Director, Employee & Labor Relations

The Director, Employee & Labor Relations is responsible for advancing the Company's business objectives through effective labor strategy, disciplined execution, and stronger organizational capability, working cross-functionally to align labor solutions with operational, contractual, and long-term business requirements.

The role combines deep labor relations expertise with leadership of complex, business-critical initiatives, including collective bargaining preparation, local bargaining coordination, bargaining subcommittee leadership, Skilled Trades, apprenticeship, New Technology, organizational training, modernization, and enterprise labor projects.

The Director serves as a critical support mechanism to the Vice Presidents of Employee & Labor Relations by translating priorities into coordinated action, aligning stakeholders and resources, surfacing execution risks, and maintaining progress despite competing operational demands. The successful candidate will bring significant collective bargaining experience, strong business judgment, executive presence, and the ability to influence and execute across a large, complex, highly unionized organization.

Primary Responsibilities

Employee & Labor Relations Leadership

• Develop and execute labor and employee relations priorities aligned with business objectives, workforce requirements, and operational needs.
• Identify labor-related barriers to business execution and lead cross-functional efforts to develop practical, sustainable solutions.
• Partner with the Vice Presidents of Employee & Labor Relations to establish priorities, sequence major initiatives, and align resources to the Company's highest-value business objectives.
• Balance immediate operational demands with longer-term organizational priorities to sustain progress on enterprise labor initiatives.

Collective Bargaining & Labor Programs

• Provide strategic leadership and oversight for Skilled Trades, apprenticeship programs, New Technology, collective bargaining with trade unions, and other designated labor initiatives, ensuring consistent governance, business alignment, and effective execution.
• Support the development and execution of collective bargaining strategies aligned with the Company's business objectives.
• Coordinate national collective bargaining preparation, including project planning, issue development, proposal tracking, stakeholder alignment, training, executive materials, and bargaining readiness.
• Lead the coordination and oversight of local contract collective bargaining activities to ensure consistent governance, disciplined execution, and alignment with national bargaining strategy.
• Lead assigned bargaining subcommittees or workstreams and participate as a member of the national bargaining team.
• Support the negotiation of Memorandums of Understanding, side letters, and other agreements tied to operational change, technology, workforce transformation, and enterprise priorities.
• Manage internal investigations of fraud and misconduct and coordinate discipline policy and administration.

Organizational Capability & Modernization

• Drive training and development initiatives that enhance organizational capability and strengthen core labor and employee relations skills.
• Lead process improvement, analytics, knowledge management, data governance, and AI-enabled initiatives that improve the effectiveness and scalability of the function.
• Translate modernization priorities into clear project plans, milestones, ownership, decision points, and measurable outcomes.
• Promote continuous improvement, simplification, and greater consistency across the Employee & Labor Relations organization.

Enterprise Execution & Leadership Support

• Lead complex labor relations projects from concept through execution, driving accountability, removing barriers, resolving critical issues, and ensuring timely delivery of priority initiatives.
• Serve as the integration point for U.S. LR/ER initiatives, ensuring business objectives, contractual obligations, stakeholder expectations, and execution activities remain aligned.
• Establish reporting, governance, and executive-review routines that provide visibility into progress, risks, dependencies, business impact, and required decisions.
• Prepare executive presentations, recommendations, decision materials, and status updates for senior leadership and governance forums.
• Maintain focus and follow-through on major organizational priorities in support of the Vice Presidents of Employee & Labor Relations.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required; JD or Masters degree preferred.
• Minimum of 10-15 years of progressive labor and employee relations experience in a large, complex, unionized environment.
• Significant experience in collective bargaining (1st chair), negotiations preparation, local bargaining, and labor contract administration.
• Demonstrated success leading major labor initiatives, organizational transformation, and complex cross-functional projects in a matrixed organization.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing operations, workforce planning, labor economics, and business strategy.
• Experience building organizational capability through training, processes, governance, tools, and leadership development.
• Strong executive communication, negotiation, influence, and stakeholder-management capability.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in automotive, manufacturing, industrial, transportation, logistics, or another heavily unionized operating environment.
• Experience serving as first-chair negotiator in collective bargaining, including multi-site or national negotiations, and leading bargaining subcommittees or negotiations workstreams.
• Experience with Skilled Trades, apprenticeship programs, New Technology obligations, IUOE, or other specialized labor programs.
• Experience with data analytics, process improvement, knowledge management, AI-enabled tools, or technology-driven labor transformation.
• Demonstrated ability to advise senior executives and convert strategic direction into disciplined organizational execution.

Measures of Success

• Accelerates execution of the Employee & Labor Relations agenda and removes barriers to business performance.
• Improves national and local bargaining readiness, consistency, and governance.
• Advances enterprise labor initiatives from planning through implementation.
• Strengthens organizational capability, succession depth, and bargaining bench strength.
• Improves cross-functional alignment, executive visibility, and decision-making.
• Builds scalable processes, tools, governance, and technology that increase the effectiveness of the Employee & Labor Relations organization.

The Director, Employee & Labor Relations is responsible for advancing the Company's business objectives through effective labor strategy, disciplined execution, and stronger organizational capability, working cross-functionally to align labor solutions with operational, contractual, and long-term business requirements.

The role combines deep labor relations expertise with leadership of complex, business-critical initiatives, including collective bargaining preparation, local bargaining coordination, bargaining subcommittee leadership, Skilled Trades, apprenticeship, New Technology, organizational training, modernization, and enterprise labor projects.

The Director serves as a critical support mechanism to the Vice Presidents of Employee & Labor Relations by translating priorities into coordinated action, aligning stakeholders and resources, surfacing execution risks, and maintaining progress despite competing operational demands. The successful candidate will bring significant collective bargaining experience, strong business judgment, executive presence, and the ability to influence and execute across a large, complex, highly unionized organization.

Primary Responsibilities

Employee & Labor Relations Leadership

• Develop and execute labor and employee relations priorities aligned with business objectives, workforce requirements, and operational needs.
• Identify labor-related barriers to business execution and lead cross-functional efforts to develop practical, sustainable solutions.
• Partner with the Vice Presidents of Employee & Labor Relations to establish priorities, sequence major initiatives, and align resources to the Company's highest-value business objectives.
• Balance immediate operational demands with longer-term organizational priorities to sustain progress on enterprise labor initiatives.

Collective Bargaining & Labor Programs

• Provide strategic leadership and oversight for Skilled Trades, apprenticeship programs, New Technology, collective bargaining with trade unions, and other designated labor initiatives, ensuring consistent governance, business alignment, and effective execution.
• Support the development and execution of collective bargaining strategies aligned with the Company's business objectives.
• Coordinate national collective bargaining preparation, including project planning, issue development, proposal tracking, stakeholder alignment, training, executive materials, and bargaining readiness.
• Lead the coordination and oversight of local contract collective bargaining activities to ensure consistent governance, disciplined execution, and alignment with national bargaining strategy.
• Lead assigned bargaining subcommittees or workstreams and participate as a member of the national bargaining team.
• Support the negotiation of Memorandums of Understanding, side letters, and other agreements tied to operational change, technology, workforce transformation, and enterprise priorities.
• Manage internal investigations of fraud and misconduct and coordinate discipline policy and administration.

Organizational Capability & Modernization

• Drive training and development initiatives that enhance organizational capability and strengthen core labor and employee relations skills.
• Lead process improvement, analytics, knowledge management, data governance, and AI-enabled initiatives that improve the effectiveness and scalability of the function.
• Translate modernization priorities into clear project plans, milestones, ownership, decision points, and measurable outcomes.
• Promote continuous improvement, simplification, and greater consistency across the Employee & Labor Relations organization.

Enterprise Execution & Leadership Support

• Lead complex labor relations projects from concept through execution, driving accountability, removing barriers, resolving critical issues, and ensuring timely delivery of priority initiatives.
• Serve as the integration point for U.S. LR/ER initiatives, ensuring business objectives, contractual obligations, stakeholder expectations, and execution activities remain aligned.
• Establish reporting, governance, and executive-review routines that provide visibility into progress, risks, dependencies, business impact, and required decisions.
• Prepare executive presentations, recommendations, decision materials, and status updates for senior leadership and governance forums.
• Maintain focus and follow-through on major organizational priorities in support of the Vice Presidents of Employee & Labor Relations.