Job description
Join our team as an Industrial Relations Lead and shape the strategic direction of labor relations across our manufacturing footprint. You will advise leadership, manage collective bargaining processes, and champion a culture of compliant and constructive employee relations. This role blends policy, negotiation, and stakeholder collaboration to drive outcomes that balance business needs with workforce engagement.
Based in New York City with a hybrid work option, you will partner with HR, Legal, and Operations to foster positive relationships with labor representatives while ensuring regulatory compliance across all sites.
Responsibility
- Lead the development and execution of the industrial relations strategy, policies, and programs across the organization.
- Manage collective bargaining negotiations, contracts, renewals, and related dispute resolution.
- Advise executive leadership and HR teams on regulatory compliance, risk mitigation, and employee relations matters.
- Build and sustain constructive labor relations with unions and employee representatives; maintain transparent channels for feedback.
- Represent the company in mediation, arbitration, and labor board proceedings when required.
- Analyze labor data, trends, and metrics to inform policy decisions and workforce planning.
- Design and deliver manager training on ER best practices, policy enforcement, and incident escalation.
- Collaborate with Operations to align workforce planning with production goals and safety standards.
Qualification
- Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Industrial Relations, Law, or a related field; advanced degree preferred.
- 7+ years of progressive experience in industrial relations, labor law, or HR within a unionized manufacturing environment.
- Strong knowledge of federal and state labor laws; proven experience with collective bargaining agreements.
- Outstanding negotiation, mediation, and conflict resolution skills.
- Analytical mindset with ability to translate data into actionable policy and strategy.
- Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills across all organizational levels.
- Ability to travel as needed and thrive in a fast-paced manufacturing setting.