Plant Human Resources Manager

SunCoke Energy; Highland Park (OH); On-site; USD 116,000 - 145,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health care coverage

Retirement benefits

Paid time off

Tuition reimbursement

Employee assistance resources

Telemedicine

Job summary

SunCoke Energy is seeking a Plant Human Resources Manager to act as the HR Business Partner for two unionized sites in Franklin Furnace, OH and Ceredo, WV. You will drive workforce planning, labor relations, and HR programs aligned with operational needs.

You will manage communications with union leadership, administer grievances, support negotiations, and ensure compliant HR processes across the employee lifecycle with a credible, practical leadership style.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent job-related experience.
• Significant HRBP experience with unionized manufacturing.
• Strong labor relations expertise including collective bargaining administration.

Responsibilities

• Maintain site visibility by spending time with leaders and employees.
• Serve as primary HRBP for assigned sites.
• Lead core HR processes: planning, recruitment, onboarding, retention, performance, development, succession, offboarding, relations, change management.
• Assess organizational health and identify talent gaps and risks.
• Manage employee relations including investigations and corrective actions with fairness and urgency.
• Coach leaders on communication, policy application, and performance management.
• Lead union relations including negotiations and grievance handling.
• Partner with payroll, benefits, safety, legal to resolve employee matters.
• Support standardized HR systems, training, and open enrollment with Corporate HR.

Skills

HRBP experience

Unionized manufacturing

Leadership experience

Labor relations

Employment laws knowledge

Communication skills

Problem-solving

Organizational skills

Credibility & influence

Multi-site ops experience

Education

Bachelor's degree in HR, Business, Labor Relations, or related field

Job description

Plant Human Resources Manager

Job Title: Plant Human Resources Manager

Locations Supported

On-site: Franklin Furnace, Ohio and Ceredo/Quincy, West Virginia (candidate should be local to one of the locations)

Reports To

Vice President, Human Resources

Direct Reports

None

Travel

Up to 30%

Position Summary

The Plant Human Resources Manager serves as the primary HR Business Partner for two unionized manufacturing sites in Franklin Furnace, Ohio and Ceredo, West Virginia. This role partners closely with plant, operations, and functional leaders to support business priorities, strengthen leadership capability, and deliver practical HR solutions across the full employee lifecycle.

The successful incumbent will be a visible, trusted, and highly responsive HR leader who builds credibility with plant leadership, union leadership, and employees by being present in the operation, following through on commitments, communicating clearly, and resolving issues with fairness and practical judgment. This individual will be responsible for all union relations at their sites, including managing communications with union leadership, administering grievances, supporting negotiations, and fostering productive labormanagement relationships. They will be comfortable moving between strategic priorities and daily plant needs, bringing a steady, solutionsoriented approach to complex employee relations, labor relations, compliance, and workforce matters.

Key Responsibilities

• Site Visibility: Maintain regular visibility across assigned sites by spending time with leaders and employees in the plant environment, identifying emerging concerns, reinforcing expectations, and building trust through consistent followup.
• HR Business Partnership: Serve as the primary HR Business Partner and HR contact for assigned sites, providing practical guidance to plant leadership teams, frontline leaders, and employees across the full employee lifecycle.
• Core HR Process Leadership: Lead workforce planning, recruitment and selection support, onboarding, retention, performance management, employee development, succession planning, offboarding, employee relations, and change management.
• Organizational Health: Partner with plant, operations, and functional leaders to assess organizational health, identify talent gaps and workforce risks, strengthen accountability, and implement HR plans that support operational priorities.
• Employee Relations Management: Manage employee relations matters, including investigations, corrective action, complaints, performance concerns, workplace issues, and documentation, with fairness, urgency, discretion, and sound judgment.
• Leader Coaching: Coach leaders on communication, documentation, policy and contract application, performance management, leadership effectiveness, employee development, training needs, and succession planning.
• Union Relations Leadership: Serve as the primary HR lead for all union relations at assigned sites, including managing communications with union leadership, administering and supporting collective bargaining agreements, handling grievances, participating in negotiations, and strengthening collaborative labormanagement relationships that support early issue resolution.
• CrossFunctional Partnership: Partner with payroll, benefits, compensation, safety, legal, and other functional teams to resolve employee matters and ensure accurate, timely execution of HR processes.
• HR Systems & Compliance: Support standardized HR systems, processes, practices, job descriptions, compliance training, open enrollment coordination, and workplace investigations in partnership with Corporate HR and the SunCoke Energy Compliance Team.
• DataDriven Insights: Use HR data, employee feedback, site observations, and business insights to identify trends, evaluate risks, improve processes, and recommend practical solutions that strengthen consistency, compliance, and the employee experience.
• Other Duties: Lead or support other projects and duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business, Labor Relations, or a related field preferred; equivalent job-related experience will be considered.
• Approximately 7-10 years of progressive HR experience, including significant HR Business Partner experience and at least 5 years of leadership experience in a unionized manufacturing, industrial, operations, or similarly fast-paced environment.
• Strong labor and employee relations experience, including collective bargaining agreement administration, grievances, investigations, corrective action, documentation, leader coaching, and resolution of complex workplace matters.
• Strong working knowledge of applicable employment laws and regulations, including FMLA, ADA, Title VII, wage and hour requirements, and federal, state, and local employment compliance obligations.
• Demonstrated ability to manage the full employee lifecycle, implement training and leadership development programs, support workforce planning and succession planning, and connect HR priorities to operational performance and business outcomes.
• Proven ability to build credibility, influence effectively, challenge constructively, coach leaders at multiple levels, and operate with professionalism, discretion, integrity, and sound judgment.
• Strong organizational, project management, problem-solving, verbal communication, and written communication skills, with high ownership, attention to detail, follow-through, and the ability to operate with urgency in a fast-paced, multi-site environment.
• Preferred qualifications include experience supporting multi-site unionized manufacturing operations, and experience supporting growth, transformation, integration, or significant operational change.

Work Environment

This is an on-site position requiring the Plant Human Resources Manager to work on site five days per week. The role will support two manufacturing locations and requires regular presence across Franklin Furnace, Ohio and Ceredo, West Virginia/Quincy, West Virginia.

The work environment is fast-paced and operationally focused. The successful candidate must be comfortable spending time in plant environments, partnering closely with site leadership, engaging with employees, and addressing HR matters in real time.

Compensation and Benefits

The anticipated base salary range for this position is $116,000 - $145,000 with a target annual bonus opportunity of 15%. Actual compensation will be determined based on a variety of factors, including the selected candidate's skills, experience, education, qualifications, and geographic location, as well as internal equity and business considerations.

In addition to competitive pay, SunCoke Energy offers comprehensive benefits to employees and their families, including health care coverage, retirement benefits, life and disability insurance, paid time off, holidays, supplemental benefit programs, tuition reimbursement, employee assistance resources, and telemedicine.

Equal Opportunity Employer

This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws.

For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.