Senior Consultant, Labour Relations

JOB SUMMARY

Legal Services provides a comprehensive and complex range of legal services to elected officials, all City of Ottawa departments, and various boards and commissions (i.e. Ottawa Police Services Board, Ottawa Community Land Development Corporation and the Ottawa Public Library), in the areas of civil litigation, labour and employment law, prosecutions, and corporate, municipal, planning, development, environmental, and commercial law.  

You are responsible for senior level consultative and advisory services to city management and staff on labour relations matters, consistent with city objectives, past/current practices, current policies, relevant collective agreements and case law.  You serve as an expert resource, providing advice and guidance to city management and staff on more complex labour relations matters, represent the city in individual and policy grievance/interest arbitration processes, and provide leadership and coaching to Labour Relations Consultants (LRCs) to develop their skills.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

Completion of 4 year university degree in Industrial Relations, Law, Business or Public Administration, Commerce or other related field

Master's degree in Industrial Relations or Bachelors of Law degree is desirable

Minimum of 6 years of related experience managing labour relations issues, interpreting/administering collective agreements and participating in collective bargaining, preferably in a municipal setting

KNOWLEDGE

• Thorough knowledge of organizational structures of the City of Ottawa, municipal operations and departmental business requirements 
• Detailed knowledge of the function, objectives, principles and practices of public personnel and labour relations management and administration within unionized work environments
• Knowledge of standard and generally accepted human resource policies and procedures dealing with labour relations, recruitment/staffing/compensation and salary administration
• Knowledge of employment contract language and generally accepted contract interpretation and application
• Detailed knowledge of relevant labour and employment-related legislation 
• Legislation, trends, policies, regulations, issues, principles and procedures related to the collective bargaining process in the public sector 
• Principles and practices of collective bargaining including negotiations, conflict resolution, conciliation, mediation and interest arbitration procedures
• Collective bargaining theory, procedures and negotiation strategies
• Collective bargaining process including conciliation, mediation and interest arbitration
• Labour relations issues, both internal to the corporation and in the public sector in general 
• Relationship management between union/management officials 
• Dispute resolution techniques
• Knowledge of investigative methods, techniques and practices
• Knowledge of interviewing and negotiation processes/procedures
• Techniques for mentoring staff
• Protocols for developing submissions, briefings, major reports
• Computer applications, including MS Office, SAP or others used in the work unit

COMPETENCIES, SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• Work independently with minimal direction, and collaboratively with other labour relations and departmental staff
• Possess organizational skills and flexibility to plan, organize and prioritize own work, and to deal effectively with multiple demands, shifting/conflicting priorities, pressures and deadlines in an complex, unionized work environment
• Able to isolate key components of complex/diverse issues, research, analyze and evaluate alternatives and make sound recommendations
• Skilled in interpreting and applying labour legislation and provisions of memoranda of understanding 
• Skilled in research, analysis and evaluation of collective agreement language, bargaining proposals-including costing, or policy proposals
• Administer and process union/employer disputes conclusively and expeditiously 
• Possess collaborative skills to build and maintain positive workplace relationships, often in an adversarial climate, to gain acceptance and co-operation from employees, city and union officials and representatives 
• Communicate effectively and persuasively, both orally and in writing, to all levels within the corporation 
• Possess strong leadership and mentoring skills
• Possess negotiation skills with an interest in developing full negotiating capabilities for collective bargaining 
• Identify training requirements, design and deliver professional presentations and training
• Maintain and secure detailed documentation, records and files
• Must be able to travel to work locations as required by the job
• Demonstrates tact , diplomacy, sound judgement and discretion in protecting the privacy, confidentiality and security of personal and proprietary information
• Demonstrates perceptive abilities in identifying issues, and initiative and creativity in achieving results
• Thorough and attentive to detail
• Able to deal with difficult individuals and situations