AVP, Employee Relations

We have an exciting, newly created role for an Employee Relations specialist at AVP level in our London team. We will look to you to provide expert Employee Relations support across the International region, to partner closely with People Experience (PX), Legal, and business leaders in managing complex and sensitive employee matters. As part of the Employee Relations Centre of Excellence, you will help design and embed a new service delivery framework to support employees and managers on ER related topics, ensuring the fair, consistent, and compliant handling of workplace issues.

You will also play a key part in establishing clear standards, strengthening ER practices, and implementing a focused approach to employee relations strategy and risk management-related topics, ensuring the fair, consistent, and compliant handling of workplace issues.

Role Responsibilities

• Contribute to the development and implementation of the Enterprise Employee Relations (ER) framework by supporting governance standards and ensuring alignment with the broader PX strategy and regional employment regulations.
• Develop, maintain, and continuously improve ER standards, processes, and tools for Pacific Life Re, including templates and guidance for disciplinary actions, performance management processes, and involuntary separations, ensuring consistency with global ER practices.
• Independently lead complex workplace investigations and support higher risk matters (including harassment, discrimination, and regulatory or GDPR related concerns), partnering closely with HRBPs, Legal and People Experience Operations as required. This includes conducting interviews, gathering and assessing evidence, preparing investigation reports, and recommending appropriate outcomes or development actions.
• Provide expert ER advice and guidance to the Employee Relations Specialists within our Tiered PX Operations Model, HRBPs, Legal, and business leaders to proactively resolve issues, mitigate risk, and ensure fair, consistent handling of employee matters across regions.
• Provide oversight and guidance to our PX Operations Team, enabling high quality support for employee relations requests through our tiered support model and acting as a point of escalation, as required.
• Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of ER programs and processes across the International region, contributing to reporting and insights aligned to Global ER success measures (e.g., case trends, risk indicators, and external counsel usage).
• Act as a trusted subject matter expert in relevant business and PX discussions, offering insight on workplace trends, emerging risks, and complex employee matters to support informed decision making.
• Support the design and delivery of ER related training for managers and employees across the International region, ensuring alignment with global standards and curriculum.
• Monitor and respond to regional legal and regulatory developments in partnership with the Country PX Leads to ensure policies, guidelines, and employment practices remain compliant with local requirements. Liaise with the Global ER team to ensure alignment in approach where appropriate.
• Collaborate closely with the Global ER team to ensure International ER processes remain aligned with global standards, sharing regional insights and contributing to continuous improvement initiatives.

Skills & Experience

• Degree in Human Resources, Business, Psychology, Employment Law, or a related discipline.
• 10+ years’ experience in Employee Relations roles, with exposure to complex ER matters across multiple jurisdictions.
• Proven experience independently leading investigations and advising senior leaders on sensitive and high risk issues, with the ability to facilitate difficult conversations and resolve disputes effectively.
• Strong analytical and problem solving capability, with the ability to assess complex ER situations and recommend pragmatic, risk aware solutions.
• Excellent organisational and time management skills, with the ability to manage multiple ER cases and workstreams simultaneously.
• Experience contributing to the design, implementation, or evolution of ER governance frameworks.
• Deep knowledge of labour laws, regulatory requirements, and ER best practices across regions such as EMEA, APAC, and Canada (e.g., GDPR, whistleblower protections; familiarity with US frameworks such as FMLA/ADA is beneficial but not essential).
• Demonstrated ability to stay current on employment law developments and emerging ER trends.
• Experience working with HRIS platforms and ER or case management systems (e.g., Workday Help).

What makes you stand out:

• Advanced degree or formal qualification in HR or employment law.
• Experience operating in a highly matrixed, global HR function.
• Experience of enabling high-quality ER support within an HR Shared Services model.
• Certification (e.g., CIPD, SHRM, IHRP) with specialization in employee relations or workplace investigations.

Working For Pacific Life Re

Every person in our global team is valued for the unique qualities they bring to our business and we seek to build their expertise and support their individual ambitions at every step. Of course, we take our work seriously and we know our team can operate under great pressure. We work hard and thrive on achievement, but we also know how to have fun and relax too. We regularly host a range of team building days to strengthen our team's connection with each other and reflect on their successes. Providing employees with a healthy work-life balance is very important to our culture. We have a wide range of employee benefits and we host regular social activities and well being initiatives. We are also committed to supporting our employee's involvement in their communities, by actively fundraising, hosting charity events and overseeing volunteering opportunities.

Benefits (Only for Permanent and Fixed Term Employees)

• 25 days of annual leave with option to buy/sell more days
• Adoption and fertility leave
• Generous enhanced parental leave
• Comprehensive private insurance coverage for employee and dependents
• Group Life Insurance coverage of 9x basic annual salary and Group Income Protection up to 75% of basic annual salary
• Optical benefits
• 15% combined employee/employer contributions
• Subsidized gym membership
• Access to Employee Assistance Program
• Cycle to Work and Electric Car Salary Sacrifice Scheme
• Time off for volunteering
• Charitable matching of employee donations

As part of our commitment to diversity and inclusion, we will provide reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process to ensure equal access to applicants with disabilities. Please contact us about your needs so that we can discuss these with you to make sure that suitable adjustments are made.