Job Description

Role Summary

The Director, Employee Support & Investigations, will build and lead a team that navigates complex and sensitive employee matters, conducts investigations, and manages workplace conflict. This team will work in close partnership with the HR Business Partner team, the Compliance team and the Legal team. We are looking for a Director with deep experience in building and leading teams, influencing and impacting cross divisional processes, collaborating and building trusty quickly, and leading with empathy, compassion and creativity to drive the right solutions. This senior leadership role directs human resources and employee relations activities for Alaska Airlines. This role executes strategy and sustainable processes to advance our employee relations and investigations processes. The leaders will coach, guide, and manage a team that conducts high-risk or highly sensitive investigations.

Key Duties

Provide leadership vision, strategy and direction in the management and development of the Employee Relations team supporting investigations and employee relations issues.

Develop and implement various policies, processes and programs including investigations, policy interpretation and sensitive work-related issues.

Collaborate closely with the HR Business Partner team to look systemically at issues and to develop approaches to problem solving. Highlights trends and uses data to strategize on how to best resolve highly sensitive and complex issues.

Partner with the legal and compliance departments to effectively support investigative processes of employee complaints and resolve conflicts, compliance, and sensitive work-related issues.

Leverage insights to influence all levels of the organization, coaching the team and effectively handling complex employee situations that could have high organizational impact.

Partner with internal and external counsel to prepare for and, when necessary, attend mediations, arbitrations, depositions, and other court proceedings.

Mentor, develop, and coach the employee relations teams on handling complex and sensitive workplace matters, managing conflict, and providing remedies to help prevent employee relations issues and to mitigate risk.

Ensure fair and equitable practices are developed and applied to all employee relations situations.

Utilize consulting and strong active listening skills on what is said and unsaid to effectively work with employees.

Excellent judgment and follow-up.

Job-Specific Experience, Education & Skills

Bachelor’s degree, preferably in human resources, business administration, or other related field or an additional two years of relevant training/experience in lieu of this degree.

A minimum of 8 years of relevant HR & Employee Relations experience.

A minimum of 5 years of hands-on leadership experience, including leading large groups of employees and leading multiple functions simultaneously in a fast-paced, customer-focused environment.

Deep experience designing and managing complex processes and projects.

Ability to partner with HR, legal, and compliance teams to effectively manage all types of employee relations cases.

Excellent leadership capability to design, influence and implement change.

Excellent coaching, facilitation, and conflict resolution skills, including stellar communication, collaboration, and project management.

Excellent strategy, organizational, interpersonal, leadership and customer service skills.

Ability and willingness to travel for business, often on short notice.

Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications (e.g., Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook).

High school diploma or equivalent.

Minimum age of 18.

Must be authorized to work in the U.S.

Job-Specific Leadership Expectations

Embody our values to own safety, do the right thing, be kind-hearted, deliver performance, and be remarkable.

High energy, positive and executive-level presence along with positive with top-notch written and verbal communication, public speaking, influence and motivational skills.

Innovative, apolitical, resilient, fact-based and creative solutions-focused mindset, with ability to thrive in a rapidly-changing, collaborative environment and to manage conflict.

Proven ability to leverage business acumen and analytic capability to position the HR organization as change agent and key business partner.