Employee & Labor Relations Manager

The Position

The East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) is a full-service governmental agency stewarding a metropolitan system of public open space parklands and trails in Alameda and Contra Costa counties east of the San Francisco Bay. EBRPD spans across 125,000 acres in 73 regional parks, including over 1,250 miles of trails that are enjoyed by over 25 million visitors and the community per year. The Park District acquires, manages, and preserves natural and cultural resources for everyone to enjoy now and forever to experience nature nearby. EBRPD preserves a rich heritage of natural and cultural resources and provides open space, parks, trails, safe and healthful recreation and environmental education. An environmental ethic guides the District in all of its activities.

The Park District is currently recruiting for an experienced Employee & Labor Relations Manager. This position is located at the Park District's Administrative Office, 2950 Peralta Oaks Ct., Oakland. The hiring pools established from this recruitment will be used to fill the current vacancies and additional vacancies that may occur during the one-year life of the hiring pools.

Reporting to the Assistant General Manager of Human Resources and/or the Division Lead of Human Resources, this classification has responsibility for the administration of one or more personnel activities or operating unit. Under general direction in the Human Resources Division, plans, develops, directs, coordinates, supervises, and evaluates the staff and activities of a personnel division; administers the employee and labor relations program; trains, supervises, and evaluates assigned staff; ensures program compliance with relevant federal, state and local laws and Park District requirements; and performs other related duties as required.

This position supervises professional, technical, and support staff, including interns or volunteers.

Essential functions include:

• Plan, direct, supervise and coordinate activities of one or more personnel programs and units;
• Assign, direct and evaluate assigned staff;
• Plans, researches and coordinates union/management labor negotiations;
• Participates as a member and trainer for the management bargaining team;
• Meets with union representatives and employees to determine contract language interpretation;
• Publishes mutually accepted interpretations for use by department managers in future contract implementation;
• Oversees the Park District's employee relations programs and policies to provide effective supervisory practices and to provide a strong employer-employee relations framework;
• Recommends new and revised policies and develops procedures and handbooks;
• Conducts District-wide training on labor and employee relations issues;
• Confers with Division representatives on employee grievances and disciplinary actions;
• Investigates and prepares findings for employee grievances which allege violations of the contracts;
• Works closely with Park District management to ascertain union/management issues which require resolution or contract clarification;
• Confers with and interprets contract language for Park District management and employees;
• Monitors developments in the employee and labor relations field, evaluates their impact on Park District activities and recommends policy and procedural improvements;
• Maintains accurate records and files;
• Conducts varied analytical studies including cost benefit analyses and proposal valuation;
• Prepares reports, correspondence and a variety of written material;
• Seeks legal opinions, as appropriate;
• Interprets state and federal laws relating to employee relations issues, such as Fair Labor Standards Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, Meyers, Milias, Brown, and ensures the Park District's compliance with applicable provisions;
• Assist in managing the Park District's EEO complaints and reporting process, Consult and advise Divisions on disciplinary procedures;
• Oversee the analysis of workforce data, utilization, and comparison studies, including statistical analysis;
• Make recommendations to support contract negotiations and address deficiencies;
• Interpret policies, procedures, and regulations for Park District management, employees, and the public;
• Coordinate services of external consultants and trainers;
• Develop and monitor contracts;
• Conduct complex research;
• Prepare and present reports including recommendations;
• Oversee the management of records and files related to programs offered and employee participation;
• Negotiate and administer contracts with vendors for Human Resources;
• Prepare and review a variety of written reports and correspondence;
• Serve as a Park District representative to outside agencies, organizations, contractors and the public as assigned; Serve as a subject matter expert on a variety of internal committees, work groups, and task forces;
• Perform related duties as assigned.

Minimum qualifications include: any combination of education and experience that would likely provide the required knowledge and abilities is qualifying. A typical way to obtain the knowledge and abilities would be: education: a Bachelor's Degree from an accredited college or university in human resources, Industrial relations, instructional design, business, public or personnel administration or a closely related field; and experience: three years of progressively responsible experience in public personnel administration and management and labor relations, including one year in a supervising or management capacity. Experience in a public agency is desirable. License: a valid California Class C Driver's License is a condition of initial and continued employment.

Additional information includes knowledge of principles and practices of public personnel administration, including recruitment, selection, classification, compensation, training, education and curriculum development targeted at all levels of an organization, equal employment opportunity, and human resource information systems; principles of organization and management; local government organizational structure; federal, state and local laws regulations, policies and procedures governing local personnel programs; personnel policy development, implementation and evaluation; general knowledge of principles and practices of public human resources administration in a unionized environment; principles and practices of management/union relations and negotiations; principles and practices of benefits program administration, workers' compensation, and occupational health and safety programs; principles and practices of public human resources administration; including organization, structure and labor relations in a municipal setting; applicable state and federal laws and regulations; standard office practices and procedures, including automated data processing and desktop publishing systems; thorough knowledge of supervisory principles and practices and techniques for transferring that knowledge to others.

Ability to develop innovative, practical approaches to unique problems in responding to the needs of the Park District; communicate clearly and concisely to small and large groups, both orally and in writing; interpret and apply federal, state, and local regulations, rules, and policies; conduct sensitive and complex investigations of complaints; collect, analyze and interpret personnel information and data; prepare and present clear, concise and accurate reports; represent the Park District effectively in meeting with its bargaining unit representatives and in labor negotiations; prepare clear, concise and complete reports and other written materials; make clear oral presentations; coordinate multiple negotiations and meet critical deadlines; collect, arrange, and evaluate varied information and data, either in statistical or narrative form; plan, organize, assign, direct review, and evaluate the work of professional and office support staff; analyze complex technical problems, evaluate alternatives and make sound independent judgments within established guidelines; establish and maintain effective work relationships with those contacted in the course of the work; evaluate alternative solutions and recommend or adopt effective courses of action; monitor activities for compliance with policies, procedures, and regulations; provide counseling and training to supervisors, managers, and employees; provide effective leadership; work independently; plan, organize and prioritize work; demonstrate interpersonal sensitivity; establish and maintain positive and cooperative working relationships with those contacted in the course of work at all levels, including a culturally diverse general public, with a focus on quality service to internal and external customers.

Conditions of employment include: must be able to pass a Level 1 background check which includes: employment history verification, employee reference check, education or certificate verification, Department of Justice fingerprinting, and criminal history review. Required to attend public hearings and other meetings which may be scheduled outside of normal work hours. This position is designated as a Mandated Reporter under the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act (CANRA). Mandated reporters are individuals who are obligated by law to report suspected cases of child abuse and neglect. As such, you will be required to sign an acknowledgment of having received the District's policy and your responsibilities.

Management designation: This position is not affiliated with a union and is considered part of the Management group and is exempt from the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (i.e. is not eligible for overtime); in addition to the regular work schedule, this position may require availability to work evenings and/or weekends. The probationary period for this position is one year. This position is designated as "at-will" and serves at the pleasure of the General Manager.

Application materials for these positions consist of two (2) required parts: 1. A current East Bay Regional Park District application submitted online, and 2. Completed supplemental questions. Apply prior to the closing time of the job announcement and allow at least one (1) hour to submit your application if you are a new user to the system. If you have previously applied to a position on GovernmentJobs.com, please allow time to update your existing profile. Applications are accepted online only. Our online application system is provided by NeoGov. If