Labour Relations Advisor

Labour Relations Advisor

**Job Number**:2454

**Job Type**: Full-Time
**Temp Contract Length**:
**Location**: 150 Frederick St - Regional Admin Headquarters
**Job Category**: Human Resources
**Number of Positions**:1
**Department**: Labour Relations
**Division**: Human Resources
**Hours of Work**: 35
**Union**: Management/Management Support
**Grade**: Management/Management Support Grade 06
**Salary Range**: $91,291.20 - $114.114.00 per year

**About Us**

The Region of Waterloo is a thriving, diverse community committed to fostering opportunities for current and future generations. Home to over 674,000 residents and expected to grow to nearly one million by 2051. Guided by our 2023-2027 Strategic Plan, “Growing with Care,” we focus on equity, inclusion, and sustainability. Our mission is to provide essential services that enhance the quality of life for all residents, while our core values emphasize caring for people and the land we share. Join us and be part of a team dedicated to making a meaningful difference in our community.

Dish with One Spoon Wampum:

- Waterloo Region is part of the Dish with One Spoon wampum, a treaty guiding our commitment to:

- Recognizing our shared humanity and land
- Taking only what we need
- Leaving some for others
- Keeping the dish clean
- This agreement underpins our vision, mission, and core values, and reinforces our dedication to meaningful reconciliation and equity.

**The Role**
- Provides labour relations advice to all levels of staff; administers collective agreements; and maintains relationships and communications with unions.**Duties/Responsibilities**
- Advises/ instructs management on performance and attendance management issues, human rights complaints, and harassment/workplace violence investigations. Conducts/ advises on investigations, discipline, remedial steps, and terminations. Writes discipline letters and related reports. Decides (as part of a team) if incidents meet the test of workplace violence.
- Chairs grievance meetings and administers procedures related to settlements, case preparation, and arbitration and rights hearings. Chairs labour-management meetings.
- Provides advice and direction (with disability management staff) on claims and return-to-work issues with potential labour relations implications.
- Mediates workplace conflicts.
- Designs, coordinates, and conducts training on labour relations, performance management, and impacts of new/ changed legislation and collective agreement language.
- Assists to draft/ update and implement policies, procedures, processes, work designs, and systems related to employee/ labour relations and collective agreement provisions.
- Participates on reorganization/ program review/ internal audit work groups to identify, advise on, and resolve labour-related issues. Assists clients to implement change initiatives and negotiates agreements with bargaining units to implement same.
- Researches, designs, and presents strategies /arguments/ proposals for collective bargaining. Assists to develop negotiation packages. Prepares costing analyses and related reports. Participates on/ chairs negotiation teams.
- Organizes/ coordinates strike plans and business continuity planning, and provides training and communications. Works with management to ensure critical services are delivered. Functions as rotating strike coordinator, including overseeing strike operations committee.
- Represents the division/ department on committees. Chairs CUPE clothing committee; calculates points per collective agreement; and makes decisions on clothing to be discontinued/added.
- Prepares submissions for the departmental budget. Commits the Region to significant costs through negotiations and letters of understanding.
- Exchanges information with Ministry officials, consultants, law firms, arbitrators, other municipal HR professionals, police, and external union representatives.
- Performs related duties as required.

**Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities**
- Knowledge of current public sector industrial relations, labour relations, strike/ business continuity planning, case law, collective agreements, employment legislation, and job evaluation and compensation issues, normally acquired through a Bachelor or Master’s degree in labour/ industrial relations or other related field, plus progressively responsible related experience.
- Knowledge of and ability to comply with policies, procedures, collective agreements, Employment Standards Act, Labour Relations Act, Pay Equity Act, Occupational Health and Safety Act, and Human Rights Code. Knowledge of Regional job functions, occupations, and structures.
- Ability to analyze and understand financial implications of proposals, perform cost calculations, and present same in understandable formats. Ability to conduct fair, objective investigations and recommend consistent remedial action per collective agreements.
- Facilitation, negotiation, human relations, and communication skills to foster