Sr. Manager, Employee Relations Learning & Development

The Senior Manager, Employee Relations Learning & Development is a newly created role within The Walt Disney Company’s Employee Relations Center of Excellence reporting to the Vice President, Employee Experience and Inclusion. This Senior Manager will play a critical role in creating and executing a strategy for designing and delivering dynamic and impactful learning and development programs on a broad range of employee relations topics tailored to a wide array of audiences (e.g., Employee Relations, HR Business Partners, Talent Acquisition, leaders, employees, etc.). These programs will align with Disney’s Company values, and help foster a positive and respectful work environment, mitigate risk, and support our high-performing culture.

The successful candidate will be a strategic and collaborative leader with deep expertise in employee relations and proven success creating and implementing innovative and effective learning and development programs within a large, matrixed organization.  

Primary Responsibilities Include:

• Build a best-in-class employee relations (ER) learning and development strategy in partnership with the VP, Employee Experience and Inclusion and key stakeholders across the Company including ER leadership, Employment Legal, and Enterprise Learning & Talent Solutions.

• Design and deliver dynamic, impactful, and sustainable learning and development programs on a broad range of ER topics (e.g., investigations, accommodations, performance management, reductions in force, policy interpretation, respect in the workplace) tailored to a wide array of audiences, including ER practitioners, HR Business Partners (HRBPs), Talent Acquisition, leaders, employees, and others.

• Leverage a variety of learning methods to create innovative programs, such as in-person, virtual, e-learnings, blended learning, micro-learnings, gamification, podcasts, workshops, and speaker series.

• Collaborate with key stakeholders across all Company lines of business to assess ER learning needs, prioritize targeted opportunities, and craft scalable solutions, including train the trainer.

• Partner closely with enterprise and segment Learning & Talent Solutions teams to integrate effective and practical ER modules within the Company’s broader learning programs.

• Collaborate with People Insights and the Senior Manager, ER Data and Insights to measure, analyze, and report on ER learning programs’ effectiveness on the employee experience, leadership capabilities, risk mitigation, and other core areas of focus. Monitor trends, conduct root cause analyses, and recommend proactive solutions for areas of opportunity to continuously optimize the programs.

• Manage any external vendor and consultant relationships for learning tools and training content as needed.

• Support ER leadership in creating, planning, and executing all aspects of the ER departmental onsites, focused on group learning, team building, and networking.

• Co-lead the execution and evolution of other core programs built for ER practitioners, including the centralized ER intranet hub, ER collaboration tools, the ER wellbeing program, and other future programs, potentially to include an ER mentorship program. 

• Lead the LEAD:ER team of cross-segment ER practitioners and other stakeholders who meet monthly to support the creation of ER learning and development programs. 

• Design ER learning and development programs with an inclusive mindset, such as building content accessible for colleagues with disabilities, different learning styles, different geographic locations, etc. 

• Stay informed of ER and Learning & Development industry trends, thought leadership, best practices, and emerging technologies that can be leveraged for learning programs.

Basic Qualifications:

• 7+ years working as an ER practitioner with deep expertise in all foundational ER functions, including demonstrated experience working on complex investigations, reductions in force, performance management, accommodations, employee care and support, crisis management, employment policies, and other relevant employee experience initiatives.
• Demonstrated experience creating and facilitating dynamic and impactful ER learning and development programs on a wide range of ER topics for various core audiences, including ER practitioners, HRBPs, Talent Acquisition, leaders, employees and others.
• Excellent knowledge of employment laws and experience partnering closely with Employment Legal on ER practices.
• Extraordinary collaboration, relationship building, attention to detail, prioritization, project management, influencing, communication (written and verbal), and interpersonal skills, including the ability to work on cross-functional teams and with all levels of employees.
• Proven ability to problem solve, challenge the status quo, pioneer new and creative solutions, think independently, and drive results across a large, matrixed organization. 
• Strong judgment around highly confidential and sensitive matters, and an empathetic and inclusive mindset.
• Involvement with leveraging data and insights to identify opportunities for elevating workplace programs and the employee experience.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Juris Doctorate
• Experience working in the media industry
• Experience designing e-learning programs

Disability accommodation for employment applications

The Walt Disney Company and its Affiliated Companies are Equal Employment Opportunity employers and welcome all job seekers including individuals with disabilities and veterans with disabilities. If you have a disability and believe you need a reasonable accommodation in order to search for a job opening or apply for a position, email Candidate.Accommodations@Disney.com with your request. This email address is not for general employment inquiries or correspondence. We will only respond to those requests that are related to the accessibility of the online application system due to a disability.

The Walt Disney Company is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or protected veteran status. Disney fosters a business culture where ideas and decisions from all people help us grow, innovate, create the best stories and be relevant in a rapidly changing world.

The hiring range for this position in Burbank, CA is $165,700.00 - $202,500.00 per year and for New York, NY is $173,600.00 - $212,000.00. The base pay actually offered will take into account internal equity and also may vary depending on the candidate’s geographic region, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience among other factors. A bonus and/or long-term incentive units may be provided as part of the compensation package, in addition to the full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the level and position offered.