Human Resource Services
Alameda Skyline

Labor Relations Manager

Recruitment #18-0292-01

Introduction

*This classification may receive compensation up to an additional 10% of the base salary when assigned overall responsibility for the Human Resource Services Human Resource (HR) Trainee Program and provides technical HR oversight for one or more County Departments/Agencies.

THIS IS A NEW ASSEMBLED EXAMINATION. The eligible list resulting from this examination will cancel any existing list and may last approximately one year, but can be extended. A properly completed Supplemental Questionnaire must be submitted with each application.

Applications and Supplemental Questionnaires must be in the possession of the Human Resource Services Department by 5:00 p.m. on the Last Day for Filing. Postmarks are not accepted. Failure to submit the Supplemental Questionnaire will result in disqualification. Applications will only be accepted on-line

 

DESCRIPTION

THE COMMUNITY
Alameda County is located on the east side of the San Francisco Bay. Referred to as the “East Bay,” the region has been the fastest growing group of communities in the San Francisco Bay Area for more than two decades.  Alameda County is popular because of its desirable location, incredible diversity, ideal climate, and broad economic base, plus its range of available housing and business opportunities.  Alameda County is one of the most culturally and ethnically diverse regions in the country, offering a rich array of amenities including the Oakland Museum, Chabot Space and Science Center, Oakland East Bay Symphony, and the Livermore and Tri-Valley Wine Country. Alameda County is home to the Oakland Athletics, Oakland Raiders, and Golden State Warriors. The University of California, Berkeley and California State University, East Bay are two of several distinguished academic institutions located in the County.


THE HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT
The Alameda County Human Resource Services department provides state and local mandated support services to all County departments, agencies, and to some special districts including: merit-based examinations, position classification, salary administration, grievance resolution, disciplinary appeals, labor negotiations, unemployment insurance, employee benefits, and dental insurance.

The Employee and Labor Relations division promotes a high-quality work force and collaborative relationships between management and employee organizations by providing training and guidance on managing performance, contract interpretation, resolving complaints at the lowest level, and by negotiating timely and fiscally responsible agreements.

THE POSITION
The Labor Relations Manager reports to the Director of Human Resource Services, and is responsible for administering, coordinating and managing the operations of the County-wide labor relations programs. Major responsibilities include development and implementation of labor relations goals, policies and priorities, overseeing and conducting meet and confer and negotiations sessions, interpreting contract language, the administrative code, and salary ordinance provisions and providing labor relations support to senior level management county-wide on the most complex, sensitive and difficult labor issues. The incumbent is expected to establish and maintain solid working relationships with the County Administrator’s Office and the Board of Supervisors and routinely make presentations to obtain negotiating authority in closed sessions. The position will also oversee Performance Management and general Human Resources related issues. Additionally, the incumbent supervises a team of 6 full-time professional and clerical staff members, 3 trainees, and 1 part-time retiree.

Click here to view the complete recruitment brochure.  Recruitment services are provided by Ralph Andersen & Associates.

THE IDEAL CANDIDATE
The successful candidate is a seasoned professional whose background reflects progressively responsible experience at the bargaining table and in administering complex labor contracts with multiple stakeholders. The most qualified candidates will have significant experience supervising and leading labor analysts in the research and preparation of data, analysis and strategy in support of labor negotiations.

In addition to meeting the minimum qualifications of the position, the ideal candidate will exemplify the following critical attributes:

• A capable decision maker who identifies and understands issues, problems, and opportunities and who compares data from different sources to draw conclusions and uses effective approaches for choosing a course of action or develops appropriate solutions.

• A flexible and resilient leader who maintains effectiveness during major changes in work responsibilities or environment and who can adjust effectively to working within new work structures, processes, requirements, or cultures.

• An effective communicator who clearly conveys information and ideas verbally and in writing to individuals or groups in a manner that meets audience needs and helps them understand and retain the message.

• Skilled at developing and maintaining strategic relationships with others. and relates well to people from varied backgrounds and in different situations.

• A politically astute leader who maintains and promotes individual and organizational integrity, high standards and values in the conduct of all activities.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education:

Possession of a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in a related field.

AND

Experience:

The equivalent of five years of recent increasingly responsible professional experience in labor relations activities including at the table negotiations. Two years must include supervising professional level staff.

NOTE: The Civil Service Commission may modify the above Minimum Qualifications in the announcement of an examination.

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS

NOTE: The level and scope of the following knowledge and abilities are related to duties listed under the “Examples of Duties” section of this specification.

Knowledge of:

• Laws relating to collective bargaining with an emphasis on the public sector including federal and state labor legislation applicable to local government.
• Techniques of dispute resolutions.
• Standard principles of collective bargaining including representation rights, management rights and scope of bargaining.
• Grievance handling and administration.
• Standard negotiating practices, including preparation of negotiation strategy, tactics and impasse procedures.
• Current labor relations practice trends in the public sector.
• Principles of supervision, human resource administration and management.
• Principles of organization and management, administrative and management analysis, fringe benefit cost analysis, and labor statistical analysis.
• Investigative and interview techniques.
• Modern office methods and procedures including office automation.


Ability to:

• Plan, organize and prioritize work to meet deadlines and multiple demands.
• Analyze and problem-solve from both detailed and strategic perspectives.
• Provide effective, efficient and innovative leadership.
• Compile, analyze and evaluate statistical data.
• Analyze and calculate cost impact of proposals.
• Make decisions.
• Delegate duties while retaining accountability.
• Direct, evaluate, train, develop and mentor staff.
• Reason logically and creatively.
• Resolve complex disputes.
• Negotiate complex labor contracts demonstrating proficiency and command of all aspects of the process.
• Communicate effectively orally and in writing.

EXAMINATION COMPONENTS

THE EXAMINATION WILL CONSIST OF the following steps:
1) A review of candidates' applications to verify possession of minimum requirements. Those candidates who possess the minimum requirements for the class will move on to the next step in the examination process.
2) Those candidates who possess the minimum requirements for the class will move on to the next step in the examination process; review of candidates’ Supplemental Questionnaires, work experience and background to select the best qualified applicants to continue in the process which may involve an interview with Ralph Anderson & Associates.
3) An oral interview which will be weighted as 100% of the candidate's final examination score. The oral interview may contain situational exercises.

CANDIDATES MUST ATTAIN A QUALIFYING RATING ON EACH PORTION OF THIS EXAMINATION.

*Ralph Andersen & Associates is soliciting qualified candidates on behalf of Alameda County and this recruitment is being conducted pursuant to the Alameda County Civil Service Commission rules. Interested candidates should apply by June 4, 2018. Electronic submittals are strongly preferred to Ralph Andersen & Associates at apply@ralphandersen.com and should include a compelling cover letter, and a comprehensive resume.  Upon submission to Ralph Andersen & Associates, candidates will be instructed to immediately complete an online application with Alameda County to complete the process.

We reserve the right to make changes to the announced examination components. Alameda County utilizes a Civil Service Selection System founded on merit. Such a system is competitive and based on broad recruitment efforts and equal opportunity for qualified applicants to test in an examination process designed to determine the qualifications, fitness and ability of competitors to perform duties of the vacant position. Many of our recruitments are targeted and specific to the needs of a current vacant position, in which case, the eligible list may be exclusively used for that current vacant position. Other recruitments may be more broadly used for both current and future vacancies, or for other alternate jobs with comparable scopes of work.To learn more about our recruitment and selection process, please visit the “What You Need to Know” section of our website, www.acgov.org/hrs.

Selection Plan

Applicants will be informed via email with reasonable notice in advance of any examination process which will require their attendance. The following dates are tentative and subject to change based on the needs of the Agency:

TENTATIVE SELECTION PLAN

Deadline for Filing:

Monday, June 4, 2018

Review of Applications for Minimum Qualifications:

Week of June 25

Review of Supplemental Questionnaire for Best Qualified:

Week of June 25

Oral Examination:

Week of July 9

*WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO MAKE CHANGES TO THE ANNOUNCED RECRUITMENT & SELECTION PLAN*

Alameda County and the Human Resource Services Department will make reasonable efforts in the examination and/or selection process to accommodate qualified individuals with disabilities and/or medical conditions in accordance/compliance with the State Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), Federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Alameda County’s Reasonable Accommodation Policy and applicable statutes. To request an accommodation due to a disability/medical condition during this or other phases of the examination/selection process, please contact the assigned Human Resources Representative listed on the job announcement before the last date of filing. Alameda County requires applicants to provide supporting documentation to substantiate a request for reasonable accommodation. In order to qualify for a reasonable accommodation, applicants must have a disability/medical condition pursuant to the ADA, FEHA and applicable statutes.

For more information regarding our Reasonable Accommodation procedures, please visit our website, www.acgov.org/hrs

BENEFITS

Alameda County offers a comprehensive and competitive benefits package that affords wide-ranging health care options to meet the different needs of a diverse workforce and their families. We also sponsor many different employee discount, fitness and health screening programs focused on overall well being.  These benefits include but are not limited to*:

For your Health & Well-Being

  • Medical – HMO & PPO Plans
  • Dental – HMO & PPO Plans
  • Vision or Vision Reimbursement
  • Share the Savings
  • Basic Life Insurance 
  • Supplemental Life Insurance (with optional dependent coverage for eligible employees)
  • Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance 
  • County Allowance Credit
  • Flexible Spending Accounts - Health FSA, Dependent Care and Adoption Assistance
  • Short-Term Disability Insurance
  • Long-Term Disability Insurance
  • Voluntary Benefits - Accident Insurance, Critical Illness, Hospital Indemnity and Legal Services
  • Employee Assistance Program

For your Financial Future

  • Retirement Plan - (Defined Benefit Pension Plan)
  • Deferred Compensation Plan (457 Plan or Roth Plan)

For your Work/Life Balance

  • 11 paid holidays
  • Floating Holidays
  • Vacation and sick leave accrual
  • Vacation purchase program
  • Management Paid Leave**
  • Catastrophic Sick Leave
  • Employee Mortgage Loan Program
  • Group Auto/Home Insurance
  • Pet Insurance
  • Commuter Benefits Program
  • Guaranteed Ride Home
  • Employee Wellness Program (e.g. At Work Fitness, Incentive Based Programs, Gym Membership Discounts)
  • Employee Discount Program (e.g. theme parks, cell phone, etc.)
  • Child Care Resources
  • 1st United Services Credit Union 

*Eligibility is determined by Alameda County and offerings may vary by collective bargaining agreement.  This provides a brief summary of the benefits offered and can be subject to change.

** Non-exempt management employees are entitled to up to three days of management paid leave. Exempt management employees are entitled to up to seven days of management paid leave.

Conclusion

All notices related to County recruitments for which you have applied will be sent/delivered via email. Please add @acgov.org and alamedacountyHR@acgov.org as accepted addresses to any email blocking or spam filtering program you may use. If you do not do this, your email blocking or spam filtering program may block receipt of the notices regarding your application for recruitments. You are also strongly advised to regularly log into your County of Alameda online application account to check for notices that may have been sent to you. All email notices that will be sent to you will also be kept in your personal online application account. You will be able to view all of your notices in your online application account by clicking on the "My applications" button on the Current Job Openings page.

Please take the steps recommended above to ensure you do not miss any notices about a recruitment for which you have applied. The County of Alameda is not responsible for notices that are not read, received or accessed by any applicant for a County recruitment.

NOTE: All notices are generated through an automated email notification system. Replies to the email box alamedacountyHR@acgov.org are routed to an unmonitored mailbox. If you have questions please go to our website at www.acgov.org/hrs. You may also contact the Human Resources Analyst listed on the job announcement for the recruitment for which you have applied.

Sam Gee, Human Resources Division Manager
Human Resource Services, County of Alameda
510-267-9492

Alameda County is an Equal Opportunity Employer