We want you to join our team!
Job overview
Human Resources is seeking an experienced and confident Employee & Labor Relations professional to lead a critical function within our Human Resources division. This position reports directly to the Division Director of Human Resources (Employee & Labor Relations) and oversees a team responsible for managing employee relations, labor relations, workplace investigations, and discipline administration for a large, complex public organization.
In this role, the selected candidate will provide guidance to County leadership on high-impact employee relations matters-ensuring that decisions are fair, consistent, legally sound, and aligned with organizational values. This person will also lead the administration of Pre-Disciplinary Hearings, grievance processes, and employee relations strategy.
This position functions as a working manager, balancing leadership responsibilities with direct casework and hands-on involvement in employee relations matters. This is a hands-on leadership role that requires sound judgment, credibility, and the ability to navigate complex workplace issues with professionalism and discretion.
Salary range
$95,742 - $103,084
Annually Anticipated Hiring Range: Appointments are generally made in the lower portion of the salary range, based on qualifications and internal equity, with opportunities for future salary growth.
Ideal candidate
The ideal candidate is a seasoned employee relations leader who has successfully operated in a large, complex, and preferably unionized environment with responsibility for developing recommendations and supporting leadership in decision-making, rather than serving in a supporting or advisory-only capacity.
We are looking for someone who:
- Has led an employee relations function
- Brings strong, defensible experience conducting workplace investigations
- Is comfortable advising senior leaders on discipline, performance, and risk
- Is comfortable operating as a working leader who both manages staff and personally handles complex employee relations cases
- Can balance employee advocacy with organizational accountability
- Demonstrates sound judgment, discretion, and consistency in decision-making
- Communicates clearly and confidently, even in difficult situations
- Understands how to build trust with both management and union representatives
- Is comfortable working in a fast-paced environment with high visibility and accountability
Minimum qualifications
- Bachelor's Degree from an accredited four-year college or university (Masters preferred) with a major in Human Resources, Labor Relations, Public Administration, Business Administration, Employment Law, Industrial/Organizational Psychology, or a closely related field; and
- Five years of progressively responsible employee and labor relations experience, some of which must have been as a supervisor, including independent responsibility for workplace investigations, employee relations case management, discipline and grievance administration, policy interpretation, and overseeing or leading an employee relations function in a large organization
Minimum Experience Expectations
In addition to meeting the minimum qualifications, candidates must demonstrate:
- Experience leading or overseeing an employee relations function, not solely participating in or supporting employee relations activities
- Significant experience independently conducting and/or directing complex workplace investigations
- Experience advising senior leadership on high-risk employee relations matters, including discipline, terminations, and grievance outcomes
- Experience contributing to the consistency and defensibility of disciplinary actions within an organization
- Experience working in a large, complex organization with multiple departments and stakeholders
- Experience supervising and developing professional HR staff responsible for employee relations functions
- Experience leading, reviewing, and providing recommendations on complex employee relations matters, including investigations and discipline, with responsibility for ensuring quality, consistency, and defensibility prior to executive review