Hearing Officer

Salt Lake Community College; Taylorsville (UT); Hybrid; USD 83,000 - 165,000; Part time

Job summary

Salt Lake Community College seeks a part-time Hearing Officer to chair Grievance Hearing Committee proceedings as needed under the Employee Grievance Policy. This engagement-based role is appointed for each grievance hearing.

You will preside over hearings, manage the order of presentations, invite witnesses, maintain neutrality, and prepare clear findings and recommendations for the final decision-maker. Confidentiality is essential.

Qualifications

• Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from an accredited law school.
• Demonstrated experience presiding over, facilitating, or adjudicating formal hearings, grievances, arbitrations, or comparable due-process proceedings.
• Working knowledge of employee relations, progressive discipline, and grievance or dispute-resolution processes in higher education, public sector, or unionized environments.
• Demonstrated ability to remain neutral, manage competing viewpoints, and maintain composure in emotionally charged or adversarial settings.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to synthesize testimony and evidence into clear findings.
• Ability to maintain strict confidentiality.

Responsibilities

• Preside over Grievance Hearing Committee proceedings for standard and Level Three grievances, ensuring adherence to policy.
• Control the conduct and pace of the hearing, including order of presentations and ruling on procedural matters.
• Confirm committee composition is impartial and free of conflicts of interest; excuse any biased members.
• Invite and excuse witnesses; allow questions from both parties and committee members.
• Dismiss irrelevant testimony and witnesses; clarify issues of fact and process.
• Facilitate private deliberation and assist the secretary in preparing clear recommendations.
• Ensure final recommendations are submitted within seven days to the final decision-maker.
• Maintain confidentiality of proceedings, records, and deliberations.

Skills

Neutrality

Communication skills

Discretion

Education

Juris Doctor (J.D.)

Job description

The Hearing Officer serves as chairperson of a Grievance Hearing Committee convened under SLCC's Employee Grievance Policy. This is a part-time, temporary, engagement-based role activated on an as-needed basis when a formal employee grievance proceeds to a hearing. The Hearing Officer is appointed directly by the College President for each grievance hearing. The role is to preside over the hearing, ensure a fair and orderly process, and support the Grievance Hearing Committee in reaching findings and a recommendation for the final and binding decision-maker.

• Preside over Grievance Hearing Committee proceedings for both standard and Level Three corrective action grievances, ensuring the hearing follows the process outlined in SLCC's Employee Grievance Policy.
• Control the conduct and pace of the hearing, including managing the order of presentations, limiting repetitive or irrelevant testimony, and ruling on procedural matters raised by either party.
• Confirm committee composition is appropriate to the grievance and free of conflicts of interest, excusing any committee member whose impartiality may reasonably be questioned.
• Invite and excuse witnesses as appropriate, and permit both parties and committee members to ask questions of witnesses and each other.
• Dismiss character witnesses or testimony determined not applicable to the relevant issues.
• Clarify issues of fact and process for the committee, without advocating for either party.
• Facilitate the committee's private deliberation and assist the committee secretary in preparing a clear, accurate recommendations.
• Ensure the committee's final recommendations are submitted to the final and binding decision-maker within the seven-calendar-day window required by policy.
• Maintain strict confidentiality of grievance proceedings, records, and deliberations consistent with the private and confidential nature of the grievance process.
• Coordinate scheduling and logistics for assigned hearings with the Human Resources office.
• Perform other related duties as assigned by the Assistant Vice President of Human Resources.

• Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from an accredited law school.
• Demonstrated experience presiding over, facilitating, or adjudicating formal hearings, grievances, arbitrations, or comparable due-process proceedings.
• Working knowledge of employee relations, progressive discipline, and grievance or dispute-resolution processes in a higher education, public sector, or unionized environment.
• Demonstrated ability to remain neutral, manage competing viewpoints, and maintain composure in emotionally charged or adversarial settings.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to synthesize testimony and evidence into clear findings.
• Ability to maintain strict confidentiality.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience as a hearing officer, mediator, arbitrator, or grievance committee chair in an administrative setting. Familiarity with Utah public higher education personnel policy and practice.
• Formal training or certification in mediation, alternative dispute resolution, or administrative hearings.

Engagement Terms

• Non-benefited, as-needed engagement; hours vary based on the number and complexity of grievances assigned.
• Compensated on a per-hearing or hourly basis as negotiated with Human Resources; not a regular staff position and does not accrue College leave or benefits.
• Appointed by the College President for each grievance hearing per Policy 4.4.035, Section
• 4.D.7.
• Not eligible to serve where a conflict of interest, prior relationship with either party, or bias regarding the circumstances of the grievance exists.

Working Conditions

Work is performed primarily in a hearing-room or conference-room setting, with occasional virtual hearings. Hearings may address sensitive, confidential, and sometimes contentious personnel matters, including termination procedures.