Chief of Labor Relations
City of Long Beach
Salary: $154,224 to $192,780 DOE/DOQ
See the full recruitment brochure here.
The City of Long Beach seeks a Chief of Labor Relations (Chief) to lead labor relations with the City's twelve (12) recognized employee organizations, which cover 23 different bargaining units and represent over 6,000 City employees. The Chief will oversee six staff, a budget of roughly $1.07 million, and will have a strong understanding of the principles, practices, and techniques of public sector collective bargaining under the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act, in addition to personnel/HR administration, employee relations, recruitment, classification and compensation, labor relations, progressive discipline, Civil Service employment, ADA/interactive process, FMLA, FLSA, EEO compliance, and training and development. They will have a background in working with unions and negotiating labor contracts.
The City is looking for a strong leader who can serve as an executive member of the Human Resources Department and provide counsel to the City’s management team on a variety of labor issues. The next Chief will have exemplary relationship-building skills, as this role involves maintaining effective working relationships with labor union representatives, department management personnel, public officials, and employees. They will provide guidance and lead the City’s labor negotiations and meet & confer processes. If you are a strategic thinker, have a strong grasp of labor relations, and want to work in an intellectually stimulating role, apply today!
THE IDEAL CANDIDATE
The ideal candidate will have labor relations, contract negotiation, and employee benefits experience. They will use a high degree of accuracy, independent judgment, and discretionary decision-making with respect to interpretation of Memorandums of Understanding (MOU), the Employer-Employee Relations Resolution, and Public Employment Relations Board rulings, in addition to City of Long Beach policies and procedures. The successful candidate will enjoy the autonomy this position allows, along with the unique challenges of working with 12 labor unions. They will be results-oriented, flexible to change, and customer-service-focused. The next Chief will also have the ability to analyze complex HR issues and use strategic thinking to develop sound and creative solutions. The ideal candidate will have strong interpersonal skills and establish effective working relationships with department managers, public officials, employees, and their representatives, as well as City employees and the public.