Employee Relations Partner

At Google DeepMind, we value diversity of experience, knowledge, backgrounds and perspectives and harness these qualities to create extraordinary impact. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of sex, race, religion or belief, ethnic or national origin, disability, age, citizenship, marital, domestic or civil partnership status, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, or related condition (including breastfeeding) or any other basis as protected by applicable law. If you have a disability or additional need that requires accommodation, please do not hesitate to let us know.

 

Employee Relations (ER) uphold Google DeepMind (GDM) values with integrity to enable equitable outcomes. We are a forward-thinking team that relies on both our subject matter expertise and empathy to help make a better GDM by being there for our employees in the moments that matter most. We conduct thorough and timely investigations into allegations of violations of our policies and review and advise on other workplace concerns to ensure fair treatment for all. As a team, we apply an intersectional framework and consider how race, gender, other protected classes, power and privilege are at play at all times. We support the learning and development of each member of our team and provide both training and practical experience to support the cultivation of employee relations expertise. This is an exciting and varied specialist role which aims to make a real difference in handling issues at an individual and team level.

 

 

This role is embedded in our Employee Relations team, which sits within the wider People and Culture (P&C) team and reports to the US ER Lead based in Mountain View, CA. 

• Manage and / or partner on key People processes including investigations / disciplinary, grievances, performance management, complex absence management and restructures in accordance with policy and US employment law.
• Assess and document local best practices. Maintain storage and access of this information for internal users, and ensure that U.S. based investigations are thorough and include: understanding of the allegations, appropriate interviews, analysis and documentation, and recommendations for conclusion and course of action.
• Provide advice and counsel on general employee relations queries and issues.
• Review ER cases to identify root causes of issues and partner on recommendations to address these issues.
• Develop and provide training and guidance to P&C Partners and managers regarding employee relations issues, localizing existing training materials where applicable.
• Partner on large-scale change programmes, and being a point of contact for topics such as organizational restructures.
• Work in collaboration with wider P&C teams and our Diversity, Equity & Inclusion team on initiatives to enhance employee workplace experience.
• Help ensure our employee handbook, policies and code of conduct are up to date, legally compliant and reflect our culture and ways of working. 
• Identify and implement appropriate reporting mechanisms for employee relations cases, both informal and formal.
• Partner closely with Learning and P&C Partners to ensure managers are equipped to support People challenges in a fair and effective way, and to enable you to build strong relationships across the organization.

In order to set you up for success as an ER Partner at Google DeepMind,  we look for the following skills and experience: 

• You are driven by fairness, high quality delivery and standards, and care deeply about people.
• When handling people issues, you efficiently navigate legal, cultural and business risks and tensions.
• You look beyond the core investigation to identify opportunities to improve our working environment for employees.
• You are capable in conflict management and problem solving.
• You have varied experience across the breadth of topics including conduct investigations, employee grievances, absence management, performance and restructuring.
• You have change management experience.
• You hold a solid understanding of organizational culture. Different work environments pose different challenges for people, so too does the ever-changing nature of our organization as we grow, scale, and evolve.
• You proactively ensure your US Employment Law expertise is up-to-date.
• You take the learning opportunities after each case you support, you possess a continuous improvement approach.

• 5-7 years of experience in employee relations/investigations, gained in either an HRBP role, Employee Relations Advisory role, or equivalent experience as an employment attorney practicing employment law.
• Experience managing complex investigations, performance management and restructuring in ER or HR role
• Strong and practical knowledge of applying US employment law
• Excellent communication skills both verbal and written
• Ability to establish strong cross-functional relationships at all levels and geographies
• Project management skills
• Effective analytical and problem solving skills with ability to organize and analyze data.