EMEA Employee Relations Lead, Wise

£79-97k

Senior and Expert level
London

1-5 days a week in office

Wise

Money without borders

Open for applications

Wise

Money without borders

1001+ employees

FintechB2CB2BPersonal financePaymentsForeign exchange

Open for applications

£79-97k

Senior and Expert level
London

1-5 days a week in office

1001+ employees

FintechB2CB2BPersonal financePaymentsForeign exchange

Company mission

We’re on a mission. And it’s money without borders. Instant, convenient, transparent and — eventually — free.

Role

Who you are

  • Employee Relations Lead expertise in high-growth environments - no matter the challenge, you bring thought leadership and take ownership in dealing with ambiguity and shifting priorities in a scaling, global team and you are ready to take your existing experience to the next level
  • Subject matter expert in employment law and ER advice: Senior Leadership will look to you for sound advice on a variety of complex cases
  • Strong growth mindset: being resilient to and excited about change in a hyper-growth environment, with the opportunities it brings and the multiple projects you’ll be involved with simultaneously
  • Data driven: you always start with data, facts and insights to help inform your approach through storytelling to solving problems and analysing needs
  • A heap of empathy and emotional intelligence: you’ll need to be able to communicate effectively and inclusively, both in person and in writing, and deal with confidential information in a professional manner
  • Adaptable and resilient: you’ll be as comfortable working with ambiguity as you are with certainty, as we need someone who can be agile enough to respond to changing priorities, but be able to have big-picture proactive thinking for the long-term path ahead
  • Collaborative: with tested mediation skills, you guide a vast variety of stakeholders, building and fostering relationships over time, but also not afraid to challenge through healthy discussions
  • Initiative and tech savvy - we’re not about “one size fits all” or looking for off-the-shelf solutions; we need you to think creatively and customise your outlook

Desirable

  • Employment law degree
  • Financial services experience: you possess deeper insight to empower our team further with our commercial strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats

What the job involves

  • We’re looking for an EMEA Employee Relation (ER) Lead to join our ER team in the London office. This role is a unique opportunity to have an impact on Wise’s mission and assist our Wisers, Leads and teams in delivering a seamless employee experience throughout the entire ‘Wiser’ journey
  • This role will report to our Global Employee Relations Lead based in London
  • You’ll also provide input on team goals, KPIs, efficiencies, process improvements and future optimisation of our regional ER team, through deliverables in local and global projects
  • You'll be supporting a team of People Advisors from an ER perspective, assisting them in navigating the complexities of advisory and case management. Your leadership will contribute to the cultivation of a safe, inclusive workplace—an environment where employees thrive and contribute to the overall success of Wise
  • Allocate new ER cases to Advisors taking into account volume and complexity
  • Independently own ER matters end-to-end, supporting and advising Wisers and Leads through a significant volume and range of complex situations (from internal conflict management to external escalated cases), and balancing our exposure and appetite to risk in the process (liaise with internal and external counsel on complex cases)
  • Analyse Employee Relations trends and recommend solutions to address systemic issues, enabling the business to make sound and proactive decisions and take strategic actions where needed in conjunction with the Global ER Lead
  • Improve on critical commercial outcomes by proactively identifying challenges and managing risks associated with individual cases, being prepared to challenge and be challenged and use advanced techniques to determine best outcomes
  • Strengthen our collaboration between ER function and People Partners, equipping both teams with informed data insights to drive empowered stakeholder relationships
  • Coach and upskill ER People Advisors in navigating end-to-end management of Employee Relations cases with increased complexity, sensitivity, regulation and risk, and cross-sharing recommendations and learnings from specific cases to enable further development across the Global ER team
  • Act as a point of escalation for Employee Relations cases with deeper complexity/severity (e.g. disputes, hearings, tribunals)
  • Provide important insights and sound recommendations for policy changes (local and global), ensuring key stakeholders are continually informed of legislation, law and regulation updates
  • Develop capability of Leads to independently handle a range of Employee Relations matters, developing management styles to foster positive working relationships with Wisers
  • Collaborate with Global ER Lead and other Regional ER Leads on future ER Strategy and associated projects
  • Champion and role-model our values and culture, supporting the continual embedding of them in everything we do and enabling an inclusive environment where everyone can do their best work
  • Contribute strategic thinking towards the bi-annual planning cycles: attend global review sessions, collate data on team performance, share ideas for improvements and lead new projects
  • Create continuous improvement within the team: partner with your global team to recommend new approaches and changes in policy and procedures, co-creating solutions with a global and mass customisation outlook
  • Maximise advisory impact and partnership: collaborate with the People Partners (HRBPs) and senior stakeholders to share advisory data and trends to drive empowered and inclusive stakeholder relationships

Salary benchmarks

Our take

Wise started when the two founders realised they would be better off trading Estonian kroons for British pounds (and vice versa) between themselves rather than going through banks. That was back in 2011, and they've since grown Wise into one of Europe's most successful tech businesses, exchanging billions of currency every month.

Wise rapidly grew by solving a significant problem for customers, who lost too much money to banks when exchanging currency. They've attracted investment from some of the best investors in the world, from Andreesen Horowitz to Index Ventures and even Richard Branson.

The challenge for Wise will be maintaining their edge and brand power in a market that's becoming increasingly crowded with new entrants (like Revolut and Monzo) and incumbents (traditional banks) trying to catch up. To do so, the company is ramping up its digital and marketing strategies, as well as pushing for further development of its existing products.

Freddie headshot

Freddie

Company Specialist

Insights

Top investors

Many candidates hear
back within 2 weeks

38% employee growth in 12 months

Company

Employee endorsements

Flexible working

"I'm trusted to do my work regardless of whether I'm in the office or working from my spare room. Our mobile wiser scheme gives us the opportunity to..."

Funding (last 2 of 7 rounds)

Nov 2017

$280m

SERIES E

May 2016

$26m

SERIES D

Total funding: $396.4m

Company benefits

  • Medical Insurance
  • Health and Wellbeing Discounts
  • 25 days holiday (excl. bank holidays) + 3 Me Days
  • RSUs (Restricted Stock Units)
  • 6 Week Paid Sabbatical
  • Mobile Wiser - work remote for up to 90 days a year 🛫
  • Parental Leave
  • Pension and Retirement Plans
  • Plus Many More!

Company values

  • This isn’t just a job, we’re a revolution
  • We get it done
  • Customers > team > ego
  • No drama. Good karma.

Company HQ

London, UK

Leadership

Taavet Hinrikus

(Chairman)

Previously Director of Strategy for Skype.

Previously a Consultant at PwC and Manager at Deloitte.


People progressing

Joined as Banking Lead, promoted to Head of Banking after 2 years, then again to Global Head of Banking.

Diversity & Inclusion at Wise

  • Communities and safe spaces (Employee Resource Groups) – led by our Wisers so people can share experiences and information, support each other and connect on shared values
  • Wise Cultural Calendar – a programme to learn and celebrate the wide range of cultures, traditions, backgrounds, and global experiences we have here at Wise. Example programmes include Pride Summer and Black History Month
  • Our teams continue to set and drive their own bespoke objectives, holding themselves accountable and making sure they focus efforts where they can have the most impact
  • We’re excited to partner with InChorus to collect ongoing data on our culture and enable teams to track their progress
  • DEI development and training — We’re building our capability and getting everyone on the same page about DEI. Our new training programme will help new joiners and all Wisers know what DEI looks like day-to-day and how they can play their part
  • Global policy review — We’re working with an external advisor to provide detailed feedback on best practices in policies by end January
  • Disability inclusion – We’re building resources and support for Wisers and candidates with disabilities. Our goals is to offer practical information and support to ensure that Wise remains an inclusive environment for those impacted by a disability

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