Senior Employee Relations Partner (d/f/m)

Personio's intelligent HR platform helps small and medium-sized organizations unlock the power of people by making complicated, time‑consuming tasks simple and efficient. Our team of 1,500 Personios is building user-friendly products that delight our 15,000+ customers and their 1.5 million employees. Ready to make an impact from day one?

This role requires 3 days per week in the office and is based in Berlin, Munich, London or Dublin.

Working in HR within an organization that builds market‑leading HR technology solutions offers a unique opportunity. As valued partners at Personio and thought leaders in the HR industry, our People team not only powers the growth of our company but also directly influences the future of the industry.

This is not a typical Employee Relations role.

While you’ll bring deep expertise in case management - from performance management through to complex cases and investigations - your broader mandate is to build and scale an entirely new ER discipline within Personio. As our first dedicated hire in this space, you’ll create the ER engine from first principles - defining how we operate, equipping our teams, and embedding practices that proactively reduce risk and improve outcomes.

We’re looking for someone who is particularly interested in how technology can transform Employee Relations. With a strong bias toward AI and automation, you’ll reimagine how we deliver ER - driving efficiency, consistency, and insight at scale, while enabling our People teams to support managers more effectively.

Role Responsibilities: What you’ll do

• Investigation & Case Leadership
• Act as the primary point of contact for ER case management, partnering with People Business Partners to support and coach managers across the employee lifecycle - building their confidence to navigate issues effectively, not just stepping in to resolve them.
• Lead complex, high-risk cases (e.g. whistleblowing, discrimination, senior grievances) and drive cross-functionally alignment across Legal, People Leadership, and executives - applying sound judgement to deliver fair, consistent, and commercially sound outcomes.
• Service Delivery & Process Optimization
• Audit and rebuild ER workflows (disciplinary, grievance, performance) to be simpler, consistent, legally sound, and scalable - using data to identify patterns, root causes, and opportunities for earlier intervention.
• Design and implement the systems behind ER, including case tracking and decision documentation, with a strong focus on AI and automation to reduce manual effort, improve consistency, and enable faster, higher‑quality outcomes.
• Manager Enablement & Education
• Enable managers to handle issues early, confidently, and fairly by building practical training and resources focused on real scenarios (performance, absence, conflict), reducing reliance on the People team.
• Create scalable self‑service tools (guides, templates) and drive a shift toward early intervention, regular conversations, and stronger day‑to‑day management - moving ER from reactive to proactive.

Role Requirements: What you need to succeed

• 5+ years of experience working within a People or HR function (People Ops, Business Partnering, Employee Relations), preferably within a fast‑paced mid‑to‑large scale organization (1,000+ employees).
• ER experience across multiple European jurisdictions – Germany and UK&I are essential.
• You are a neutral, objective investigator who balances legal compliance with a human‑centric approach.
• You don’t just close a case; you look at why it happened and how to automate or document the solution for next time. Creating simplicity at every step of the way.

Why Personio

Personio is an equal opportunities employer, committed to building an integrative culture where everyone feels welcomed and supported. We embrace uniqueness and understand that our diverse, values‑driven culture makes us stronger. We are proud to have an inclusive workplace environment that will foster your development no matter your gender, civil status, family status, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, education level, or race.

At Personio, we value in‑person collaboration while also offering flexibility. This role is office‑based, with 3 days per week required in your contracted office location. The remaining days can be worked from home or in the office if you prefer. In addition, you’ll have 20 Flex Days per year to work remotely from other locations.

Aside from our people, culture, and mission, check out some of the other benefits that make Personio a great place to work:

• Receive a competitive reward package – reevaluated each year – that includes salary, benefits, and pre‑IPO equity
• Enjoy 28 days of paid vacation, plus an additional day after 2 and 4 years
• Make an impact on the environment and society with 1 (fully paid) Impact Day
• Receive generous family leave, child support, mental health support, and sabbatical opportunities
• We enjoy gathering for meals, cultural initiatives, and events like local Summer Sessions and year‑end celebrations. There's also healthy snacks, drinks, and a weekly catered lunch