Career Opportunity

Employee and Labor Relations Director - HR Department – SF Public Works (0932)

Recruitment: RTF0129484-01152264

Published: December 09, 2022

Accepting applications until: December 16, 2022

Apply using SmartRecruiters, the City and County of San Francisco's application portal.

About:

San Francisco Public Works (SFPW) has a far-reaching portfolio with a $352 million annual operating budget, an active capital portfolio that exceeds $3 billion and a workforce of 1,600-plus employees. The department operates around the clock, touching every neighborhood in San Francisco. The staff designs and manages construction of civic buildings and streets; cleans and greens the right of way; maintains civic buildings; manages multi-million-dollar bond programs; trains people for jobs; keeps the right of way free of hazards; paves the roads; repairs bridges and public stairways; expands accessibility; and works at the forefront addressing some of San Francisco’s biggest challenges, including homelessness. With a mission to enhance the quality of life in San Francisco for residents, visitors and business owners, Public Works is committed to providing outstanding public service through an equity lens.

SFPW Human Resources (HR) Division is hiring an Employee and Labor Relations Director (0932) to oversee a comprehensive labor relations program to support employees tasked with effectively and efficiently implementing the mission of SFPW and of the city.

• Appointment type: Permanent-Exempt (PEX), Category 18. This position is excluded by the Charter from the competitive Civil Service examination process and shall serve at the discretion of the Appointing Officer, and shall not exceed 36 months.

Role description

Under general administrative direction from the SFPW Human Resources Director, the Employee and Labor Relations Director will:

• Direct the labor relations program for an organization with nearly 1,700 employees, in 177 difference classifications and 21 collective bargaining agreements (CBA).
• Develop and foster constructive relationships with labor partners, lead a team who advise directors, managers, and supervisors on the interpretation of CBAs, disciplinary actions, grievances, current labor relations trends and issues.
• Lead and participate in various joint labor/management committees.

Essential job duties include:

• Planning, directing, coordinating and evaluating employee and labor relations functions.
• Managing negotiations, grievance processes, investigations of employee complaints and concerns, disciplinary hearings and procedures, and performance management.
• Exercising direct supervision over assigned staff.
• Advising managers and supervisors on labor relations issues, union Memoranda of Understanding (MOU)/CBA interpretation, disciplinary actions, grievances, employee coaching, counseling, performance monitoring and evaluation, employment laws, and City and County of San Francisco (CCSF) and SFPW policies.
• Developing and facilitating department‐wide development of positive and constructive relationships with labor unions to advance the mission of the department.
• Directing and chairing multiple joint labor/management committees.
• Partnering with DHR on labor negotiations and the development and implementation of labor agreements that affect SFPW.
• Providing training to managers on labor issues and trends, including administration and facilitation of disciplinary and grievance processes.
• Developing and implementing labor‐related budget, policies, practices and controls.
• Assisting the SFPW Human Resources Director and working with the Training Director to develop, implement, facilitate, and support ongoing training related to employee relations, leadership, and coaching, as well as compliance with federal, state, and local laws; and CCSF and SFPW policies, procedures, rules, and regulations.

How to qualify

Education:

Possession of a Baccalaureate Degree from an accredited college or university; AND

Experience:

Five (5) years of professional human resources experience in a public or non‐profit organization in all of the following areas: employee and labor relations, employee disciplinary or related processes, personnel administration and supervision, of which three (3) years must be in a supervisory capacity supervising professional staff.

Substitution:

A Master’s Degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology, Human Resources, Public Administration, Business Administration, Management or a closely related field or possession of a Juris Doctorate (J.D.) may substitute for one (1) year of the non-supervisory experience.

Additional qualifying work experience may be substituted for up to two years of the required education on a year for year basis (30 semester/45 quarter units equals one year).

Desirable Qualifications: 

• Extensive experience with contract negotiations.
• Extensive experience working with large and complex unions.
• Experience working in large, public-sector organizations.

The stated desirable qualifications may be considered at the end of the selection process when candidates are referred for hiring.

Verification:

Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point during the recruitment and selection process. If education verification is required, information on how to verify education requirements, including verifying foreign education credits or degree equivalency, can be found at https://sfdhr.org/how-verify-education-requirements.

Note: Falsifying one's education, training, or work experience or attempted deception on the application may result in disqualification for this and future job opportunities with the City and County of San Francisco.

All work experience, education, training and other information substantiating how you meet the minimum qualifications must be included on your application by the filing deadline. Information submitted after the filing deadline will not be considered in determining whether you meet the minimum qualifications.

Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of a completed City and County of San Francisco application. 

Applications completed improperly may be cause for ineligibility, disqualification or may lead to lower scores. 

What else should I know?

Additional information regarding Employment with the City and County of San Francisco:

• Information About The Hiring Process
• Conviction History
• Employee Benefits Overview  
• Equal Employment Opportunity 
• Disaster Service Worker
• ADA Accommodation
• Right to Work
• Copies of Application Documents
• Diversity Statement

Statement on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: At the City and County of San Francisco, we share a commitment to a diverse, inclusive and equitable community. Each member of our organization is responsible and accountable for what they say and do to make San Francisco an inclusive and equitable place to live and work by employing fair and just practices to and for all.

HOW TO APPLY

Applications for City and County of San Francisco jobs are only accepted through an online process. Visit https://careers.sf.gov/ and begin the application process.

• Select the “I’m Interested” button and follow instructions on the screen.

Applicants may be contacted by email about this recruitment and, therefore, it is their responsibility to ensure that their registered email address is accurate and kept up-to-date. Also, applicants must ensure that email from CCSF is not blocked on their computer by a spam filter. To prevent blocking, applicants should set up their email to accept CCSF mail from the following addresses (@sfgov.org, @sfdpw.org, @sfport.com, @flysfo.com, @sfwater.org, @sfdph.org, @asianart.org, @sfmta.com, @sfpl.org, @dcyf.org, @first5sf.org, @famsf.org, @ccsf.edu, @smartalerts.info, and @smartrecruiters.com).

Applicants will receive a confirmation email that their online application has been received in response to every announcement for which they file. Applicants should retain this confirmation email for their records. Failure to receive this email means that the online application was not submitted or received.

If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please contact the analyst, Kristi Wong, at kristi.wong@sfdpw.org.

CONDITION OF EMPLOYMENT:  All City and County of San Francisco employees are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of employment. Someone is fully vaccinated when 14 days have passed since they received the final dose of a two-shot vaccine or a dose of a one-shot vaccine. Any new hire must present proof of full vaccination status to be appointed. Any new hire who will be routinely assigned or occasionally enter High-Risk Settings, must provide proof of having received a COVID-19 booster vaccine by March 1, 2022, or once eligible.

The City and County of San Francisco encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law.