Senior Employee and Labor Relations Specialist

Be a part of a dynamic team whose work enriches the health of communities by strengthening city and county health departments. At the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), we are united by our work to improve our country's 3,300 U.S. local health departments. We represent the voice of local public health while striving to live out our core values of equity, excellence, participation, respect, integrity, leadership, science, and innovation. We provide our employees with meaningful work, opportunities to learn and grow, a strong work/life balance, and a flexible, hybrid work schedule while being a part of a collaborative team.

We are interested in growing our team with passionate, committed, and innovative individuals. The Senior Employee and Labor Relations Specialist will join NACCHO at a time of dynamic growth. This position is important in the Human Resources Department.

POSITION SUMMARY:

Senior Human Resources Specialist, Employee & Labor Relations usually an individual contributor in a specific area of expertise and is accountable for professional functions and/or systems. Work at this level requires substantial knowledge in an area of specialization and both the conceptual understanding and sufficient professional experience to work on complex assignments with minimal supervision. These assignments typically require originality and creativity in applying the knowledge and concepts of the area of specialization.

Senior Human Resources Specialist, Employee & Labor Relations may provide guidance to other professionals and administrative staff either in a, project management or technical capacity. The Senior Specialist is considered a career level professional and works with minimal supervision. Incumbents only move beyond this level if they develop expert level capabilities – and NACCHO needs this level of skill – or if they take on significant management responsibilities. Positions at this level require proven analytical, research and project management capabilities typically acquired through a Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent education and a minimum of five years progressive and relevant experience.

COMPETENCIES AND EXPECTATIONS:

• Analytical - Synthesizes complex or diverse information; collects and researches data; uses intuition and experience to complement data; designs workflows and procedures.
• Problem Solving - Identifies and resolves problems in a timely manner; gathers and analyzes information skillfully; develops alternative solutions; works well in group problem solving situations; uses reason even when dealing with emotional topics.
• Project Management - Develops project plans; coordinates projects; communicates changes and progress; completes projects on time and budget; manages project team activities.
• Technical Skills - Assesses own strengths and weaknesses; pursues training and development opportunities; strives to continuously build knowledge and skills; shares expertise with others.
• Customer Service - Manages difficult or emotional customer situations; responds promptly to customer needs; solicits customer feedback to improve service; responds to requests for service and assistance; meets commitments.
• Interpersonal Skills - Focuses on solving conflict, not blaming; maintains confidentiality; listens to others without interrupting; keeps emotions under control; remains open to others' ideas and tries new things.
• Oral Communication - Speaks clearly and persuasively in positive or negative situations; listens and gets clarification; responds well to questions; demonstrates group presentation skills; participates in meetings.
• Written Communication - Writes clearly and informatively; edits work for spelling and grammar; varies writing style to meet needs; presents numerical data effectively; able to read and interpret written information.
• Teamwork - Balances team and individual responsibilities; exhibits objectivity and openness to others' views; gives and welcomes feedback; contributes to building a positive team spirit; puts success of team above own interests; able to build morale and group commitments to goals and objectives; supports everyone's efforts to succeed.
• Quality Management - Looks for ways to improve and promote quality; demonstrates accuracy and thoroughness.
• Ethics - Treats people with respect; keeps commitments; inspires the trust of others; Works with integrity and ethically; upholds organizational values.
• Organizational Support - Follows policies and procedures; completes administrative tasks correctly and on time; supports organization's goals and values; benefits organization through outside activities; supports affirmative action and respects diversity.
• Motivation - Sets and achieves challenging goals; demonstrates persistence and overcomes obstacles; measures self against standard of excellence; takes calculated risks to accomplish goals.
• Quality - Demonstrates accuracy and thoroughness; looks for ways to improve and promote quality; applies feedback to improve performance; monitors own work to ensure quality.
• Quantity - Meets productivity standards; completes work in timely manner; strives to increase productivity; works quickly.
• Safety and Security - Observes safety and security procedures; determines appropriate action beyond guidelines; reports potentially unsafe conditions; uses equipment and materials properly.
• Adaptability - Adapts to changes in the work environment; manages competing demands; changes approach or method to best fit the situation; able to deal with frequent change, delays, or unexpected events.
• Attendance/Punctuality - Is consistently at work and on time; ensures work responsibilities are covered when absent; arrives at meetings and appointments on time.
• Dependability - Follows instructions, responds to management direction; takes responsibility for own actions; keeps commitments; completes tasks on time or notifies appropriate person with an alternate plan.
• Initiative - Volunteers readily; undertakes self-development activities; seeks increased responsibilities; takes independent actions and calculated risks; looks for and takes advantage of opportunities; asks for and offers help when needed.
• Innovation - Displays original thinking and creativity; meets challenges with resourcefulness; generates suggestions for improving work; develops innovative approaches and ideas; presents ideas and information in a manner that gets others' attention.

POSITION SPECIFIC DUTIES:

• Uses skills, experiences, and content knowledge to develop, plan, implement, monitor, evaluate, and promote Human Resources work and ensures completion of deliverables.
• Handles labor and employee relations and human resource inquiries related to policies, procedures, and bargaining agreements; refers complex matters to appropriate management staff.
• Serves as the initial contact and liaison for intake and assessment of employee complaints, prepares report for Senior Advisor, or Director/Lead
• Contributes to long-term projects and strategic planning.
• Conducts initial interviews and gathers information for employee relations matters such as harassment allegations, work complaints, or other concerns; informs appropriate HR staff when additional investigation is required.
• Assists with recordkeeping related to hiring, termination, leave, transfer, and promotion particularly as related to Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO), affirmative action, and diversity initiatives.
• Maintains situational awareness of policies, and practices relevant to designated area of work.
• Collects information and data to assess cost and policy implications of negotiations and disputes. This may include management and union proposals, pay scales and wages, benefits, working conditions, and other mitigating circumstances.
• Develops presentations to train management staff.
• Maintains knowledge and understanding of laws and regulations related to EEO, affirmative action, collective bargaining, unions, labor relations, and human resources.
• Assists with preparation of plans, policies, documents, and reports including EEO-1, affirmative action plans, organizational charts, labor agreements, and employee handbooks.
• Assists with preparation of documents and records required for contract negotiations, meetings, and negotiations with employee and labor organizations.
• Assists the Senior Advisor, Director/Lead or Senior Director, or other staff in other matters, as assigned.

EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE/SKILLS:

Bachelor's degree and certification in relevant professional field with a minimum of 5-7 years relevant work experience; or equivalent combination of education and experience, including a relevant certification. Master’s degree in a relevant field preferred.

• Ability to Multi-task while using critical thinking skills towards projects, issues, and solutions.
• Ability to appropriately apply collective bargaining agreement contract language, and personnel manual language appropriately to situations.
• Ability to read and interpret documents such as safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions, and procedure manuals.
• Ability to write routine reports and correspondence.
• Ability to speak effectively before groups of customers or employees of the organization.
• Ability to calculate figures and amounts such as discounts, interest, commissions, proportion, percentages, area, circumference and volume.
• Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral or diagram form.
• Outlook, Spreadsheet and Word Processing software experience required.

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

• Occasionally required to sit.
• Occasionally required to walk.
• Occasionally required to reach with hands and arms.
• Occasionally required to talk or hear.
• Occasionally required to bend, lift or climb stairs.
• Occasionally required to lift light weights (less than 25 pounds).

WORK ENVIRONMENT:

• The noise level in the work environment usually is moderate.

SELECTION PROCESS:

The selected candidate must reside in the Washington, DC – Maryland – Virginia (DMV) area within 30 calendar days of their start date.

We only accept applications that follow the electronic process. No phone calls please. This position is subject to background screening. Qualified applicants should send a cover letter with salary requirements, resume, one writing sample to: PN – 273 Senior Employee and Labor Relations Specialist

https://naccho.clearcompany.com/careers/jobs/dc3c83b4-20a2-de75-0234-4a329d096972/apply?source=2978670-CS-2909

NACCHO offers generous benefits package such as:

• Medical, Dental, Vision, STD, LTD insurances
• 15 days of paid vacation & 13 days of sick leave and other types of leave
• 403(b) Retirement plan,
• Hybrid Remote Work Available
• NACCHO is a qualified employer under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.

At NACCHO, our commitment to equal employment opportunity and affirmative action seeks to ensure a work environment free of discrimination and harassment. We respect and value work force diversity among all employees and all those with whom we do business.