Employee Relations Lead - IMEA

Employee Relations Lead India Middle East & Africa

Location: India
Reports to: Employee Relations Director

Job Summary

The Employee Relations Lead IMEA oversees the execution of Copelands Employee Relations (ER) strategy within the IMEA region. They serve as the primary point of contact for all ER matters across India the Middle East and Africa ensuring consistent policy application effective case management and strong partnership with HR and site leadership teams. This includes addressing region-specific labor/industrial relations issues such as union strategy statutory consultation procedures and other ER-related regulatory or socio-political considerations in partnership with Legal and local HR where appropriate. The Lead drives centralized ER service delivery maintaining direct ownership of case management activities performance improvement support and policy compliance across the region. In countries with minimal headcount or specialized local requirements the Lead may partner with Business-Facing HR (BFHR) to deliver hybrid support. They collaborate closely with the global ER COE to maintain standardized processes reporting and service levels.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and manage employee relations activities within the IMEA region ensuring timely and fair case resolution in alignment with global ER policies and practices.
• Provide direct ER leadership over the India business in particular as the largest business in the region.
• Support labor/industrial relations strategy across the region including union engagement worker committee processes and required consultation protocols under local law.
• Serve as the primary escalation point for complex and high-risk ER cases partnering with Legal and other stakeholders as needed.
• Directly manage ER case intake investigation resolution and closure ensuring a consistent professional colleague experience across the region.
• Partner with regional Business-Facing HR teams to deliver hybrid ER support where needed especially in countries with minimal headcount or unique legal complexity.
• Provide day-to-day direction and mentorship to regional ER Advisors ensuring professional service delivery skill development and workload balance.
• Monitor case trends emerging risks and workforce issues delivering actionable insights and recommendations to regional and global leadership.
• Execute the Employee Relations annual governance cycle within the region including quarterly campaign delivery stakeholder reporting and process audits.
• Ensure full adoption of ER case management protocols in ServiceNow including accurate logging escalation documentation and timely case closure.
• Deliver coaching and education to site leaders on performance management conflict resolution workplace expectations and policy application.
• Collaborate on global ER projects and initiatives bringing IMEA-specific insights to shape global practices policies and processes.
• Support leaders to foster a fair consistent and compliant employee experience aligned with Copelands People Plan.

Qualifications:

• Education: Bachelors degree in Human Resources Business Administration or a related field; Masters degree preferred.
• Experience:
  • 7 years of experience in employee relations or HR including regional or global support experience.
  • 5 years of employee relations or HR experience in India
  • 3 years managing complex employee relations cases required.
  • Experience working in a centralized Employee Relations delivery model preferred.
• Skills: Strong leadership and delegation skills excellent problem-solving and conflict resolution skills team leadership experience and expertise in handling escalated cases and performance improvement processes.
• Proficiency in English and Marathi required; additional languages based on region are a plus (e.g. Arabic Hindi French).

Additional Requirements:

• Knowledge of regional labor laws experience with metrics and reporting and strong communication and interpersonal skills.
• Willingness to travel regionally within IMEA and occasionally globally as needed to support sites and stakeholders.
• Ability to work across time zones and cultural contexts.

Preferred Location:

• Pune India