Specialist, Employee Relations, Ford Energy

Ford Energy is a newly formed, wholly-owned subsidiary of Ford Motor Company dedicated to accelerating U.S. energy independence. Leveraging Ford’s century of manufacturing excellence and world-class battery energy storage systems (BESS) technology, Ford Energy designs, manufactures, and services grid-scale and commercial DC battery energy storage systems (BESS). Ford Energy is uniquely positioned to capture the growing demand for reliable, US-built energy storage systems. We are not just building batteries; we are building the infrastructure for the next generation of the American grid.
Why Ford Energy?
At Ford Energy, you have the backing of an industrial manufacturing powerhouse with the agility of a dedicated energy startup offering industry leading technology. We offer a competitive compensation package including performance-based bonuses, Ford vehicle discounts, and the opportunity to shape the energy strategy of one of the world's most iconic brands. Learn more at https://fordenergy.com.
Based in Glendale, Kentucky, you will balance curiosity with a strong sense of accountability to navigate ambiguous inquiries, partner across teams to resolve systemic process bottlenecks, and deliver high-quality support to employees and leaders. 
In this position...

• Consult & Partner: Act as a trusted advisor to frontline and mid-level operational leaders, providing guidance on performance management, policy application, and employee engagement.

• Drive Operational Excellence: Manage day-to-day HR operations, resolve complex employee inquiries, and maintain high standards of data integrity.

• Resolve & Escalate: Run independently on standard employee relations and operational matters, while partnering with and learning from Senior Specialists on highly complex, sensitive, or high-risk escalations.

What you'll do...

HR Consultation & Frontline Advisory

• Performance Management: Guide and coach frontline leaders through the end-to-end performance management process, including coaching conversations, performance documentation, and performance improvement plans (PIPs).

• Employee Relations: Address and resolve standard employee inquiries, complaints, and conflict resolution on the shop floor. Partner with the Senior ER Specialist to support larger, high-risk investigations.

• Leader Coaching: Provide proactive coaching to supervisors and team leaders on employee morale, retention strategies, and building a positive work culture.

• Workforce Support: Support HR Business Partners (HRBPs) in executing local workforce planning, annual people processes, and key moments across the employee life cycle.

HR Operations & Technical Support

• Inquiry Resolution: Intake, investigate, and strategically resolve elevated HR inquiries (e.g., payroll/paycheck discrepancies, position changes, benefits escalations) that require cross-functional coordination.

• Process Improvement: Proactively identify "friction points" in the employee experience. Partner with centralized teams (Payroll, HR Tech, Recruiting) to implement practical, sustainable solutions.

• Data Integrity & Analytics: Maintain high HCM data integrity within HR systems (Oracle, WorkDay). Perform standard data analysis to identify local workforce trends (absenteeism, turnover) that drive HR decision-making.

• Special Projects: Support organizational design changes, job architecture updates, and position management audits.

Compliance & Standard Work

• HR Compliance: Ensure local operations adhere to federal, state, and local labor laws, including FMLA, ADA, FLSA, and OSHA record-keeping.

• Standard Operating Procedures: Develop and update standard work instructions for local HR processes to ensure consistency as the site scales.

Capabilities for Success

• Balanced Advocate: An emotionally intelligent professional who balances empathy for employees with a strong sense of accountability to business objectives.

• Collaborative Problem Solver: A proven ability to build trust and partner effectively across departments (Operations, Payroll, Recruiting) to resolve systemic issues.

• Critical Thinker: Skilled at navigating moderately ambiguous situations, utilizing data and policy to move from identifying a problem to implementing a solution.

• Agile Coordinator: Ability to manage multiple administrative and consultative priorities simultaneously in a fast-paced environment.

• Support timekeeping administration, including schedule reviews, corrections, and direct employee guidance.

• Assist employees and leaders with questions related to attendance, pay accuracy, and basic workforce policies.

• Partner with payroll and HR teams to resolve employee payroll and timekeeping inquiries efficiently.

• Assist with timekeeping review, payroll processing, and benefits enrollment.

• Maintain compliance with federal, state, and local manufacturing labor laws and OSHA safety documentation.

• Assist in developing and implementing new HR policies, handbooks, and procedures to support the scaling site.

• Resilient Contributor: An emotionally intelligent professional who handles sensitive employee relations matters with absolute discretion, empathy, and professionalism.

• Collaborative Communicator: Excellent communication skills with the ability to build trust and work effectively in a multicultural, fast-paced team environment.

• Process Improver: A proactive self-starter who takes initiative to build and refine HR frameworks, rather than just maintaining existing ones.

• Compliance Champion: Maintain a strong foundation of compliance awareness, including basic knowledge of OSHA, FMLA, Worker’s Compensation, and I-9 protocols.

You'll have...

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Management, or a related field (or equivalent work experience).

• Experience: 3–5 years of progressive HR experience, demonstrating solid growth in an HR Generalist, HR Specialist, or HR Generalist-adjacent role.

• Compliance Knowledge: Practical, working knowledge of federal and Kentucky state labor laws and HR regulatory requirements.

• Technical Skills: Strong proficiency in Microsoft Excel (e.g., v-lookups, pivot tables, data sorting) and experience working within HR Information Systems (e.g., Oracle, Workday, SAP, or Visier).

• Communication: Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to connect effectively with shop-floor team members and salaried leadership alike.

Even better, you may have...

• Certifications: Professional HR certification (PHR or SHRM-CP).

• Industry Experience: Prior HR experience in a manufacturing, logistics, or high-growth industrial startup environment.

• Systems Expertise: Direct experience managing position data, reporting, or organizational changes within Oracle HCM.

Leadership Attributes

• Proactive Partner: Focuses on anticipating operational needs and addressing potential issues before they escalate.

• Continuous Improver: A mindset that actively looks for ways to streamline administrative tasks and improve the employee experience.

• Adaptable & Resilient: Comfortable working in a dynamic facility where processes and teams are scaling and evolving in real-time.

Location & Travel
U.S. with domestic travel
You may not check every box, or your experience may look a little different from what we've outlined, but if you think you can bring value to Ford Motor Company, we encourage you to apply!
As an established global company, we offer the benefit of choice. You can choose what your Ford future will look like: will your story span the globe, or keep you close to home? Will your career be a deep dive into what you love, or a series of new teams and new skills? Will you be a leader, a changemaker, a technical expert, a culture builder…or all of the above? No matter what you choose, we offer a work life that works for you, including:

•  Immediate medical, dental, vision and prescription drug coverage

• Flexible family care days, paid parental leave, new parent ramp-up programs, subsidized back-up child care and more

• Family building benefits including adoption and surrogacy expense reimbursement, fertility treatments, and more

• Vehicle discount program for employees and family members and management leases

• Tuition assistance

• Established and active employee resource groups

• Paid time off for individual and team community service

• A generous schedule of paid holidays, including the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day

• Paid time off and the option to purchase additional vacation time.

Company: As Ford establishes a wholly owned subsidiary focused on Battery Energy Storage Systems, this role will initially be employed by Ford and is expected to transition to the subsidiary within one year.
This position is a salary grade 7 and ranges from $86,600-$144,900.
Final determination of salary grade will be based on candidate's skills and experience, and base salary will be set within the applicable range according to job scope, responsibility and competitive market value.
For more information on salary and benefits, click here: https://fordcareers.co/GSR
Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.
Candidates for positions with Ford Motor Company must be legally authorized to work in the United States. Verification of employment eligibility will be required at the time of hire.
We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, age, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability status or protected veteran status. In the United States, if you need a reasonable accommodation for the online application process due to a disability, please call 1-888-336-0660.

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