Senior Manager, Associate Relations

We’re partnering with a global organization to find an experienced leader for a pivotal role. This position will shape associate and labor relations strategy across the Northwest Europe region, lead a team, and collaborate with senior leadership to foster a positive, compliant, and values-driven workplace culture. Following a major restructure and the creation of a new European function, you’ll play a key role in building processes for the Northwest region.

What makes this role exciting?

Strategic Impact: Drive associate relations and labor strategies across multiple countries, including works council and union engagement
Leadership: Manage a team of 3 Managers and partner closely with senior leadership
Context: Help establish frameworks in a newly created European function post-restructure
Culture: Collaborative, values-driven environment with flexibility (approx. 2 days in office)

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead the associate relations function and manage a multi-country team
• Develop and implement strategies for associate relations, union engagement, and works council negotiations
• Oversee complex investigations and provide expert guidance on conflict resolution and compliance
• Partner with legal and senior leadership to mitigate risk and ensure adherence to employment laws
• Drive labor relations strategies, including collective consultations, negotiations, and organizational change processes
• Monitor trends, analyze data, and recommend policy improvements
• Build strong stakeholder relationships and represent the function in external forums
• Coach and develop team members and provide capability-building support to HR and line leaders

What we’re looking for:

• Strong NL labor relations experience
• Dutch & English fluency (French a plus)
• HRBP + works council expertise
• Leadership qualities: ownership, adaptability, relationship-building

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in HR, Business Administration, Law, or related field (advanced certifications preferred)
• 6+ years in HR leadership roles, ideally across multi-site, multi-country environments
• Minimum 4 years in associate/employee relations within complex or unionized settings
• Strong knowledge of Dutch employment law and collective consultation processes
• Proven experience managing investigations and labor relations strategies
• Excellent communication, stakeholder management, and analytical skills
• High emotional intelligence and resilience under pressure

The SR Group (Netherlands) B.V. is acting as an Employment Agency in relation to this vacancy.

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