Associate Director, Region Employee Relations, North America

At Alcon, we are driven by the meaningful work we do to help people see brilliantly. We innovate boldly, champion progress, and act with speed as the global leader in eye care. Here, you'll be recognized for your dedication and contributions and see your career like never before. Together, we go above and beyond to make an impact in the lives of our patients and customers.

We foster an inclusive culture and are looking for diverse, talented people to join Alcon! As the Associate Director, Region Employee Relations, North America, you will be trusted to promote positive associate/labor relations through effective management of collective and individual Employee Relations (ER) matters. Under the direction of the Global Director, Global Employee Relations, this position will serve as the lead for the North America Region countries (United States & Canada) with Employee Relations Operations, HR Compliance, and Complaint Management. This position is located in Fort Worth, Texas.

In this role, a typical day will include:

• Support in directing the ER function, focusing on North America, including process and systems development.
• Keep close contact with HR Heads in North America to collect early information about Alcon North America relevant projects and initiatives.
• Build analytics strategy for the region; track, analyze and assess data to identify and solve emerging ER trends (internal & external). Review case data with business/various internal stakeholders.
• Act as Alcon HR regional crisis management representative and liaise with appropriate internal departments, leadership, and employees to appropriately respond to organizational/employee crisis and/or urgent matters (e.g., natural disasters, site emergencies, etc.) and represent Alcon with external agencies as appropriate.
• Help build and implement employee/labor relations strategies that are consistent with the organization's initiatives, aligned with legal requirements.
• Actively support and efficiently implement ER-related projects/initiatives (e.g., Living Wages, Corporate Responsibility Survey, Global Guidelines, etc.)
• Participate on Global ER CoE Leadership Team and establish partnerships with Global ER colleagues to support standard process sharing and alignment.
• Responsible for region ER budget/spend.
• Partner with HRBPs, Compliance, Legal and other departments to develop programs, tools, and communications to educate employees and reduce and prevent employee relations issues as well as design changes that lead to a group reduction in force.
• Central point of contact for regional ER and Alcon Ethics Helpline matters. Responsible for handling the investigations process for ER-related allegations, including discrimination, retaliation, harassment, and/or other complex investigations, in partnership with Integrity & Compliance, Security, and Legal Departments as appropriate. (Liaise regularly with HRBPs, ER Champions, AEH, management, Legal, and associates at all levels as needed.)
• Promote positive employee relations by establishing effective relationships and interacting with local HRBP in the countries to understand regional requirements, conduct investigations, and facilitate the sharing of standard processes.
• Personally conduct high-risk internal investigations as assigned.
• Assess ER investigations against established critical metrics and agreed-on working practices and ensure that assigned investigations are detailed and high quality and that matters are appropriately resolved with local pull-through.
• Facilitate education/training on internal investigations and various company policies as may be needed.
• Act as an experienced consultant for disciplinary actions and conflict resolution.

What You'll Bring To Alcon:

• Bachelor's Degree or Equivalent years of directly related experience (or high school+15 yrs; Assoc.+11 yrs; M.S.+4 yrs; PhD+3 yrs)
• The ability to fluently read, write, understand, and communicate in English.
• Seasoned Human Resources professional with 7 years of Employee Relations experience.

Preferred Skills and Experiences:

• Self-motivated enterprise thinker, expert negotiator who is able to manage and achieve results through influence.
• Experience with global workforce needs and compliance with international country labor laws.
• Accessible during non-traditional work hours.
• Diverse cultural orientation and working experience.

How to Thrive at Alcon:

• Successfully handle information and consultation process for transnational (2 or more countries of North America affected) in accordance with North America legal requirements.
• Provide regular updates to the Regional North America Head of Human Resources and HR Heads.
• Lead Third Party Risk Management (TPRM) for North America function to ensure that Alcon conducts business with third parties who align with Alcon's ethical standards.
• Regional contact for internal and external regulatory audits.
• Act as central contact and liaison between Global Employee Relations and country for HR policy matters and serve as Region HR Policy Head for designated region.
• Build trust, collaboration, and good social dialogue with HR Business Partners to ensure productive/collaborative relationships with management.
• Relocation assistance: No
• Travel Requirements: Up to 20% Domestic/International
• Sponsorship assistance: No
• Work Hours: Standard, Monday - Friday

Alcon is an Equal Opportunity Employer and participates in E-Verify. Alcon takes pride in maintaining a diverse environment and our policies are not to discriminate in recruitment, hiring, training, promotion or other employment practices for reasons of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital or veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status. Alcon is also committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities. If, because of a medical condition or disability, you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application process, or in order to perform the essential functions of a position, please send an email to [email protected] and let us know the nature of your request and your contact information.