Corporate Labor Relations Specialist - Madison, MS

Description

The Vertex Company is a services solutions provider that operates as a federal government prime contractor. With over 7,000 employees in 200 locations worldwide, the Mississippi-based company offers vertically integrated solutions for defense and commercial customers.

Delivering integrated turnkey lifecycle support from concept definition, to engineering and manufacturing, through the end of life support of complex systems and platforms, Vertex offerings include all levels of aviation maintenance, worldwide contractor logistics support, systems engineering and integration, specialized onsite mission execution, high consequence training programs for defense and commercial customers, and integrated supply-chain solutions. Over our 50-year history, we have perfected the balance of cost, schedule, and performance to offer high-quality solutions that consistently exceed customer requirements.

Vertex has proudly been headquartered in Madison, Mississippi since 1974. Madison is a rapidly growing community just north of the Capitol. In 2019, Madison, MS ranked #31 out of 18,446 Best Places to live in America. In Mississippi, Madison ranked #1 in Best Places to Live, Best Place to raise a family, Best Public Schools, and safest city to live in. Vertex Aerospace strives to make a meaningful community and economic impact and was recognized as an MS 100 leading private company. Most recently Vertex was awarded the 2022 Military Friendly® Employer designation and ranked number six in the nation on the Military Friendly® Supplier Diversity Program list.

The Vertex Company is a portfolio company of American Industrial Partner (AIP), an operationally orientated private investment firm with a 30-year track record of working with management teams to build scaled world-class businesses (www.americanindustrial.com).

The Labor Relations Specialist will assist to develop and implement labor relations strategies in alignment with the Director, Corporate People Operations, EVP and Chief People Officer (CPO), and the applicable Vertex Leadership Team. The Labor Relations Specialist may interface with division leaders, company legal counsel, company union representatives, regional and national union leadership, and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). They also serve as consultants to management and HR Business Partners (HRBPs) at the unionized company operating locations.

Principal Responsibilities and Accountabilities:

• Provide expertise in strategy development, planning, and execution of positive Employee and Labor Relations initiatives
• In-depth understanding and the ability to apply technical principles, theories, and concepts of the Labor Relations field

• Maintain in-depth knowledge of applicable employment and labor laws, reducing risk and ensuring regulatory compliance

• Ability to proactively analyze and interpret complex employee data to provide solutions to employee labor relations matters that have an impact on operations
• Provide labor relations subject matter expertise to the HR Business Partners at all unionized operating locations
• Assists the Corporate Labor Relations Lead on all Labor Relations issues
• Responsible for achieving goals around strategic labor relations initiatives, continuous improvement, profitability, and the professional development of others and self as communicated by the Corporate Labor Relations Lead
• Fosters a diverse, inclusive, and equitable culture.
• Work closely with Corporate People Operations, division, and cross-functional organizations to continuously improve service delivery
• May serve as a lead or team member on special project teams
• Conduct thorough and compliant labor relations investigations
• Pro-Actively identify leadership development training focused on labor relations competencies
• Ensures cultural alignment to Vertex's core values of professionalism, integrity, and respect
• Assists in the development of the negotiation strategy that includes economic and non-economic impacts of the CBA
• Assists in the preparation of the negotiation strategy package to submit for corporate leadership approval
• Advanced ability to utilize the entire suite of HCMS solutions to optimize labor relations service delivery
• Maintains a comprehensive library of all CBAs, MOUs/MOAs, negotiation schedules, strategy briefs, grievance & arbitration logs, etc.
• Assist and facilitate Step 3 grievances, arbitrations, and NLRB charges
• Recommends solutions to management to resolve grievances
• Maintains the highest ethical standards.
• Assist the Corporate Labor Relations Lead during the negotiation of Collective Bargaining Agreements in accordance with the corporate labor relations strategy
• Will require advanced experience in the Microsoft Office Suite of Solutions, primarily Excel, Powerpoint, and Word
• Demonstrates effective verbal and written communication skills
• Ability to use project management skills to effectively complete all assigned strategic and tactical deliverables
• Ability to proactively respond and engage in all labor relations matters
• Ability to moderate, mediate, and mitigate conflict situations in a professional manner
• Ability to make recommendations during contract negotiations to mutually agreeable terms and conditions
• Ability to use project management skills to effectively complete all assigned strategic and tactical deliverables
• Identify and develop meaningful labor relations metrics that set benchmarks for service delivery

Professional Requirements, Qualifications & Desired Competencies:

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources or Business Management and at least 4 years of experience in Labor Relations or Employee Relations OR Associate’s degree in Human Resources or Business Management and at least 8 years of experience in Labor Relations or Employee Relations OR High School Diploma and 12 years of experience in Labor Relations or Employee Relations.
• Negotiation experience preferred
• At least two (2) years’ government contracting experience working in the Aviation/Aerospace industry required
• At least two (2) years HCMS or Labor Relations solutions experience required
• HR experience preferred
• Thorough understanding of all applicable federal, state, and local government agency employment laws and regulations (i.e. DoL, EEOC, the White House, DCAA, DCMA, NLRB, OSHA, etc)
• At least two (2) years’ in-depth experience identifying, investigating, and resolving complex labor or employee relations matters as a primary responsibility of the position
• The ability to develop solutions based on root-cause analysis
• Must be able to meet pre-employment contingencies, which include a background investigation, substance abuse screening, and vaccination requirements, as applicable
• Must be able to obtain and maintain a DoD security clearance, as applicable
• This position requires the ability to work discretionary hours outside of the scheduled workweek to meet position requirements
• The essential physical requirements of the position will be reviewed with the applicant during the interview.
• At least 20% travel will be required.
• Must adhere to Company policies, procedures, and management instructions.
• The position requires the incumbent to strictly maintain the confidentiality of sensitive information and Company Proprietary data

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities

The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60-1.35(c)