Senior Consultant, Employee Relations

About Northern Trust

Northern Trust is a distinguished Fortune 500 financial services company that has consistently operated since 1889. With over 130 years of expertise and a global workforce exceeding 22,000 associates, Northern Trust offers innovative financial solutions and expert guidance to leading clients worldwide, grounded in the values of service, expertise, and integrity.

Primary Responsibilities

• Lead comprehensive investigations into complex and sensitive employment issues, applying legal privilege as needed, and guide management and HR on employee counseling, disciplinary actions, and involuntary terminations.
• Collaborate closely with HR teams to support interactions with employee representative groups across Continental Europe.
• Advise management, HR, and Legal departments by providing detailed consultations based on investigation findings.
• Act as a subject matter expert on employee relations topics including policy interpretation, discipline procedures, involuntary terminations, and collective redundancy processes, partnering with multiple stakeholders including HR Compliance and Legal.
• Drive enhancements in company policies, practices, and procedures informed by insights gained from investigations.
• Contribute to special projects evaluating Northern Trust's policies and researching industry-leading practices to facilitate improvements.
• Identify specific employee relations requirements within business units, collaborating with HR and business representatives to design and implement effective solutions and act as the main liaison for ER initiatives.
• Provide mentorship to junior Employee Relations Consultants to support their professional growth.
• Lead training sessions on various Employee Relations subjects to enhance organizational knowledge.

Required Expertise

• Preferably possess experience servicing Continental Europe locations.
• Essential to have knowledge of working with unions or staff delegation bodies.
• Extensive expertise in Employee Relations, ideally with a minimum of 10 years of relevant experience, including mastery of investigation best practices.
• Strong understanding of corporate HR policies, procedures, and pertinent employment legislation and regulations.
• Proven track record collaborating effectively with Legal Counsel.
• Skilled in identifying, evaluating, and resolving employee relations concerns and offering strategic consultation to management.
• Exceptional listening, negotiation, and analytical capabilities to coach both managers and employees.
• Ability to understand business unit strategies, processes, and practices to align ER and HR initiatives appropriately.
• Fluency in a European language is advantageous.

Additional Information

The company promotes a flexible and collaborative work environment underpinned by strong financial stability, encouraging internal mobility and an inclusive culture that values access to leadership and community support responsibilities.

Northern Trust is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities throughout the employment process. Applicants are encouraged to communicate their flexibility and accommodation needs to facilitate an optimal working relationship.