Senior Employee and Labor Relations Specialist

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About Tufts Medicine
Tufts Medicine is an innovative, mission-driven health system that unites the best of academic and community medicine to deliver exceptional, connected, and accessible care. Our system includes Tufts Medical Center, the principal teaching hospital of Tufts University and Tufts University School of Medicine, as well as Lowell General Hospital, Lowell General Hospital – Saints Campus, MelroseWakefield Hospital, Lawrence Memorial Hospital of Medford, Tufts Medicine Behavioral Health Hospital (opening Fall 2025), Tufts Medicine Care at Home, Tufts Medicine Integrated Network, and a network of 2,300 physicians across Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire. We treat the most complex conditions, keep our communities healthy, and bring research breakthroughs to life.

Job Overview
The Senior Employee & Labor Relations Specialist serves as a trusted subject matter expert and strategic partner to leadership within the entity they support. This role leads the resolution of complex employee and labor relations issues, advises on organizational risk and strategy, and supports collective bargaining and labor-management relations. This is an individual contributor role requiring the ability to provide leadership when resolving the unique employee relations challenges of multi-disciplinary clinical and non-clinical staff, including shift-based teams in both unionized and non-unionized environments. This role may delegate and oversee the work of the Employee & Labor Relations Specialist. This position requires deep knowledge of both employment and labor laws (e.g., FMLA, ADA, NLRA) and current working knowledge of healthcare-specific regulations (e.g., HIPAA, Joint Commission standards). The senior specialist plays a critical role in shaping a fair, respectful, and legally compliant workplace culture.

Job Description
Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Management, or related field.
• Seven (7) years of experience in Human Resources, Employee Relations, and Labor Relations.

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree (e.g., Masters, JD) in Human Resources, Labor Relations, Business Administration, or related field.
• Ten (10) years of experience in Human Resources, Employee Relations, and Labor Relations.
• Certification in Human Resources.
• Process improvement certification (e.g., six-sigma).

Duties and Responsibilities:
The duties and responsibilities listed below are intended to describe the general nature of work and are not intended to be an all-inclusive list. Other duties and responsibilities may be assigned.

• Provides strategic guidance, advice, consultation and direction to Leaders to resolve complex employee/labor relations issues involving a variety of areas including employee discipline/corrective action and employee appeals and the grievance process.
• Develops and modifies Employee Relations communication programs and provides advice and support to Leaders to enhance effective communication.
• Leads, manages and advises on routine internal investigations into allegations of misconduct, attendance, behavioral matters and policy violations and prepares investigative reports when necessary.
• Provides support to Workplace Investigation Manager when conducting complex internal investigations related to discrimination, harassment, retaliation and other complex investigations.
• Supports the administration of Collective Bargaining Agreements and advises leadership on labor relations matters in consultation with the Labor Relations lead.6. Provides union contract administration including the investigation of grievances, drafting Step 1 grievance responses and MOA preparation for review by Labor Relation lead.
• Coordinates and prepares information for grievance hearings, arbitration and administrative hearings, for example MCAD and unemployment. Serves as Tufts' witness when necessary.
• Provides direction and support for Leave Administration issues as needed.
• Collaborates on and advises on policy development.
• Collaborates with colleagues to plan and organize employee recognition events.
• Maintains collaborative, team relationships with peers and colleagues in order to effectively contribute to the working groups' achievement of goals, and to help foster a positive work environment.
• Coaches and mentors operational leaders on best practices in employee relations.
• Builds constructive relationships with union representatives and support ongoing labor-management collaboration.
• Partners with leadership during collective bargaining preparation and negotiations.
• Monitors emerging legal and regulatory developments impacting employee and labor relations.
• Identifies systemic trends and partner with leadership to implement proactive solutions.
• Leads process improvement efforts in routine investigations, grievance handling, and employee relations practices and effectively implement process improvement changes with buy-in of leadership.
• Develops and delivers training for leaders on employee relations, labor relations, investigations, and workplace culture in consultation with internal subject matter experts.
• Mentors Employee & Labor Relations Specialists and other HR team members on employee and labor relations matters.

Physical Requirements

• Professional office environment with typical office requirements such as computers, phones, photocopiers, filing cabinets, etc.
• Largely a sedentary role, which involves sitting most of the time, but may involve movements such as walking, standing, reaching, ascending / descending stairs and operating office equipment.
• Frequently required to speak, hear, communicate and exchange information.
• Able to see and read computer displays, read fine print, and/or normal type size print and distinguish letters, numbers, and symbols.
• Occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.

Skills & Abilities

• Project management skills.
• Computer literacy required, including proficiency in Microsoft Office skills, HRIS, and Payroll systems.
• Deep knowledge of employment law, including federal and state leave laws, ADA, FLSA, PFMLA, FMLA, Labor relations/NLRA/NLRB, discrimination laws, state laws, and JCAHO standards.
• Interpersonal skills necessary to work as a team member and able to interact with all levels of the organization (senior management, clinical managers, physicians, etc.).
• Strong written/verbal communication skills.
• Ability to maintain sensitive and confidential information.
• Ability to work both independently and as a team member.
• Organizational and prioritization skills necessary to manage projects and multiple assignments within scheduled deadlines.
• Ability to work with minimal direction and independently.
• Outstanding attention to detail, strong organizational skills, and the ability to anticipate department/organizational needs.
• Ability to lead and direct others by setting priorities for completing multiple tasks.
• Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously.
• Ability to work independently, but also comfortable asking for help/input from others where needed.
• Comfortable with ambiguity–works to resolve open questions, can define a process to resolve ambiguity, is comfortable that the plan may change.
• Exceptional communication, analytical, negotiation, and problem-solving skills.
• Proven ability to influence and partner effectively with leaders at all levels.

Job Profile Summary
This role focuses on supporting the design, development, and implementation of human resource programs and policies, including recruitment, training and development, compensation and benefits, mobility, talent acquisition, diversity, talent management & organization development and employee/labor relations. In addition, this role focuses on performing the following Employee/Labor Relations duties: Manages interactions and relationships with employees and labor unions, implements measures to increase employee morale, motivation and satisfaction, investigates and resolves complaints, grievances, and disputes, represents management in union/labor relations including the negotiation, interpretation, and administration of collective bargaining agreements, diversity/equal employment opportunity programs, training, and compliance, and advises management on strategies that ensure a productive and harmonious workplace. A professional individual contributor role that may direct the work of other lower level professionals or manage processes and programs. The majority of time is spent overseeing the design, implementation or delivery of processes, programs and policies using specialized knowledge and skills typically acquired through advanced education. A senior level role that requires advanced knowledge of job area typically obtained through advanced education and work experience. Typically responsible for: managing projects / processes, working independently with limited supervision, coaching and reviewing the work of lower level professionals, resolving difficult and sometimes complex problems.

At Tufts Medicine, we want every individual to feel valued for the skills and experience they bring. Our compensation philosophy is designed to offer fair, competitive pay that attracts, retains, and motivates highly talented individuals, while rewarding the important work you do every day.

The base pay ranges reflect the minimum qualifications for the role. Individual offers are determined using a comprehensive approach that considers relevant experience, certifications, education, skills, and internal equity to ensure compensation is fair, consistent, and aligned with our business goals.

Beyond base pay, Tufts Medicine provides a comprehensive Total Rewards package that supports your health, financial security, and career growth—one of the many ways we invest in you so you can thrive both at work and outside of it.

Pay Range
$101, $128,878.21

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