Sr. Manager, Employee & Labor Relations

Title: Sr. Manager, Employee and Labor Relations

Shift: Monday to Friday (8:30am-5:00pm)

Location: Hybrid

Summary:

Are you passionate about creating a positive work environment and fostering employee engagement? Join us at Heartland Human Care Services (HHCS) as the Sr. Manager, Employee Relations! In this role, you'll work under the guidance of the Sr. Director Human Resources to support our efforts in employee engagement and retention. You'll also oversee lifecycle union-avoidance efforts, inquiries, investigations, union grievances, and negotiation planning and execution.

This role is critical in ensuring our employees feel valued and supported. As a key internal consultant to management, you will play a vital role in promoting our mission and vision through positive culture development and management efforts.

If you're looking for an exciting opportunity to drive positive change and make a meaningful impact, apply now to join us as the Sr. Manager, Employee Relations at Heartland Human Care Services!

Why Join Us:

• Make a Difference: Be a part of an organization that is deeply committed to creating positive change in the lives of individuals and communities.
• Professional Growth: Take on a leadership role where you can develop and implement asset management systems, supervise a dedicated team, and contribute to ongoing education initiatives.
• Comprehensive Benefits: Enjoy a range of benefits, including medical, dental, vision insurance, 401(k) match, paid maternity and paternity leave, commuter benefits, student loan assistance, and more.

Our Benefits:

• Medical insurance.
• Dental insurance.
• Vision insurance.
• 401(k) match.
• Paid maternity leave.
• Paid paternity leave.
• Commuter benefits.
• Student loan assistance.
• Tuition assistance.
• Disability insurance

Essential Functions:

Duties & Responsibilities

General Administration

• Partners with Human Resource Business Partner in recommending innovative approaches, development and/or implementation of HR (Human Resources) policies and procedures, individual or HR departmental initiatives, objectives, and systems for continuous improvements and efficiencies in departments and services provided.
• Supports the development of relevant policies.
• Ensures the drafting, finalization and memorialization of relevant employee/labor relations standard operating procedures, and process maps.
• Partners with L&D team toward developing, coordinating, and facilitating leadership training toward the promotion of positive employee relations.
• Maintains relevant and compliant reports and provides routine and ad hoc reports as required/requested.

Employee Relations

• Serves as content expert to support fair, consistent, and legally sound solutions to employee and management issues.
• Proactively anticipates, assesses, and identifies HR-related needs for the organization to develop integrated HR solutions.
• Formulates partnerships across the HR department and organization to deliver value added service to management and employees that reflect the business objectives of the organization.
• Consistently partners with member(s) of the Risk Management Team in receiving triaged employee complaints.
• Ensures timely, fair, equitable and non-biased complaint inquiries and conducts timely, fair, equitable and non-biased complaint investigations.

Labor Relations

• Partners with HRBP and program management to assess the need for and administer the grievance process demonstrating strict adherence to CBA guidelines and procedures.
• Oversees inclusive, researched, and timely contract negotiation preparation and provides primary staff support during contract negotiations.
• Other duties as assigned and/or required.

Retention

• In partnership with Sr. Director Human Resources and in collaboration with the Director of Recruitment, develops goals and metrics that align with the strategic plan. Presents on the progress with retention projects and their related metrics quarterly to business leadership.
• Collaborates with program management to develop, plan, and implement employee engagement and retention strategies.
• Represents HR on Quality Improvement (QI) committee, as appropriate.
• Serve as a thought-partner on the Employee Engagement Committee.
• In partnership with Recruitment Services, evaluates the onboarding process, and provides recommendations on continuous quality improvement opportunities.
• Uses data collected and provided by Learning & Development (L&D) to ensure outcomes are based on informed data.
• In concert with L&D, develops training opportunities for program management. Coaches and evaluates tiers of management on the efficacy of manager competencies provided through training and execution.
• Participates in and collects data from Exit Interviews and New Employee Orientation (NEO) to support decision-making and recommendations to senior leadership.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

• Future direct reports may be possible.

Education and Experience:

• Bachelor's degree in human resources management, Law, Business Administration, or related discipline required. Master’s degree in related fields preferred.
• Minimum five (5) years of progressive and professional experience in Human Resource Management, Risk Management or related experience required.
• Minimum one (1) year experience focused on labor relations working within the bargaining unit space is required.
• Minimum one (1) year synthesizing qualitative and quantitative data for decision making.
• Minimum one (1) year presenting recommendations and influencing a learning culture.
• Minimum one (1) year experience providing formal presentations to various tiers of leadership.
• Minimum one (1) year influencing positive organizational development in a small to midsize company.

Certifications/Licenses:

• Employee Relations & Investigations Certificate preferred.
• Certificate in Employee Relations Law Seminar preferred.

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities (K/S/A):

• Maintains an in-depth knowledge of legal requirements related to day-to-day management of employees, reducing legal risks, and ensuring regulatory compliance and employment laws.
• Demonstrated experience with conducting diverse types of interviews within a fact-finding framework.
• Demonstrated experience developing, operationalizing, and reporting on investigation process, outcome, and quality metrics.
• Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form.
• Ability to work independently and remain self-motivated with minimal direct supervision.
• Use data and statistics to make informed decisions that solve real-world business problems.
• Excellent communication skills. Strong networker, convener, relationship builder and communicator with experience collaborating with diverse work teams and stakeholders.
• Demonstrated ability to handle confidential and sensitive information possessing skills to handle situations in a professional and diplomatic manner.
• A high degree of collaboration and emotional intelligence, self-motivation, and analytical ability.
• Proficiency in project management practices and tools, Microsoft Office, Internet Explorer, Outlook/Exchange; Windows operating systems; and other software routinely used by Heartland Alliance.
• Strategic thought partnership and consultancy skills.

Work Arrangement:

This role is eligible for a “hybrid” or “remote” work arrangement. If hybrid, it is expected this person would be able to meet for “in person” meetings when needed or at the request of others. In-person meetings may be required regularly (weekly, monthly, etc.). There may also be the availability to work from home when appropriate.

Work Environment:

• The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.
• Each program site operates on a 24/7 basis, 365 days (about 12 months) per year. To meet both the needs of our participants and contractual obligations, employees must be flexible in scheduling and work location.
• Program sites are throughout the Chicago area, including the North and South sides of Chicago, and the suburbs. Employees may be required to report to any of our locations temporarily or permanently.

Physical Demands:

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk and listen.
• The employee is regularly required to sit, stand, and walk.
• The employee must be able to stoop, kneel and/or crawl.
• The employee is regularly required to use hands to key, handle, or feel and reach with hands and arms.
• The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.
• The employee must have unrestricted ability to provide physical restraint.
• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus.

Equal Opportunity Employer Statement

Heartland Human Care Services makes all hiring and employment decisions, and operates all programs, services, and functions without regard to race, receipt of an order of protection, creed, color, age, gender, gender identity, marital or parental status, religion, ancestry, national origin, amnesty, physical or mental disability, protected veterans status, genetic information, sexual orientation, immigrant status, political affiliation or belief, use of FMLA, VESSA, military, and family military rights, ex-offender status (depending on the offense and position to be filled), unfavorable military discharge, membership in an organization whose primary purpose is the protection of civil rights or improvement of living conditions and human relations, height, weight, or HIV infection, in accord with the organization's AIDS Policy Statement of September 1987.