HR Business Partner/Employee Relations Specialist

Job Title: HR Business Partner / Employee Relations Specialist

Location: Manteno, IL

Work Schedule: Fully On-site, Monday–Friday

Employment Type: Full-time

Experience Level: 5–10 years

About the Role: Gotion is seeking a hands-on HR Business Partner / Employee Relations Specialist to support our business and R&D teams in Manteno, Illinois. This role is designed for an execution-oriented HR professional who can work closely with managers and employees on employee relations, 90-day reviews, performance management, documentation, corrective actions, investigations, and day-to-day HR support. This is a fully on-site role, Monday through Friday. The ideal candidate should be comfortable working directly with business leaders, technical managers, R&D teams, and employees in a fast-paced, cross-functional environment.

Key Responsibilities: Lead and support employee relations matters, including employee complaints, workplace concerns, misconduct issues, communication conflicts, attendance concerns, policy violations, and manager-employee disputes. Conduct workplace investigations, document findings, summarize facts, and recommend appropriate next steps in partnership with HR leadership and management. Support the 90-day review process for new hires, including review tracking, manager follow-up, documentation, performance feedback, and employment decision support. Partner with business and R&D managers on performance management, including coaching conversations, performance documentation, corrective action, PIP support, and follow-up actions. Maintain strong on-site visibility and build effective working relationships with employees, managers, and cross-functional stakeholders. Provide Spanish-language HR support when needed, including policy explanation, employee communication, investigation interviews, coaching, and issue resolution. Ensure consistent application of company policies, performance standards, attendance expectations, disciplinary processes, and workplace conduct requirements. Prepare and maintain accurate HR documentation, including investigation notes, corrective action forms, 90-day review records, performance documentation, and employee relations case files. Coach managers on handling difficult employee conversations in a compliant, practical, and well-documented manner. Partner with HR leadership, legal, payroll, operations, and functional leaders on employee relations, performance, compliance, leave, attendance, and workforce management issues. Identify recurring ER or performance issues and recommend practical improvements to reduce risk, improve accountability, and strengthen team effectiveness. Support additional HR activities as needed, including onboarding, employee communication, HR reporting, policy rollout, employee engagement, and manager enablement.

Required: Qualifications5–10 years of HR experience, with strong hands-on experience in employee relations, performance management, corrective actions, workplace investigations, and manager coaching. Prior experience supporting business, technical, R&D, engineering, commercial, project, or cross-functional teams. Fluent or professional working proficiency in both English and Spanish. Strong understanding of employee relations documentation, investigation processes, corrective action, attendance management, and performance review processes. Ability to work fully on-site in Manteno, IL, Monday through Friday. Comfortable working directly with managers, employees, technical teams, and business leaders. Strong judgment, confidentiality, documentation discipline, and ability to handle sensitive employee matters. Ability to operate in a fast-paced environment where HR must be visible, responsive, practical, and execution-focused. Strong communication skills, including the ability to explain policies, expectations, and performance feedback clearly in both English and Spanish. Preferred

Qualifications: Experience supporting 90-day reviews, probationary period evaluations, structured new-hire performance reviews, or manager-led performance calibration. Experience supporting R&D, engineering, product, commercial, sales, project management, or technical business teams. Experience in battery, EV, clean energy, automotive, technology, advanced manufacturing, or high-growth industrial environments. Knowledge of Illinois employment practices and general U.S. employment law principles. Experience with HRIS, case tracking, attendance systems, performance documentation systems, or employee relations case management tools.

Ideal Candidate: ProfileThe ideal candidate is a practical, on-site HR operator who can support business and R&D teams with discipline, speed, and sound judgment. This person should be able to handle employee relations cases independently, follow through on 90-day reviews and performance actions, coach managers through difficult conversations, and keep documentation clean and defensible. This role is best suited for someone who is not looking for a purely strategic HR role. We need someone who can execute, follow up, document, communicate clearly, and help managers build accountability across the organization.