Employee Relations Partner, UK

Waymo is an autonomous driving technology company with the mission to be the world's most trusted driver. Since its start as the Google Self-Driving Car Project in 2009, Waymo has focused on building the Waymo Driver—The World's Most Experienced Driver™—to improve access to mobility while saving thousands of lives now lost to traffic crashes. The Waymo Driver powers Waymo’s fully autonomous ride-hail service and can also be applied to a range of vehicle platforms and product use cases. The Waymo Driver has provided over ten million rider-only trips, enabled by its experience autonomously driving over 100 million miles on public roads and tens of billions in simulation across 15+ U.S. states.

Waymo’s People team recruits and supports the world’s best talent (including, we hope, you). Our HR business partners, program administrators, staffers, and compensation specialists help our employees attain their full potential in a healthy, considerate and supportive environment. We take our role as stewards of Waymo's culture seriously.

This role follows a hybrid work schedule and reports to our Managing Counsel, Head of Employment Legal and Employee Relations.

You will:

• Report to the Managing Counsel, Employment Legal and Employee Relations, serving as the primary point of contact for Employee Relations, Labor Relations and employment compliance matters in the UK, and providing similar support in Europe as needed.
• Conduct investigations into complex employee matters and policy violations in compliance with local laws and regulations.
• Partner with People team and Employment Legal partners to design fair, consistent performance management frameworks tailored to local labor standards.
• Build and deliver training and coaching programs for managers to upskill on local employment compliance requirements, practices and cultural expectations in managing teams across regions.
• Develop repeatable  playbooks, operating procedures, and compliance checklists.
• Provide guidance on localizing global People and Employee Relations policies to ensure compliance with regional labor legislation, local practices, and regulatory frameworks while maintaining alignment with core company principles.
• Develop employee relations framework and advise cross-functional partners on engaging with works councils and trade unions.
• Establish governance frameworks to monitor and audit statutory employment compliance in the UK and additional regions as needed.

You have:

• Bachelor’s degree in Law, Human Resources, Labor Relations, or equivalent practical experience.
• Demonstrated track record of independently conducting sensitive, multi-jurisdictional investigations and preparing robust documentation and findings.
• At least 8+ years of dedicated Employee Relations, Labor Relations and/or Employment Law experience in a multinational or high-growth environment.
• Proven experience with European Works Councils and trade union bodies.
• Strong background in coaching and training international leadership (particularly US managers) on managing teams and navigating performance issues in the region.
• Deep practical knowledge of employment legislation and regulatory compliance in the UK.
• Proven track record of building new programs from the ground up, defining roadmaps, setting OKRs, and operating with high autonomy in ambiguous, fast-scaling environments.
• Demonstrated ability to prioritize and manage numerous simultaneous projects under deadline pressure

We prefer:

• Juris Doctor (JD), Master of Laws (LLM / LLB), Bar Admission / Practicing Certificate in a European jurisdiction, or senior CIPD qualification (Level 7).
• Professional working proficiency or fluency in a Western European language other than English.
• Experience managing formal collective consultation processes, workforce restructuring, and business transfers.
• Prior relevant experience in a fast-paced, global technology company.
• Proven organizational and communication skills with high attention to detail.
• Demonstrated leadership experience working in ambiguous and dynamic environments, with high pace of change, flexing and adapting to deliver on the business objectives.
• Demonstrated fluency in AI tools to streamline and scale ER workstreams and processes.

Travel Requirements:

• Up to 20% as required