Employee Relations Coordinator

About the Role

The Employee Relations Coordinator, working under the guidance of the Employee Relations Manager, performs employee relations core processes to support the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ). This role focuses on fostering positive relationships between employees and the organization, ensuring compliance with employment laws and agency policies, and resolving workplace issues. The position also provides administrative and programmatic support to the department.

Mission

It is the mission of the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) to impact and transform young lives, strengthen families, and support safer communities through targeted prevention and rehabilitation.

Responsibilities

• Foster positive relationships between employees and the organization while ensuring compliance with employment laws and agency policies.
• Provide guidance to management and employees to enforce agency policies.
• Assist with discipline documentation and employee relations core processes to ensure timely, consistent, and appropriate intervention.
• Create a productive and positive work environment.
• Disseminate information and educate employees and managers on related processes and associated timeframes.
• Support Employee Relations Consultants with conducting investigations and processing employee grievances.
• Conduct thorough research to address issues and advise management on appropriate corrective action.
• Propose strategies to improve the effectiveness of human resources management at the agency.
• Collaborate with HR and other departments to ensure regulatory compliance.
• Maintain accurate records and ensure compliance with record-keeping regulations.
• Construct non-grievable actions, including Notice of Informal Counseling, Level I Reprimands, Level II Reprimands, Job Abandonments, and Acceptance of Resignations.
• Process FOIA requests, ER Checks, and Outside Employment requests.
• Draft memoranda, timelines, and other relevant correspondence related to the agency's employee relations program.
• Create responses to clearly communicate matters to multiple levels of the agency.
• Provide recommendations to management on appropriate courses of action and ensure implementation.
• Provide updates on assigned actions to the ER team and send notifications to program areas of pending actions.
• Retrieve unemployment documents from the SCDEW portal and process actions based on established deadlines.
• Assist Employee Relations Consultants with processing unemployment appeal requests by gathering required documentation and attending hearings as needed.
• Protect confidential information and share it only on an as-needed basis with authorized individuals.
• Provide ER-related data and statistics for reporting purposes.
• Manage accurate information on the ER Master List and provide notifications of substantiated investigations to Deputy Directors.
• Stay abreast of guidelines and assist ER Consultants with the SCCJA reporting process and review of the ER complaint log.
• Manage the ER Outlook Mailbox and review EPMS, WNSP, and ADA accommodation requests.
• Track the progress of ER actions and processes to ensure timeframes for completion are met according to established guidelines.
• Assist the HR Department with special projects and requests as needed.
• Perform other related job duties as assigned.

Requirements

State Minimum Requirements: A bachelor's degree and relevant experience.

• Knowledge of principles and practices of human resource management.
• Understanding of relevant human resources policies and procedures, as well as agency policies and procedures.
• Competence to interpret agency policies.
• Knowledge of federal laws and state regulations affecting human resources.
• Ability to demonstrate a blend of soft skills, technical expertise, and knowledge of employee relations core processes.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships.
• Essential skills include being detail-oriented, organized, having strong communication, conflict resolution, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.

Work Environment and Physical Demands

The work environment is primarily a standard office setting. Physical demands typically include:

• Frequent sitting, standing, walking, and using hands to operate office equipment.
• Occasionally lifting or moving objects up to 20-30 pounds.
• Specific vision abilities, such as close vision, distance vision, and the ability to adjust focus.
• Minimal travel to attend trainings or meetings.
• Work schedule does not often vary, nor does it require evening or weekend work; however, overtime may be approved depending on department needs.

This position involves duties related to the custody, control, transportation, or recapture of youth within the jurisdiction of the Department of Juvenile Justice, and the employee may have direct and indirect contact with youth. Training applicable to these duties will be provided.

Preferred Qualifications

• A bachelor's degree and experience in employee relations, including ADA, disciplinary actions, unemployment insurance, and other HR-related matters.

Benefits

• Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Health, dental, and life insurance
• 15 days annual (vacation) leave per year
• 15 days of sick leave per year
• 13 paid holidays
• State retirement plans and deferred compensation programs
• Discount programs such as TicketatWork and WeSave