Atlanta Georgia
The Employee & Labor Relations Manager serves as a strategic partner responsible for strengthening workplace culture, mitigating labor risk, and supporting positive employee relations across a large, multi-brand restaurant organization. This role partners closely with HR, Operations, Legal, Corporate Communications, Brand Leadership, and Franchise Business Consultants to champion a culture of high engagement to mitigate the risk of unionization. The role also proactively addresses labor relations issues, supports HR compliance, and reinforces company values while maintaining a strong pulse on external labor trends and internal workforce trends.
This role requires a strong blend of labor relations expertise, cultural intelligence, and operational fluency within high-volume, frontline environments.
RESPONSIBILITIES
• Labor Relations: Serve as the subject matter expert on labor relations, including union activity, workplace disruptions, and concerted employee activity. • Advising: Advise HR and Operations leaders on labor-risk mitigation strategies and best practices for restaurant and field-based environments. • Partnership: Partner with Legal, Corporate Communications, Risk, and HR to support responses to labor organizing efforts, unfair labor practice (ULP) allegations, and related investigations. • Monitoring: Monitor labor trends, regulatory developments, and organizing activity impacting the restaurant industry and relevant geographic markets. • Ownership: Own and manage the Culture Index/Heatmap framework, identifying high-risk locations, enterprise patterns, and operational implications while integrating insights into business decision-making. • Reporting: Provide senior leadership with regular updates on the external labor landscape, internal risk trends, cultural indicators, and proactive prevention strategies.
CULTURE & ENGAGEMENT
• Support: Support the design and execution of culture initiatives that promote company values and strengthen a workplace rooted in respect, fairness, and inclusion across diverse brands and markets. • Partnership: Partner with HR Business Partners and Operations to identify cultural friction points and recommend practical, scalable, and sustainable solutions. • Analysis: Analyze engagement results, exit feedback, and employee relations trends to surface insights and drive proactive, data-informed action plans. • Contribution: Contribute to the development of culture-focused communications, toolkits, and training resources to enable field and operational leaders.
CROSS-FUNCTIONAL PARTNERSHIP
• Advising: Serve as a trusted advisor to Operations leaders and Franchise Business Consultants on complex and sensitive employee relations matters, balancing legal risk, brand values, and operational needs. • Collaboration: Collaborate with Legal, Compliance, Risk, Corporate Communications, and HR Centers of Excellence to ensure alignment on policies, messaging, and response strategies. • Support: Support brand-specific employee relations and labor needs while maintaining consistency with enterprise labor relations standards and culture expectations.
POLICY, TRAINING & PROGRAMS
• Development: Assist in the development, review, and rollout of employee relations and labor-related policies, guidelines, and compliance standards. • Monitoring: Conduct ongoing monitoring and interpretation of HR legislation to assess enterprise impact across operations, financials, workforce practices, culture, and policy requirements. • Training: Support training initiatives for managers and field leaders on respectful workplace practices, labor law fundamentals, and effective employee communication. • Development: Develop and manage playbooks, toolkits, and response frameworks for labor relations scenarios common in the restaurant and franchise environment.
EDUCATION QUALIFICATION
• Bachelor's in Human Resources, Labor Relations, or a related field • Master's in Human Resources & Labor Relations and/or J.D.
EXPERIENCE QUALIFICATION
• 5+ years of progressive experience in labor relations, employee relations, HR, or a closely related function
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS or ABILITIES
• Strong working knowledge of U.S. labor and employment laws, including the NLRA and relevant state and local regulations. • Strong consultative skills with the ability to translate complex regulations into clear, actionable guidance. • Demonstrated ability to influence without authority and operate effectively as an individual contributor. • Excellent judgment, discretion, and professionalism when managing sensitive or complex situations. • Strong interpersonal, coaching, and advisory skills. • Exceptional written and verbal communication skills. • Ability to balance compliance, culture, and operational realities. • Analytical mindset with the ability to identify trends, diagnose root causes, and recommend solutions. • Comfortable working in fast-paced, ambiguous environments. • Ability to manage projects and deliver high-quality work independently.
Inspire is a multi-brand restaurant company whose portfolio includes more than 33,000 Arby's, Baskin-Robbins, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dunkin', Jimmy John's, and SONIC restaurants worldwide. We're made up of some of the world's most iconic restaurant brands, but we're much more than just a restaurant company. We're a team of hundreds of thousands who individually and collectively are changing the way people eat, drink, and gather around the table. We know that food is much more than a staple-it's an experience. At Inspire, that's our purpose: to ignite and nourish flavorful experiences.
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