The Employee Relations Partner is part of the India People Partner team and in-turn a part of the broader People & Organization (HR) team. The role holder will be the ER subject matter expert within India P&O and will be responsible for all ER matters within the country. The role holder will liaise with our leadership, P&O team, relevant CoEs and associates across all levels, to manage the resolution of Employee Relations (ER) matters across our various divisions in India. S/he will represent India as the country ER SPOC in the global Novartis ER community. The responsibilities of the role include reviewing ER cases, personally conducting (or overseeing) investigations to drive objective and high-quality ER investigations. In addition, s/he will lend thought leadership towards ensuring that organizational policies are aligned with legal requirements.

Major accountabilities:

• Act as the SME on Employee Relations matters in the country (cross-divisionally
• Foresee critical ER situations within the country and advise Country P&O Head, People Partner Head and P&O Partners on the implications; proactively define mitigation mechanisms and plans
• Provide guidance and support to Business partners before deals or org. transformations go into deployment so that all ER elements are addressed appropriately
• Extend support to the Business partner(s) in dealing with matters related to the unions and unionized workforce; support Legal and litigation teams as needed, and represent on behalf of the company to authorities, if requested to
• Support the Internal Complaints Committee in governance of POSH cases and compliance with prevailing law and guidelines. Responsible to take ahead the recommended P&O actions to closure on behalf of the P&O Head
• Responsible for managing the investigations process for ER-related allegations (e.g., discrimination, retaliation, harassment, and/or other complex investigations) in partnership with Speakup office, Regional ER CoE, ERC, Global Security and Legal. Owns governance, tracking and closure of India ER matters including Speak Up Cases
• Works independently or jointly with team members to prioritize, manage and investigate allegations in a fair, thorough and timely manner, and provides guidance to P&O colleagues on the handling of investigations.
• Analyze trends and elevate matters and proposed actions to senior leadership
• In partnership with our ERC team, conduct the P&O risk assessment and develop corresponding action plan
• Ensure compliance of organizational policies with legal requirements; and faces audit when requested
• Build ER capability within P&O; Trains and coaches less experienced member(s) to develop them as a future ER investigator
• Apart from the above listed, other areas of responsibility (relevant to the role) may get added, as defined by the India P&O leadership
• Note: The role will require some need-based travel between Hyderabad and Mumbai.

Minimum Requirements:

• Post Graduate degree in business or management; MBA or equivalent with Human Resources Specialization; 10 + years’ experience, with at least 4+ focused years in Employee Relations.
• Experience in a multinational organization and across different types of employee pools(field force/ office workers) is highly desired
• Ability to communicate effectively across levels; Influencing without authority; Ability to work with least direction; Courage to do the right thing; Maturity to deal with matters involving confidentiality and sensitivity
• Requires demonstrated leadership experience including exceptional verbal, written and communication skills, experience presenting to senior leaders and communication of difficult messages to a wide range of associates.
• Requires the highest level of integrity, judgement, empathy, and objectivity.
• Experience working within a healthcare or pharmaceutical environment is preferred.
• Experience with change management, facilitation and navigating through large matrix environments is required

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