Labour Relations Specialist

**Job Posting**

The Labour Relations Specialist (LRS) is a labour professional who is responsible for the delivery of expert advice to their assigned clients to support the best possible labour relations outcomes for the municipality. Labour relations services include: fact finding/investigation, collective bargaining, grievance management, union-management relations, progressive discipline, collective agreement administration, training/education/coaching and human rights/other legal obligations.

**DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES**:

- Supports leaders through workplace investigations including: assisting with development of investigation plan, drafting of questions, attending investigation meetings, advising on procedural issues, analyzing evidence, drawing conclusions and making recommendations for corrective action where appropriate
- Leads or co-leads collective bargaining on behalf of HRM
- Supports leaders through the grievance process in accordance with best labour relations practices including providing advice on strategic grievance handling, grievance processing, procedural requirements, dispute resolution options
- Assists Legal Services colleagues with arbitration case preparation including identification of witnesses, gathering and/or preparation of exhibits, and attending arbitration, labour board hearings and other hearings
- Tracks grievance trends to identify collective bargaining priorities and/or change management opportunities
- Drafts and/or reviews grievance responses, settlement agreements, summary of arbitration outcomes/lessons learned
- Provides labour relations expert advice to clients to help them lead change management initiatives in respect of the organized workforce to support business and corporate outcomes
- Leads or attends Union-Management relations/meetings
- Serves as a source of expertise with respect to the collective agreement and bargaining history
- Provides interpretation of collective agreements
- Contributes to the review, revision, introduction and implementation of new or updated policies, guidelines and processes to clients, in accordance with KVP principles
- Develops and delivers training on a variety of labour relations topics
- Provides advice in respect of duty to accommodate and bona fide occupational requirements

**QUALIFICATIONS**:
**Education and Experience**:

- Undergraduate degree in Business, Human Resources, Law, Industrial Relations or other undergraduate degree with exposure to Industrial Relations
- A minimum of two years’ experience in advising employer clients as a labour specialist in the public sector or private sector.
- Experience in collective bargaining as a bargaining team member or research support.
- Must have demonstrated experience communicating effectively in person and in writing.
- A suitable combination of education and experience will be considered.

**Technical / Job Specific Knowledge and Abilities**:

- Knowledge of legislation including but not limited to: Trade Union Act, Labour Standards Code, Human Rights Act, OHS Act, WCB Act.
- Knowledge of caselaw research using online tools including CanLii, Lexis-Nexis
- Knowledge of principles of labour relations and contract administration.
- Knowledge of principles of dispute resolution and problem solving.
- Knowledge of collective agreement costing and mathematical calculations.

**Security Clearance Requirements**:Applicants may be required to complete an employment security screening check.

**COMPETENCIES**:Analytical Thinking, Communication, Conflict Management, Customer Service, Organizational Awareness, Organization & Planning, Risk Management, Teamwork & Cooperation, Values & Ethics, Valuing Diversity

**WORK STATUS**: Permanent, full time

**HOURS OF WORK**:8:30am-4:30pm, Monday to Friday; 35 hours per week. Flex options to work outside of these hours and hybrid may be available.

**SALARY**:Non-union Level NU08 $88,690 to $104,338 annually (salary to be commensurate with experience)

**WORK LOCATION**: Purdy’s Wharf Tower 2, 1969 Upper Water Street, Halifax, NS.

**CLOSING DATE**:Applications will be received up to 11:59pm on Thursday, July 17, 2025.

**Please note**: We thank all applicants for their interest in this position. Only those applicants selected for interview/testing will be contacted.

During the recruitment process, applicants have the right to request an accommodation. Applicants invited to participate in an assessment process (such as interview or testing) and who require an accommodation, should discuss their needs with the Talent Acquisition Advisor when invited to the assessment process. For more information on our accommodation process please click on the link: Accommodations | Hiring | Employment | Halifax

(position # 78640079)