Employee Relations Director – EMEA, Flexible Location (DE, FR or UK)

The Company

We’re partnering with a global industrial organisation operating across more than 100 sites within Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The company employs tens of thousands of people worldwide and plays a critical role in supplying high-quality, business-to-business products across a broad manufacturing and operations network. Following a major integration, the organisation is entering a new phase of transformation, with an emphasis on building stronger alignment, enhancing capability, and evolving its culture across multiple countries. This newly created role reflects the company’s commitment to modernising its Employee and Industrial Relations approach and strengthening engagement across a complex, unionised environment. Headquartered in mainland Europe, the group generates multi-billion-dollar revenues and continues to grow through innovation, sustainability and operational excellence.

The Role

The Employee Relations Director, EMEA will lead the regional Employee Relations agenda, establishing a Centre of Excellence to shape and implement best-practice ER and IR frameworks across the region. Reporting to the VP HR & Communications, this role partners closely with senior HR, legal and operational leaders to drive consistency and effectiveness in how Employee Relations is managed across diverse markets. Key areas of focus include leading relationships with European and national Works Councils and trade unions; supporting major transformation and organisational change programmes. It will develop and embed ER policies, tools and training across HR and line leadership and strengthen compliance and consultation processes while building a culture of trust and collaboration. This is a high-visibility, strategically important role, blending influence at executive level with hands-on engagement across operational sites.

The Individual

We’re seeking an experienced Employee Relations professional with extensive cross-border experience across Europe in complex, unionised and industrial settings. The ideal candidate will bring strong expertise in managing European Works Councils and union relationships, coupled with a proven track record of supporting large-scale transformation, integration or restructuring programmes. They will be commercially minded, culturally agile, and able to navigate matrixed environments with confidence and diplomacy. Fluency in English is essential, with additional European languages such as French or German considered an advantage.