Job Description

At Gilead we believe every employee deserves a great leader. As a people leader now or in the future, we expect that you will model and create an environment of inclusion, be intentionally focused on the hiring, development, growth and retention of talent, and empower teams to align and achieve goals.

Job Description

Gilead Sciences, Inc. is a global research-based biopharmaceutical company founded in 1987 and headquartered in Foster City, California. Together we deliver life-saving therapies to patients in need. With the commitment and drive you bring to the workplace every day, you will be part of a team that is changing the world and helping millions of people live healthier, more fulfilling lives. Our worldwide staff is a close community where you can see the tangible results of your contributions, where every individual matters, and everyone has a chance to enhance their skills through ongoing development. Our scientific focus has resulted in marketed products that are benefiting hundreds of thousands of people, a pipeline of late-stage drug candidates, and unmatched patient access programs to ensure medications are available to those who could otherwise not afford them. By joining Gilead, you will further our mission to address unmet medical needs and improve life by advancing the care of patients with life-threatening diseases.

About the Role

Gilead HR is undergoing an exciting period of transformation. Work is underway to modernize our employee experience, streamline our existing processes, and align our service delivery on a global scale while retaining the ability to provide personalized support during the moments that matter to employees. This is an exceptional opportunity to partner with HR leadership to shape and influence how we provide Employee Relations (ER) support to US employees and drive excellence and innovation in HR.  
ER is a global center of excellence in the HR Strategy & Operations organization.  Our vision is to ensure all employees are treated fairly and with respect and we do this by helping the organization navigate complex people issues in a way that is fair, consistent, and compliant.  Reporting to the Global Head of Employee Relations, the Head of US Employee Relations will manage and lead a team of US ER Partners, while also serving as an ER Partner with an assigned coverage area of their own (albeit a smaller one).  The role will include both people leadership and individual contributor responsibilities, with a focus on leading the team through a period of transformation as we continue to evolve the HR operating model.  The team and role are based in Foster City, California, where the company is headquartered.   
In the US, ER Partners are responsible for providing core ER support to assigned business functions.  They review and approve the basis of all company-initiated separations and support the processes that often lead to them, e.g. by conducting internal investigations and managing the disciplinary process, providing late stage performance improvement support, supporting reorganizations and redundancies, and reviewing and approving severance eligibility.  They also partner with HR and business leaders to use data to share insights and trends, deliver relevant training as needed, support strategic initiatives and special projects, and update, maintain, and interpret ER policies and related knowledge articles.  ER Partners are complimented by specialized Accommodations and Investigations sub-teams, which will continue reporting to the Global Head of ER.

Essential Functions

Management & Leadership

Partners with the Global Head of ER to develop a multi-year strategic plan to improve the speed, quality, and value of the support ER provides, identify the strategic priorities necessary to achieve it, and ensure that those priorities are successfully executed.

Partners with US ER Partners to build, scale, stabilize and mature ER’s core service catalog, including but not limited to, prioritizing efforts to improve internal processes, develop knowledge articles and training, leverage data and metrics to make better informed decisions, and enhance the employee experience.  

Leads HR strategic initiatives and special projects, such as complex reorgs or restructurings, M&A activity, and one-time initiatives like return to site plans.  Partners effectively to create project, change, and communication plans.

Manages, leads, and supports the professional development of a team of US ER Partners, providing direction, guidance, and support as needed.

Sets expectations and goals and provides support and guidance where necessary to the team achieve them.  Delegates appropriately and holds team members accountable.  Manages the team’s workload and priorities and determines the team’s organizational structure. 

Determines and adjusts ER coverage assignments, focus areas, and process/program leadership as needed.   

Guides team members through complex or sensitive situations when needed. 

Supports the team’s professional development, including working with team members to set development goals and action plans to help achieve them and providing guidance and coaching as appropriate. 

Conducts ongoing analysis of ER data to identify trends and develop insights to be shared with HR and business leaders.  Leverages data to inform targeted, proactive efforts to reduce the number of ER issues in the first place.   

Knowledge & Judgment

Provides subject matter expertise on a broad range of ER issues, including performance management, investigations, high risk disciplinary actions and terminations, re-organizations, complex leaves of absence and disability accommodations issues, and HR policies and practices, among others.

Consistently exercises sound judgment and earns the trust and confidence of key internal clients and stakeholders when advising HR and business leaders on ER matters. 

Simplifies complexity by considering multiple factors and providing clear recommendations that are attuned to, and understood by, a particular audience.

Confident and comfortable navigating ambiguity and confronting adaptive challenges through an open-minded, creative, and inquiry based approach.  Develop solutions to problems of unusual complexity which require a high degree of ingenuity, creativity, and innovativeness.  Challenges are frequently unique and solutions may serve as precedent for future decisions which affect the entire organization.

Provides guidance to HR Business Partners, Business Managers and Senior Management on managing Gilead's employment risk. 

Responds to and investigates complaints involving complex employment matters under guidance and supervision from senior ER leadership and Legal. Assists in the preparation of investigation summaries which includes factual findings and conclusions.

Advises on business change including acquisitions/people integration, restructurings and reorganizations.

Teamwork

Works continuously under consultative direction toward long-range goals and objectives that have a significant impact on the organization.

Assignments are often self-initiated.  With no direct supervision.

Understands the roles and responsibilities of, and collaborate well with, teams across functions, departments, and geographies.  Triage and redirect issues to the appropriate team.

Conducts regular meetings with key stakeholders in HR and the business.  Drives alignment by seeking input from cross-functional clients and exercising persuasion and influence where appropriate.

Builds and maintains strong relationships with other members of the HR team, the Legal team, and other internal clients.

Qualifications

Bachelor's degree required.  Advanced degree desired and can be substituted for 2 years of experience.  PHR/SPHR a plus.

Minimum of 14 years of relevant work experience with 3 years directly managing complex employee relations issues, preferably in a global biopharma company within a centralized ER model.

Previous HR Business Partner, ER Partner, employment law experience a plus.

Relevant people management experience required.

Excellent verbal and written communication and presentation skills, including strong PowerPoint skills.

Proficient with ER case management systems and comfortable exporting, interpreting, and summarizing relevant data for relevant audiences (e.g. HR leaders, business leaders, employees at large).  Experience using ServiceNow or equivalent case management system a plus. 

Comfortable solving novel or adaptive challenges.

Ability to operationalize, designing and map ER processes required.

Broad knowledge of HR principles, practices, and procedures in the US and California.

Requires solid working knowledge and understanding of Human Resources legislation / employment law, principles, policies, and procedures.

Ability to exercise good judgment and provide strategic advice.

Must have demonstrable experience in changing work environments and the effects associated in the HR area.

Ability to effectively interact with employees at all levels of the Company and manage internal stakeholders.

Excellent teamwork and interpersonal communication skills are required.

Must possess solid interpersonal and influencing skills.

Work is performed without appreciable direction. Exercises some latitude in determining objectives and approaches to assignment.

Ability to bring insight into the team / business in a multi-cultural and multi-location environment.

Ability to manage a high volume of work.  

Able to make quick, sound decisions based on knowledge and judgment.

Resilient and adept at managing priorities and creating clarity for others.