills with Legal, Compliance/Ethics, Facilities, People Operations, and DEI, with clear boundaries and decision rights.

• Employee Relations experience in a government or government adjacent environment with a workforce consisting primarily of Engineers, Scientists, Program and Project Managers.

• Related certifications.

Please submit two files, one for your cover letter and another for a resume.

Please note that during the application process, you may be prompted to opt-in to Artificial Intelligence ("AI") scoring. This is an automatic request in the ADP system but is not a feature that is used by NYSERDA in its recruiting and hiring process. Your response will have no impact on your application to NYSERDA.

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