Vice President, Colleague & Labor Relations

The Position

The Vice President of Colleague and Labor Relations serves as a strategic executive leader responsible for developing and executing comprehensive employee and labor relations strategies across a $15 billion healthcare organization. This role provides enterprise-wide leadership in proactively managing labor relations, including the strategic administration of existing collective bargaining agreements, while implementing evidence-based initiatives to foster positive employee relations, balancing employee advocacy with organizational objectives and maintain union-free status in non-represented facilities. A critical focus of this position is the design, implementation, and oversight of a centralized Colleague Relations Center of Expertise (COE) that delivers consistent, compliant, and high-quality employee relations support through a team of specialized practitioners.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Colleague Relations Center of Expertise Leadership: Design, build, and lead a centralized Colleague Relations COE staffed with specialized practitioners who provide standardized consultation, case management, and advisory services to key stakeholders, colleagues and leaders, ensuring consistent interpretation and application of policies across all facilities.
• Labor Relations Strategy and Contract Administration: Oversees all collective bargaining activities, contract negotiations, and union relationships. Serves as chief negotiator or strategic advisor during labor negotiations. Develop and execute a comprehensive labor relations strategy that includes proactive management of existing collective bargaining agreements, strategic preparation for contract negotiations, grievance resolution processes, and arbitration management while maintaining collaborative relationships with union leadership. Monitors labor law developments and ensure organizational compliance with all applicable regulations in collaboration with Jefferson’s legal department.
• Union Avoidance and Positive Colleague Relations: Build and directs the colleague relations function including workplace investigations, conflict resolution, and disciplinary processes. Establishes frameworks for addressing colleague concerns, complaints, and performance issues consistently and fairly. Develops programs to improve colleague satisfaction, reduce turnover, and strength manager-colleague relationships. Lead enterprise-wide initiatives to maintain union-free status in non-represented facilities through proactive colleague engagement strategies, vulnerability assessments, leadership training, early warning systems, and programs that address colleague concerns before they escalate.
• Policy Development and Compliance: Establish and maintain enterprise-wide colleague relations policies, ensuring alignment with federal, state and local labor laws (including NLRA, FLSA, Title VII, ADA, and FMLA), regulatory requirements, and accreditation standards while providing expert guidance on complex employment matters and emerging legal trends.
• Investigations and Risk Mitigation: Identifies and mitigates employment-related risks. Oversee standardized investigation protocols for colleague complaints, misconduct allegations, and policy violations, ensuring thorough documentation, appropriate corrective actions, and mitigation of organizational risk and liability. Partners with legal counsel on complex matters and litigation management.
• Leadership Development and Training: Builds and leads a high-performing colleague and labor relations team. Provides coaching and guidance to HR business partners and managers with the best practices for colleague relations. Design and deploy comprehensive training programs for leaders at all levels on positive employee relations practices, labor law fundamentals, union awareness, effective communication, and conflict resolution to build organizational capability.
• Analytics and Reporting: Establish robust metrics, dashboards, and reporting mechanisms to monitor employee relations trends, case volumes, resolution outcomes, and labor relations health indicators, translating data into actionable insights for executive leadership.
• Executive Partnership and Stakeholder Management: Serve as a trusted advisor to the CHRO, C-suite executives, and Board of Directors on colleague and labor relations matters, representing the organization in external forums and maintaining relationships with legal counsel, regulatory agencies, and industry peers.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Labor Relations, Business Administration, or related field required.
• Master's degree in Human Resources, Labor and Employment Relations, Business Administration, or Juris Doctor strongly preferred.

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