Director, Employee & Labor Relations

About the role

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.

Responsibilities

• 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.
• 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.
• Career Development & 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.