Senior Labor Relations Specialist

About the Department

Senior Labor Relations Specialist

What You Should Bring:

• The ideal candidate will be someone with exceptional senior level labor relations experience within a municipal, educational, private or nonprofit environment who understands the unique circumstances that are encountered within a localized organizational environment. 
• Mastery knowledge of the legal and regulatory concepts, principles, practices, techniques, and case law in the labor relations arenas, and the consultative skill and seasoned judgment necessary to generate new concepts, principles, and approaches in the labor relations field. 
• The ideal candidate should drive labor relations policy, processes, and practices to ensure effective execution and compliance.
• The incumbent is expected to exercise considerable discretion in carrying out responsibilities independently and with awareness of municipal government structure and culture and confidential issues and sensitivities. 
• The incumbent should have mastery knowledge of, and skill in applying, labor relations laws, policies, regulations, and precedents sufficient to provide strategic labor relations advisory services on organization-wide strategic plans and complex organizational issues such as multiple reductions- in-force, outsourcing, reconfigurations of mission workload and union representational issues. 
• Expert skill in meeting and negotiating with individuals at all organizational levels concerning situations that are frequently controversial, pressure-filled or not well-defined and with the potential for significant legal ramifications for the City of Alexandria. 
• Expert skill in oral and written communication techniques sufficient to formulate and present arguments and advisory opinions and to prepare legal and case documents.

Examples of Work:

• Participates in assessing and assisting all levels of citywide managers in labor relations issues.
• Develops policy through research and analysis of law and regulations, evaluates proposed legislation and regulations, and formulates position, draft policy and guidance on issues relating to programmatic responsibilities associated with the City’s labor relations program.
• Works in a confidential capacity and provides authoritative advice and guidance to senior officials on a wide variety of sensitive and highly complex labor relations issues. This includes broad policy and program issues, actions related to specific casework, and quasi-judicial complaints.
• Serves as the City’s technical expert in various third-party forums, including proceedings before the City of Alexandria Labor Relations Administrator, and Arbitrators.
• Formulates positions, strategies, and develops authoritative recommendations with respect to collective bargaining approaches, negotiability determinations, recognition and unit determinations, prohibited practice allegations, and various negotiated grievances, appeals and complaints.
• Serves as the Office of Labor Relations and/or City of Alexandria representative in negotiations, discussions, working groups, and both formal and informal advisory forums to present, defend, and negotiate positions as the recognized representative of City/senior management.
• Represents the Office of Labor Relations and/or the City of Alexandria in several interactions with the unions representing bargaining unit employees. Serves as an administrator of the City’s collective bargaining agreements, resolving matters of contract interpretation and ensuring compliance with contractual obligations. Facilitate conflict resolution through informal and formal processes. Represent the City of Alexandria in collective bargaining and facilitate labor management collaboration.
• Conducts workshops and seminars to build and/or improve skills and knowledge essential to the success of the City’s labor relations program. Provides guidance and assistance to management on the development and implementation of such.
• Analyzes and evaluates quantitative or qualitative effectiveness of line program operations in meeting established goals and objectives. Develops measurement criteria, procedures, and instruments to meet the needs of assigned study.
• Plan, organize, and/or direct efforts to persuade management officials to accept and implement recommendations, where the proposals involve substantial resources or require change in established procedures and methods.
• Collects, reviews, evaluates, and interprets data. Presents findings, options, and recommendations, via briefings, staff reports, project papers, etc. and prepare detailed plans and conducts/develops work measurements, methods and procedures, benchmarking and/or studies.
• Performs other related work as assigned.

About the Office of Labor Relations
The City of Alexandria's Office of Labor Relations serves as the central authority for developing, interpreting, and implementing labor relations policies that affect the entire municipal workforce. Operating under broad and often evolving statutory, regulatory, and policy guidelines, the Office provides expert analysis and strategic guidance on complex labor issues, collective bargaining, and other management initiatives.

Staff within the Office act as technical experts, exercising broad discretion to interpret non-specific guidelines, formulate new policies, and propose innovative solutions to systemic or precedent-setting labor relations challenges. Their work requires extensive analysis, coordination, and negotiation with senior City officials, agency leaders, and union representatives to resolve sensitive and high-impact matters.

The Office’s initiatives influence Citywide labor-management relations, improve workforce efficiency and compliance, and shape the long-term direction of personnel and labor policy. Through research, negotiation, and collaboration, the Office ensures that City operations remain equitable, effective, and aligned with both organizational priorities and labor agreements.

Position Duties

Minimum: Four-Year College Degree; five years of progressively-responsible human resources experience with a concentration in compensation and classification in the public sector, employee relations, or training; five years experience in Federal, State and City laws, ordinances, rules and regulations pertaining to human resource management; or any equivalent combination of experience and training which provides the required knowledge, skills and abilities.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or advanced degree in Human Resources, Psychology, Organizational Development/Analysis, or Labor/Industrial Relations.
• Track record of Mastery knowledge of advanced principles, concepts, regulations, and practices, analytical methods and techniques, and seasoned consultative skill sufficient to resolve labor relations problems or issues not susceptible to treatment by standard methods.
• Demonstrated ability to assess and implement programmatic improvements of broad impact on organizational operations.