Manager, Employee and Labour Relations

Health Sciences North (HSN) is seeking an innovative leader for the position of Manager, Employee and Labour Relations. This role provides professional Labour and Employee Relations leadership and consulting services to the Human Resources Business Partners and HSN management by engaging in initiatives supporting HSN’s goals and objectives. In addition, the Manager of Employee and Labour Relations is the chief negotiator for local bargaining.

**KEY FUNCTION**:
Provide professional Labour/Employee Relations (LR) leadership and consulting services to the Human Resources (HR) Business Partners and HSN management by engaging in LR initiatives that support the HSN’s goals and objectives.

**REPORTING**:
Under the general direction of the Director, Human Resources.

**DUTIES**:

- Analyze HSN’s Collective Agreements to develop interpretation of intent, spirit, and terms of contract.
- Develop and maintain knowledge of current jurisprudence.
- Assist in leading and supporting the grievance handling process to ensure compliance with contractual timelines, and provide advice and guidance to Business Partners and management in resolving issues.
- Provide support and advise counsel for rights, interest hearings, and witness preparation.
- Develop and negotiate Minutes of Settlement with unions when appropriate, and ensure consistency across the organization.
- Ensure the timely implementation and communication of arbitration awards and settlements.
- Analyze grievance trends and issues, and canvass managers to assist in the development of education/in-service planning.
- Review HSN policies to ensure compliance with Collective Agreements, relevant legislation, and hospital practices.
- Act as an HSN spokesperson for Local Collective Bargaining and as an HSN advisor/spokesperson at mediation and arbitration, and participate on provincial Central collective bargaining team.
- Develop negotiation strategies in collaboration with HSN management and prepare management team members for bargaining.
- Negotiate agreements with the unions outside of formal collective bargaining to deal with issues as they arise.
- Ensure the timely and effective implementation, communication, and training on systems and services to ensure HR staff and management are kept apprise of recent LR and legislative issues.
- Identify and analyze LR risks associated with operational change initiatives and provide sound advice and guidance to management on mitigating/managing risks.
- Ensure accruals are in place for outstanding grievances, economic adjustments, and local collective bargaining.
- Supervise and assist with data collection and reporting of workload statistics, budget development, and monitoring.
- Analyze data against benchmarks when appropriate and make recommendations for strategies to remain within established benchmarks.
- Manage human resources which include: recruitment, selection and training.
- Guide, motivate, monitor and supervise staff, develop standards of performance, evaluate performance and make recommendations on disciplinary action if required.
- Oversee the work of others in compliance with the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA), its regulations, and HSN policies.
- Provide hospital wide, on-call coverage for problems and serious issues after hours and on weekends according to scheduled rotation.
- Determine and align improvement projects with HSN’s Strategic Plan; monitor and adjust to achieve goal outcomes.
- Participate in the accreditation process and work to ensure that the program and HSN achieve, maintain and continually improve upon their accredited status.
- Teach, coach and lead staff in the development and monitoring of quality indicators and improvement initiatives.
- Engage in and foster professional development of all staff and provide opportunities for learning within budgeted resources.
- Ensure a safe environment for patients, staff and visitors; investigate report, debrief and take or direct corrective action as required on incidents.
- Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders/organizations/community groups to achieve program objectives, integrate and link services and foster partnerships across the continuum of service delivery.
- Participate in education and training specific to current, relevant federal and provincial health and safety legislation, standards and guidelines.
- Represent the department or program on various committees and in meetings as required.
- Perform other duties as required.

**QUALIFICATIONS**

**EDUCATION AND TRAINING**:

- Minimum of a four (4) year Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, Industrial Relations, Human Resources Management (HRM), or in a related field, from an accredited university.
- Current Designation as a Canadian Human Resources Leader (CHRL) is required or equivalent combination of post-secondary education, training and experience may be considered.
- Ministry of Labour “Worker Health and Safety Awareness in 4 Steps”