Labour Relations & Negotiation Specialist

Government of Alberta; Edmonton; On-site; CAD 97,000 - 128,000; Full time

Job summary

The Labour Relations & Negotiation Specialist role with the Government of Alberta Edmonton supports the Alberta Public Service by providing expert labour relations advice across government. You will interpret collective agreements, support arbitration processes, and contribute to essential services negotiations while collaborating with HR teams and unions.

This permanent full-time position requires strategic thinking, strong negotiation skills, and the ability to lead learning events and

Qualifications

• University degree in a related field plus five years of labour relations experience.
• Experience with grievance files and arbitration related to collective agreements.
• Strong communication and negotiation skills with senior stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Provide expert labour relations advice to HR teams across government on collective agreement interpretation and legislation.
• Develop training materials and tool kits for HR Partners and Employee Relations Consultants to ensure consistent Labour Relations practices.
• Lead and participate in negotiations for collective agreements and essential services, including preparation of materials and briefings.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams and union representatives to develop sustainable solutions and stay current with trends.

Skills

Labour relations

Negotiation

Stakeholder engagement

Policy interpretation

Education

University degree in a related field

Related two-year diploma

Job description

Job Title: Labour Relations & Negotiation Specialist

Salary: $3,713.55- $4,908.43/bi-weekly ($96,923.65 – $128,110/year)

Full or Part-Time: Full time

Hours of Work: 36.25 hours per week

Permanent/Temporary: Permanent

Location: Edmonton

Classification: Human Relations 3

The Public Service Commission (PSC) plays a pivotal role in enabling the Alberta Public Service (APS) to deliver programs and services that matter to Albertans. As one of the key central agencies, the PSC is responsible for leading the development of policies and programs that ensure Alberta has a professional, non-partisan, diverse and inclusive public service that proudly serves Albertans. We provide excellence in human resource management and act as a catalyst for system transformation to revitalize the APS.

Our vision is to support and improve the overall effectiveness of the public service by providing integrated strategies, policies and programs that position the Government of Alberta as an employer of choice. This is achieved by providing expert advice, strategic leadership and stewardship as well as developing and delivering innovative supports and services to APS employees.

Are you a strategic thinker with a passion for labour relations and negotiations? Do you thrive in complex environments where your insights can drive meaningful change? Join the Public Service Commission (PSC) and become a key player in shaping a respectful, inclusive, and high-performing Alberta Public Service.

What You'll Do

• Lead with impact: Provide expert labour relations advice to Human Resource teams across government in dealing with complex interpretation issues relating to the collective agreement, essential services agreement, government directives and provincial legislation.


• Empower others: Proactively develop resource materials, training tools such as collective agreement interpretation bulletins and tool kits, for HR Business Partners and Employee Relations Consultants to ensure consistent application of Labour Relations across the organization. Establish, lead and facilitate Human Resource wide learning events to share leading employee and labour relations trends and best practices across the PSC.


• Drive resolution: Develop and maintain relationships leveraging your influence and negotiation skills with key senior stakeholders, including AUPE.
  
  
  
  • The Specialist is relied upon to upscale issues where risk to the Government of Alberta is identified and requires further review and consideration.
  
  
  
  


• Collaborate strategically: Work closely with cross-functional teams, senior leaders, and union representatives to develop sustainable, one-employer solutions.
  
  
  
  • As a technical expert in labour relations, it is critical that the Specialist stay current with labour relations and employee relations trends and shares their information, knowledge and experiences with the team and other stakeholders.
  
  
  
  


• Shape policy: Provide input into proposals or enhancements to related programs, policies and practices that are consistent with legislation, regulations and PSC and Government of Alberta direction.


• Lead projects: The Specialist leads the development of project plans and is accountable for the delivery of project objectives. The Director, Labour Relations & Negotiations, provides guidance where needed and ensures consistency between projects.
  
  
  
  • During a Collective Bargaining cycle, assists with the preparation of all materials and briefings for Collective Agreement negotiations with AUPE, including implementation items following ratification.
  
  
  • Leads the preparation of all materials and briefings for Essential Services Agreement negotiations as well as contingency planning materials.
  
  
  
  


• Identifies policy and program issues through stakeholder engagement, trend analysis, and jurisdictional best practice research.

APS Competencies

• Systems Thinking - Ability to create innovative and sustainable solutions that meet the short-term and long-term needs of the GoA as an employer. The incumbent needs to consider the inter-relationships among the legislation, regulations, collective agreement and directives when providing advice and developing policy including unintended consequences of decisions.


• Creative Problem Solving - Ability to bring together the right people to solve complex problems and ask the right questions to gain deeper understanding of the issues. Assess and address risks associated with grievance case files to ensure successful completion.


• Build Collaborative Environments - Superior collaboration, facilitation, consultative, consensus building, and conflict management abilities, ensuring two-way communication to resolve complex issues, challenging circumstances and facilitating conflict resolution directly by initiating open dialogue and debate.


• Develop Networks - Possesses and proactively connects and builds trust with peers and Executives across the Public Service Commission, Government Ministries, Jurisdictional contacts, the Union, and other experts in their field.


• Develop Self and Others - As the technical expert in their field, it is critical that the incumbent shares information, knowledge, and experiences with the team and other stakeholders. The incumbent must take initiative to stay current with labour relations and employee relations trends and approaches.

Qualifications

Minimum Recruitment Standard: This is position requires a completed University degree in a related field plus five years of related experience in labour relations, specifically related to managing grievance case files, and supporting arbitration cases.

Equivalent Experience May Be Considered On The Basis Of

• A related two-year diploma and seven years related experience.


• A related one-year certificate and eight years related experience.

As The Ideal Candidate

• You are an expert in the labour and employment relations and have extensive knowledge of related Provincial labour legislation and regulations such as: Public Service Act, Public Service Employee Relations Act, Public Service Employment Regulation, Employment Standards Code, Employment Standards Regulation, Protection of Privacy Act, Occupational Health and Safety Act along with the AUPE Collective Bargaining Agreement and GoA HR policies and directives.


• You are highly organized, an excellent communicator, resilient to change, and have well-developed project management and change management skills and experience.


• Strong communication and influencing skills, including strong information recall ability, to lead discussions and influence stakeholders with the goal of resolution of labour and employee relations issues.


• Strong verbal, written and presentation skills, coupled with the ability to synthesize large volumes of information to make meaningful connections across diverse inputs.

Minimum recruitment standards outline the minimum education and experience required for appointment to a job classification.

Notes

Location: Edmonton

Hours of work: 36.25 hours per week, Monday to Friday: 8:15am – 4:30pm

Links and information on what the GoA have to offer

• Working for the Alberta Public Service .


• Public Service Pension Plan (PSPP)


• Alberta Public Service Benefit Information .


• Professional learning and development .


• Research Alberta Public Service Careers tool .


• Positive workplace culture and work-life balance.


• Leadership and mentorship programs.