Director, Associate Relations

Director, Associate Relations

The Director, Associate Relations is a people leader responsible for supervising and developing the AR Specialists and Managers ensuring the consistent, accurate, and effective execution of the Associate Relations function nationwide. This role provides team level governance, supports capacity and escalation management, and partners with field leadership. The Associate Relations Director focuses on execution and operational excellence to help identify process improvements to enhance efficiency and usability.

Key Responsibilities:

Leader Coaching & Enablement

• Serve as head of Associate Relations function, with full accountability for performance management, goals setting, calibration, development planning and corrective action as needed.
• Act as the final internal escalation point for complex or sensitive associate relations matters before involvement of HRBPs or Associate Relations leadership.
• Provide team-level coaching on effective execution (HR policies, procedures and associate relations practices) and calibration to reduce variability in decision-making and execution quality.
• Lead onboarding, training, and continuous development for Associate Relations associates, ensuring readiness to execute enterprise programs independently.
• Conduct regular quality reviews of Associate Relations Team to identify trends, coaching opportunities, and systemic execution gaps, while monitoring workload balance and maintaining coverage.

Risk Identification & Feedback Loops

• Monitor associate engagement trends, risk indicators, and execution gaps across assigned regions.
• Proactively identify emerging risks and execution challenges and communicate findings to HRBPs and COEs.
• Provide structured, data-informed feedback to improve enterprise programs, tools, and processes.

HR Program & Policy Execution

• Execute enterprise HR policies, programs, and initiatives consistently across all supported locations.
• Support communication and rollout of HR programs developed by COEs, ensuring clarity and adoption in the field.
• Partner with COEs to support updates to all HR policies and associate handbook content, without redesign or customization.

Metrics & Continuous Improvement

• Own team-level HR Execution metrics, including case quality, timeliness, consistency, escalation trends, engagement outcomes and recognition participation.
• Track escalated issues to ensure timely follow-up and resolution and enable HRG operational efficiency.
• Hold HRGs accountable for meeting defined performance and execution standards.
• Identify systemic execution gaps and drive corrective actions through training, process refinement, or escalation to COEs.
• Ensure follow-through on escalated issues and removal of execution barriers impacting HRG & Sr. HRG effectiveness.
• Participate in enterprise HR initiatives and projects as assigned.

Direct Manager/Direct Reports:

• Reports to:
  
  VP of HR
• Direct Reports:
  Specialists, Manager, Senior Manager

Travel Requirements:

Must be able to travel up to 30% to attend meetings, branch visits

Physical Requirements

• Ability to sit for extended periods
• Ability to work at a computer and attend virtual and in-person meetings

Working Conditions

• Professional office or remote environment
• Operates in a dynamic, collaborative, and fast-paced environment.
• Must manage multiple priorities efficiently while responding swiftly to employment-related inquiries and policy updates.

Minimum Qualifications

• Proven experience supporting field leaders in a multi-location or regional environment
• Working knowledge of federal, state, and local employment laws
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and risk assessment skills
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Demonstrated ability to operate within defined decision rights and enterprise…