Manager-Colleague &Labor Relations

This job is with American Express, an inclusive employer and a member of myGwork – the largest global platform for the LGBTQ+ business community. At American Express, our culture is built on a 175-year history of innovation, shared values and Leadership Behaviors, and an unwavering commitment to back our customers, communities, and colleagues. As part of Team Amex, you will experience this powerful backing with comprehensive support for your holistic well-being and many opportunities to learn new skills, develop as a leader, and grow your career. Here, your voice and ideas matter, your work makes an impact, and together, you will help us define the future of American Express.

The Colleague & Labour Relations Manager for the UK, Jersey Ireland is an exciting and challenging role that will allow the successful candidate to utilise their CLR expertise to drive a strategic agenda for the organisation. This includes developing and implementing CLR strategies, driving a fair and consistent colleague experience, supporting the business in powering up their growth and minimising legal exposure, as well as identifying opportunities to leverage existing practices and processes to ensure a fair and consistent approach. The CLR Manager has leadership responsibility for three of six CLR Specialists and will partner closely with the broader Colleague Experience Group (HR team). The ideal candidate is an experienced CLR Manager or Employment Law professional with a proven track record in their field with superior UK CLR knowledge and expertise. This role will report in to the Director of Colleague & Labour Relations, UK & Ireland and will be one of two managers on the team.

Key responsibilities:

• Partner with the CLR Director and CLR Manager to define and deliver the Colleague and Labour Relations strategy by driving a proactive data-driven approach, introducing innovative ways of working to unlock enterprise value and ensuring a great colleague experience during the whole colleague lifecycle.
• Provide comprehensive expert CLR advice to business leaders and CEG partners and develop and maintain strong relationships with market business leaders, Colleague Experience Group and other key stakeholders.
• Lead with an external perspective, interpret and analyse changes in Employment Law and conduct external benchmarking to review CLR trends, assess impact and develop proactive strategic CLR solutions to provide a best-in-class service.
• Oversight for all UK Reengineering, partnering with Colleague Strategic Partners and Business leaders.
• Manage and coordinate the CLR impact of complex business transfers and/or transactions ensuring full compliance with TUPE regulations where appropriate.
• Focus on continuous improvement, innovation, agility, and enterprise design, continuing to work on automation and digitization of processes where appropriate.
• Work in partnership with relevant stakeholders to effectively implement strategic initiatives/projects, where there is a CLR impact, ensuring full compliance with local laws and regulations.
• Build and leverage relationships with key stakeholders, ensuring a collaborative working style and bringing others with you.
• Use data-driven insights to understand the colleague experience and inform effective prioritization and decision-making.
• The role will have direct line management responsibilities for the CLR Specialists shared with the other CLR Manager. This will include providing thought leadership and ongoing coaching to the team of CLR Specialists on matters of Employment Law and its application with a focus on developing their technical know-how.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Excellent knowledge of UK Employment Legislation.
• A track record of success within a highly matrixed multi-national environment.
• Proven expertise in managing all elements of the CLR experience including employee relations and collective bargaining, performance & absence management, conduct management, investigations, grievance procedures, tribunals and re-engineering.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to influence and manage multiple stakeholders.
• Experience of people leadership or coaching.
• Ability to focus both on detail and broader implications of issues.
• Commercial awareness of the business issues facing the organisation and the ability to deal with problems in a practical and common sense way, including looking at matters holistically and proactively and finding smarter ways of working.

We back you with benefits that support your holistic well-being so you can be and deliver your best. This means caring for you and your loved ones' physical, financial, and mental health, as well as providing the flexibility you need to thrive personally and professionally:

• Competitive base salaries
• Bonus incentives
• Support for financial well-being and retirement
• Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, life insurance, and disability benefits (depending on location)
• Flexible working model with hybrid, onsite or virtual arrangements depending on role and business need
• Generous paid parental leave policies (depending on your location)
• Free access to global on-site wellness centers staffed with nurses and doctors (depending on location)
• Free and confidential counseling support through our Healthy Minds program
• Career development and training opportunities

Offer of employment with American Express is conditioned upon the successful completion of a background verification check, subject to applicable laws and regulations.