Do you speak fashion? We're hiring! Let’s chat!
Born in Australia, loved around the world.
At Cotton On, we know good style goes well beyond what's in your wardrobe. We’re here to inspire, spark joy and bolster self-expression and creativity. We want our community to feel seen, heard and celebrated, and as a brand, we want to use our voice to make a positive difference in people's lives.
We’re playfully rebellious and always optimistic. Join our world and let's do good things together.
Benefits You Will Love
50% Team Member discount for all Brands/Products
Competitive Pay
Wellness Support 24/7
Performance & Peak incentives to reward & recognize our team
Great benefits for YOU & your family – Medical, Dental, Vision + more
401(k) matching program, with a commitment to financial literacy and support
Development opportunities that could take you anywhere
Quarterly COG Awards + real time recognition
The Role
Employee Relations & People Operations Manager
The Employee Relations & People Operations Manager is responsible for leading employee relations, benefits administration, day-to-day HR inbox administration, HR operations, and employee support services. The role plays a crucial part in modernizing People processes, improving employee and manager support, strengthening compliance, and building scalable service delivery frameworks that support organizational growth.
Work Structure & Details
Format: Hybrid
Schedule: 3 days in office per week
Location: Playa Vista, CA
Key Responsibilities
Employee Relations
- Lead and manage employee relations matters across the organization, including workplace investigations and resolution of employee concerns.
- Partner with leaders to address performance, conduct, attendance, policy-related issues, and employee support needs in a fair, consistent, and compliant manner.
- Develop and maintain employee relations policies, procedures, documentation, and case management standards.
People Operations & HR Inbox Administration
- Own the day-to-day delivery of People Operations services, including HR inbox administration, case routing, service standards, and response protocols.
- Establish clear service-level expectations for employee and manager support requests and drive continuous improvement in HR service delivery.
- Partner with Payroll and HRIS teams to ensure accurate employee records, data integrity, and efficient operational workflows.
Benefits Administration
- Oversee benefits administration processes, including enrollment, employee communications, vendor relationships, broker partnership, issue resolution, and compliance requirements.
- Support annual enrollment activities and employee education initiatives while monitoring service levels and the employee experience related to benefits.
Process Improvement & Modernization
- Assess and redesign People Operations processes to improve efficiency, scalability, compliance, and employee experience.
- Leverage HR technology, AI, workflow automation, self-service resources, and knowledge bases to reduce manual administration and improve support quality.
- Develop and maintain employee self-service resources, including knowledge base articles, FAQs, templates, and process guides, to enable employees and managers to resolve common HR questions efficiently and reduce reliance on one-on-one inbox support.
Performance measures
- Individual behaviour aligned to Our Way and Our Values.
- Team engagement and stakeholder feedback results.
- HR inbox response and resolution time improvements.
- Employee relations case quality, consistency, and documentation standards.
- Benefits administration service levels and employee experience outcomes.
- Efficiency gains from automation, self-service resources, and standardized workflows.
Requirements
- 5–8+ years of progressive HR experience, including employee relations, People Operations, or HR shared services.
- Strong employee relations experience, including workplace investigations, employee concerns, performance matters, and policy guidance.
- Experience managing HR operations, HR inbox administration, service delivery workflows, case routing, and support standards.
- Knowledge of employment law, HR compliance requirements, employee documentation, and operational risk management.
- Experience administering employee benefits programs, partnering with vendors and brokers, and supporting annual enrollment activities.
- Demonstrated success improving operational processes, implementing HR technology or automation, and creating scalable support resources.
- Strong analytical skills, with the ability to interpret case trends, service metrics, employee experience indicators, and process efficiency opportunities.
- Excellent stakeholder management, written communication, problem-solving, and project management skills.
- Experience supporting multi-site or rapidly growing organizations.
- Experience implementing HR technology, workflow automation, or AI solutions.
- Experience with HR case management systems and service delivery models.
- Experience building self-service and employee support frameworks.
- Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business, or a related field.
- PHR, SPHR, SHRM-CP, or SHR
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS
Ability to stand, walk, lift, carry, push or pull up to 50lbs
Ability to travel as needed
Who are we?
Cotton On’s purpose is to make a positive difference in people’s lives. Born in Australia, Cotton On is a global fashion and lifestyle retailer with eight brands across 22 countries and 1,500 stores. Powered by 20,000 team members, who together with our customers, are making a positive impact through one life-changing Foundation. Taking their Aussie lifestyle to the world and delivering Good along the way, Cotton On brands offer youthful fashion and lifestyle products across women's, men’s, kids, body, accessories and stationery.
We are proud of our diverse global workforce of 20,000 team members from countless nationalities, and we strongly welcome and encourage individuals of all backgrounds to apply with us.
We are focused on bringing more voices, experiences and backgrounds to our workforce as we drive diverse and inclusive outcomes for our team and our customers.
If you have any individual needs in order to fully participate in the recruitment process, please contact us at [email protected] so we may support you in completing the job application process.
In addition, Cotton On Group will consider qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with local “Fair Chance” ordinances.
CA: This is a full-time salary role with the annual wage range of $130,000- $150,000k /yr
From Australia to the world - The Cotton On Group (known in-house as COG) is Australia's largest global retailer. With 7 brands, 19 countries, 1500 stores and counting; we exist to make a positive difference in the lives of everyone we touch. Our people are optimistic, innovative and highly motivated; they share a genuine belief in themselves and others and they aren't afraid to think big.
Cotton On is the founding brand of the Group and has grown to become a global fashion destination with over 600 stores worldwide. We thrive on delivering the trends of the moment (always with our own twist) and inspire our community to have fun with it. Our product offering includes womenswear, menswear and accessories.
Skills Required
- 5-8+ years of progressive HR experience, including employee relations, People Operations, or HR shared services
- Strong employee relations experience, including workplace investigations, employee concerns, performance matters, and policy guidance
- Experience managing HR operations, HR inbox administration, service delivery workflows, case routing, and support standards
- Knowledge of employment law, HR compliance requirements, employee documentation, and operational risk management
- Experience administering employee benefits programs, partnering with vendors and brokers, and supporting annual enrollment activities
- Demonstrated success improving operational processes, implementing HR technology or automation, and creating scalable support resources
- Strong analytical skills, including interpreting case trends, service metrics, employee experience indicators, and process efficiency opportunities
- Excellent stakeholder management, written communication, problem-solving, and project management skills
- Experience supporting multi-site or rapidly growing organizations
- Experience implementing HR technology, workflow automation, or AI solutions
- Experience with HR case management systems and service delivery models
- Experience building self-service and employee support frameworks
- Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business, or a related field
- PHR, SPHR, SHRM-CP, or SHR certification
What We Do
Our purpose has always been to make a positive difference in people’s lives, and our team and customers are at the heart of this. We started in 1988, with our first ‘shop’ being the boot of a Ford Bronco parked at The Beckley Market in Geelong, Australia. Inside? A stack of denim jackets; it was the start of something big. Our vision is to take our eight Aussie lifestyle brands to the world, delivering Good along the way. And we know that our responsibility goes far beyond selling great products. We work to prioritise people and the planet, while making products our customers love, ones that we can all be proud of. We’re a diverse bunch from all around the world who love to think big. We live for a challenge and give anything a go. We work hard and pride ourselves on creating an environment free from hierarchy and ego. One that promotes creativity and self-expression, allowing our team to do what they do best. We look after our people 24/7 – not just when they’re at work, but outside of it too. Since day one, our team members have been like great mates to us – and you look after your mates. We support and empower our team members to be the healthiest versions of themselves. And we keep it real, always. We’re customer-obsessed in everything we do, and believe us when we say the obsession is real! When you join our team, you’re part of something bigger – you’re here to be inspired, to learn, to do the right thing, and above all else, to make a positive difference. 20,000 people. 8 brands. 20 countries. 1,300 stores (and counting) and one life-changing Foundation. That's Cotton On Group.
