Human Resource Services
Alameda Skyline

Labor Relations Manager

Recruitment #15-0292-01

Introduction

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

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DESCRIPTION

THE COMMUNITY
Alameda County with a population approaching 1.6 million residents is the geographic center of the San Francisco Bay Area, located on the east side of the Bay across from the San Francisco peninsula, with Contra Costa County to the north and Santa Clara County to the south. Alameda is the second largest county in the Bay Area and the seventh largest county in the State. The County encompasses 14 incorporated cities and six unincorporated areas that span a total of 738 square miles. Commonly referred to as the “East Bay,” the region has been the fastest growing in the San Francisco Bay area for more than two decades. The East Bay is popular because of its desirable location, incredible diversity, ideal climate, broad economic base, plus its range of available housing and business opportunities. The County itself is one of the most diverse regions in the entire country.  

Alameda County offers a rich array of cultural activities, including the Oakland Museum and the Oakland East Bay Symphony. The region is home to three professional sports teams: the Oakland A’s, Oakland Raiders and the Golden State Warriors. The wine country of the inland Tri-Valley area and the Chabot Space and Science Center bring additional opportunities for recreation, relaxation and education. The University of California, Berkeley and California State University, East Bay are just two of the numerous distinguished academic institutions serving Northern California. Urban transportation options are extremely accessible in Alameda County including the Oakland International Airport, the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system and the San Francisco Bay Ferry.

            
THE HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT
The Human Resource Services Department provides state and local mandated support services to all County agencies, departments and to some special districts regarding: merit-based examinations, position classification, salary administration, grievance resolution, disciplinary appeals, labor negotiations, unemployment insurance, employee benefits, disability case management, training and organizational development and provides departmental personnel support services.  The Department, further supports the Civil Service Commission and its implementation of the Civil Service Rules.  We pride ourselves in delivering high quality and timely human resource services in partnership with County agencies, departments and special districts to enable our customers to reach their organizational goals.  

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. Additionally, the incumbent supervises a team of six full time professional and clerical staff members.   

Click HERE to view the Labor Relations Manager Recruitment Brochure

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 qualification 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) A review of candidates’ Supplemental Questionnaires to select the best qualified applicants to continue in the process. 
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.

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:

Friday, December 18, 2015

Review of Applications  for Minimum Qualifications:

January 4, 2016

Review of Supplemental Questionnaire for Best Qualified:

 January 4, 2016

Oral Examination:

Thursday, January 21, 2016

*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 & Welfare Benefits

  • Medical – HMO & PPO Insurance
  • Dental – PPO & DHMO Insurance  
  • Vision
  • Basic Life Insurance 
  • Supplemental Life Insurance (with optional dependent coverage) 
  • County Allowance (Employer Credit)
  • Health Flexible Spending Account
  • Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account
  • Accident, Critical Illness & Hospital Indemnity
  • Long Term Care Insurance
  • Employee Assistance Program

For your Financial Future

  • Short-term Disability Insurance
  • Long-Term Disability Insurance
  • Retirement Plan – (Defined Benefit Pension Plan)
  • Deferred Compensation Plan

For your Work/Life Balance

  • 11 paid holidays
  • Vacation and sick leave accrual
  • Vacation purchase program
  • Management Paid Leave**
  • Group Auto/Home Insurance
  • Commuter Benefits Program
  • Group Legal
  • 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 insure 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 bulletin for the recruitment for which you have applied.

Sam Gee
Personnel Services Manager
Human Resource Services Division-County of Alameda
510-267-9492
www.acgov.org

Alameda County is an Equal Opportunity Employer