Employee Relations Manager - People Operations

Career Stage: Manager

Organizational Summary

Upstream USA is a fast-growing, national nonprofit working to expand opportunity by reducing unplanned pregnancy across the U.S. We envision a future where patient-centered contraceptive care is an integral part of primary care in all settings, for all people. In this future, patients are screened for their contraceptive needs; are offered patient-centered contraceptive counseling, free from bias and coercion, provided by knowledgeable providers and support staff following evidence-based guidelines; and can receive any contraceptive method of their choosing, during the same visit if they want, without logistical barriers.

Upstream promotes health equity by partnering with health centers to provide training and technical assistance to increase access to contraception, and address disparities and biases in contraceptive care. Surveys of patients getting care at Upstream-trained health centers consistently show that patients feel listened to, heard, and are able to access the contraceptive method of their choice. Our work empowers patients to decide if and when they want to become pregnant, a critical step towards improving maternal health, as well as positive outcomes for parents, children, and their families.

Upstream is growing rapidly and is well positioned for national scale and impact. After launching our program in Delaware in 2014, we have since partnered with health centers in Washington state, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Texas, Mississippi and Missouri. By 2023, Upstream will have partnered with health centers that serve over one million women of reproductive age annually across these states and more. Our work has been independently evaluated and has led to significant changes, including a 25% reduction in unplanned pregnancies in Delaware in just three years.

Upstream is funded primarily through philanthropic individuals and foundations, and does not accept funding from pharmaceutical companies. Upstream’s budget has grown from $1.7 million just four years ago to approximately $40 million in 2022. Upstream’s work has also garnered attention from many leading publications including The New York Times, Washington Post, The Atlantic, CNN, Vox, Forbes, and Marie Claire.

Position Summary

The Employee Relations Manager-People Operations is responsible for providing strategic hands-on support in Employee Relations (ER), policy creation and training, and compliance including activities related to retention and recognition. This role reports to the Director of People Operations and works closely with a variety of leaders throughout the organization. The Employee Relations Manager-People Operations position will support the organization’s culture by resolving employee relations and compliance-related issues across various departments while mitigating risk by training and mentoring people managers to support an employee-oriented, high performance culture. Our Employee Relations Manager-People Operations will develop and maintain a collaborative relationship with employees and people managers and will play a lead role in the development, implementation and people  management support of our people systems (Paycom) and policies.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Develop and implement HR policies to satisfy legal requirements and ensuring the organization's treatment of employees is consistent with its core business values and objectives
• Develop relationships with department leaders to promote employee satisfaction through good communication and efficient policy adherence
• Create and conduct training for employees that mitigate risk by expanding people management skills, ensuring employee relations best practices are followed and driving adherence to policies and procedures
• Investigate workplace grievances and complaints
• Act as the ER subject matter expert by partnering closely with multiple internal and external stakeholders to establish and drive Employee Relations in a timely and responsive manner.
• Ensure timely resolution of grievances and complaints.
• Research and explain laws and legal affairs concerning employment to managers, supervisors, and employees
• Analyze department needs and develop risk management strategies that can improve employee satisfaction throughout the organization
• Maintain good communication and positive relationships with employees to promote employee satisfaction
• Collaborate with legal counsel and departments in preparation for, and participation in, negotiation on behalf of the organization
• Manage review and compliance of various components of the organization to include employee handbook, labor laws, health/safety, PHI, etc.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Required Education, Experience, Knowledge, Skills and Ability

Upstream celebrates and fosters an inclusive work environment and encourages people of all identities, perspectives and backgrounds to apply.

• Bachelor’s degree in Employee Relations, Human Resources, or a related field is required.
• 5-7+ years of professional human resource administration, including four years in employee relations preferred OR equivalent through training, education, and other experience.
• SHRM-CP or SHRM-SCP preferred
• Strong understanding of labor and employment law and employee relations
• Ability to comprehend, interpret, and apply the appropriate sections of applicable laws, guidelines, regulations, ordinances, and policies.
• Extensive conflict resolution skills
• Excellent negotiating, consulting, influencing, collaboration and partnering abilities with business executives/leaders
• Requires a high level of discretion due to the sensitive nature of activities
• Demonstrated excellent verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills with the ability to present and discuss complex information in a concise way that informs others and enhances understanding at all levels
• Engaging and confident leader; acts with urgency and passion while remaining calm under pressure
• Sound judgment, analytical, critical thinking skills; exercises discretion with demonstrated ability to develop creative and innovative solutions to organizational issues
• Highly organized, collaborative and accountable, with the ability to prioritize and maintain a high level of productivity, effective communication and stellar internal customer service
• High technical proficiency minimally with Microsoft suite; Google Suites highly preferred as our current business platform
• Upstream USA’s COVID-19 Vaccine Policy requires employees to have completed a COVID-19 vaccine primary series unless a medical or religious exemption is approved. As a condition of employment, newly hired employees must provide proof of their COVID-19 vaccination or, if applicable, request a medical or religious exemption.
• All Upstreamers must also be able to attend work-related in-person meetings and functions as needed
• In our hybrid work environments, there is a basic expectation that our Upstreamers will ensure that their work from home setups will have reliable access to phone and Internet to ensure connectivity to their teams.
• At Upstream we gather for moments that matter for training, teaming and connection. Our teams come together for occasional in person meetings and organizational retreats. As part of our hybrid work practices, this travel expectation will be applicable for all Upstreamers, even those based remotely.

Attributes:

The ideal candidate will embody and embrace our core values which serve as our operating principles:

• We keep our mission at the center; our mission to expand opportunity by reducing unplanned pregnancy guides our decisions, actions and purpose
• We trust each other; we are reliable, empathetic, compassionately direct, and confident in each others’ ability to do the same
• We work every day to build an equitable, diverse and inclusive culture; we respect the backgrounds contexts and experiences of individuals, teams and partners in our interactions
• We bring joy to our work; we create opportunities to celebrate, connect and strengthen relationships with one another.

Travel Requirements

This role will require up to 15% of business travel. All Upstreamers can expect a minimum of 8 days of business travel per year to attend two annual organizational retreats and two annual team/department meetings.

Upstream Benefits

Upstream USA offers a comprehensive benefit package including medical, dental, vision, life insurance, long and short term disability, 401K with a match, generous vacation, personal, sick and holiday time off, parental leave, professional development and a fitness and cell phone allowance for all full time employees and part time employees who work a minimum of 24 hours per week.  

Hiring Range

The hiring range for this role is $89,420 to $135,000. Final offers for this position will be based upon several factors including the scope of the role, market compensation analysis, position requirements, candidate’s experience level and capabilities, specific candidate geographic location, internal pay equity considerations and will be made within the parameters of Upstream USA's compensation framework and philosophy.

Hiring Process

Candidates who advance in our preliminary review process will have an opportunity to discuss the position, their employment background and lived experience with a member of our talent acquisition team by telephone. Those who advance to subsequent steps in our interview process may participate in up to three rounds of meetings by Zoom or in person and in a thought exercise/case study assignment. Each round could consist of multiple meetings with various Upstreamers.

Upstream Careers

At Upstream, we embrace diversity. We nurture it and we thrive on it because it benefits our organization, our partners, and our community. Our goal is to attract, develop and retain exceptional people, and to create a work environment that is dynamic, rewarding and enables each of us to realize our potential.  Upstream is committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, genetic information, gender identity or Veteran status. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know. Learn more  about working at Upstream, our values, and our commitment to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. Upstream USA participates in E-Verify.

Upstream Headquarters:

2 Oliver Street, Suite 402, Boston, MA 02109

www.upstream.org

No phone calls please

Be advised that we do not ever conduct hiring interviews via text or email. Please protect yourself by learning more about our hiring practices and common red flags to look out for.