Global Employee Relations Lead (12 month FTC)

Company Description We’re http://checkout.comCheckout.com http://Checkout.com. You might not know our name, but companies like eBay, Spotify, Klarna, Uber, and Sony do, because we’re behind many of the digital experiences you use every day. We are where the world checks out, enabling over 10 billion transactions daily for more than one billion global shoppers. Whether you want to book a holiday, order food, renew a subscription, or check out online, there’s a good chance our tech powers the payments behind the scenes. Our platform helps the most ambitious businesses deliver effortless digital experiences, at scale. If you want to do career-defining work, you’ve come to the right place. We move fast, think globally, and believe great teams are built by hiring exceptional people with conviction, curiosity, and the desire to make an impact. With 20 offices across six continents and London as our HQ, we’re shaping the future of fintech – and we’re just getting started. Role overview | Context We are looking for a Strategic Architect to define and build our next-generation Employee Relations (ER) capability. This is not a case-handling role. You will own the end-to-end design of our ER ecosystem, shifting us from a reactive, manual model to a scalable, data-driven, and AI-enabled operation. If you are a 'builder' who has successfully designed ER frameworks, self-service tooling, and automated workflows from scratch, this role is for you. We are looking for someone who combines deep ER expertise with strong commercial judgment, an ability to simplify complex situations, and a mindset oriented toward scalable design. They will modernise how we approach ER globally, leveraging process redesign, technology, and AI, while striking the right balance between legal compliance and pragmatic business outcomes. Role overview | Remit and Responsibilities BUILD & ENHANCE EMPLOYEE RELATIONS CAPABILITY - Develop a clear ER strategy and operating model that aligns with our business structure, risk appetite, and future scale. - Design and implement a scalable ER operating model, creating the 'Gold Standard' for our internal policy architecture, ensuring all frameworks and toolkits are built for self-service, not manual intervention - Design decision trees, case categorisation models, escalation pathways, and quality standards that reinforce consistency, speed, and commercial decision-making. - Introduce mechanisms that reduce dependency on ER specialists while improving capability across the People Partner and leadership populations. - Shift the function from resolving individual ER issues, to solving systemic issues. Use data to identify behavior patterns and lead strategic interventions that permanently reduce risk and friction. Training & Capability Uplift - Develop and deliver structured training for People Partners, managers, and leaders on ER best practices, investigations, performance management, and policy application. - Provide live, on-the-job coaching and case mentorship to build capability and reduce escalations. - Build digital self-service content and learning modules that empower employees and decrease reliance on ER experts. - Facilitate quarterly ER simulation training using real Checkout case patterns to build confidence and decision-making ability. POLICY OWNERSHIP & EXPANSION - Audit and benchmark existing ER policies, identifying opportunities for simplification, clarity, and alignment to our culture, legal standards, and commercial needs. - Draft and implement updated and new ER-related policies (conduct, grievances, investigations, performance management, etc.) that are globally consistent but locally adaptable. - Build a global ER policy architecture that supports scale, transparency, and ease of application by non-experts. PROCESS REDESIGN (INCLUDING AI INTEGRATION) - Own the ER 'Product Strategy.' Audit existing inefficiencies, identify friction points in the employee/manager journey, and lead the technical implementation of automation and AI tooling to minimize transactional workload. - Redesign ER processes end-to-end to make them scalable, efficient, data-driven, and globally consistent. - Identify opportunities to embed AI in workflows (case intake, document drafting, triage tools, early-risk detection, theme identification, etc.) to improve speed, accuracy, and decision consistency. - Define governance, controls, and safe-use practices for AI-supported ER tools in partnership with Legal, Tech, and Compliance. - Lead implementation of new systems, workflows, and tooling that modernise the ER experience for People Partners, managers, and employees. - Constantly identify friction points and redesign processes that balance compliance with pragmatic, commercially-sound outcomes. ADVISORY & ESCALATION SUPPORT - Act as a strategic advisor for complex and sensitive cases, balancing legal risk, culture, commercial impacts, and reputational considerations. - Provide high-quality support for high-risk or high-complexity cases, including sensitive conduct issues. - Drive consistency and fairness across decisions by supporting calibration, case reviews, and cross-team alignment discussions. - Serve as the primary escalation point for ER appeals and critical decision reviews. RISK MANAGEMENT & CULTURE - Use ER data, insights, and trends to identify behavioural themes, systemic risks, and opportunities for proactive intervention. - Partner with People, Legal, and business leaders to design interventions that strengthen trust, fairness, accountability, and performance discipline. - Ensure the ER approach reinforces positive employee experience, organisational values, and an environment where good performance and good conduct are expected and managed consistently. - Continuously scan for external developments in ER, AI, legal changes, and people risk—and translate them into actionable improvements at Checkout. ABOUT YOU - 6+ years in dedicated ER leadership with a proven track record of owning t