Job Description

Under general direction of the Director of Academic Employment and Labor Relations, the incumbent performs a variety of job functions involving extremely complex legal issues that require expert knowledge of collective bargaining law and demonstrated advocacy, communication, analytical and organizational skills. They provide guidance and counsel to the campus executives and leaders including the Provost/EVC, Vice Provost (VP), the Assistant Vice Provost (AVP), faculty, deans, department chairs, and other senior administrators on academic labor and employment law matters for all of UC Davis. This position has organization-wide impact that include formulating strategies, development, implementation and administration of campus wide academic programs and policies related to labor collective bargaining agreements in collaboration with the Director. Leads on case management, grievance adjustment and advises campus leadership on issues pertaining to faculty and other academic employees on labor issues. Engages with bargaining unit representatives and represents Academic Affairs and UC Davis in arbitration of grievances filed pursuant to collective bargaining agreements. Create training and informational/educational programs designed to increase the academic leadership’s understanding and awareness of relevant laws, policies, and practices related to employment matters.

 

Apply By Date

October 31st 2024 at 11:59 p.m.

 

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

For full consideration, applicants are encouraged to upload license, certification and/or educational degree if required of the position.

• Demonstrated experience in human resources or public sector labor relations and/or adjusting grievances.
• Experience acting as management representative in grievances, unfair practice charges , and labor/management meetings.
• Experience with conflict management, and in facilitating highly charged and emotional discussions with members of cross-functional teams. Experience working with and applying employment law practices to ensure organizational compliance.
• Experience assessing trends and subsequent organizational risk; and experience providing proactive and responsive consultation, training, and coaching to develop and enhance expertise among managers in order to mitigate risk.
• Knowledge of or familiarity with the Higher Education Employer-Employee Relations Act (HEERA) and/or other public sector labor laws, including: scope of bargaining, contract compliance and grievance processing.

 

Preferred Qualifications

• J.D. from an accredited law school.
• Experience applying employment laws, labor contracts, and policy standards in an investigation or fact-finding process. Skill and experience in producing accurate reports and summaries.
• Experience working effectively with diverse populations at all levels of the organization, including faculty/academic appointees, senior/executive administrators, students, staff, and legal counsel.
• Knowledge of Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) administrative procedures for unfair labor practice charges, unit modifications, and unit requests for recognition.
• Knowledge of the Information Practices Act, Public Records Act, and HEERA requirements for production of information release, including unfair practice charges and PERB processes.
• Knowledge of UC policies related to academic appointees, such as the UC Academic Personnel Manual, and Academic Senate by-laws.

 

Key Responsibilities

• 40% - Academic Formal Adversarial Dispute Resolution, Guidance, and Representation

Advises organization managers and human resource professionals on academic labor relations and employment law implications relating to extremely complex individual and systemwide issues or courses of action. Provides consultation to managers and administrators in the formulation of responses to formal complaints under University policies and collective bargaining agreements by identifying and clarifying issues, revising applicable policy or contract terms, and drafting and/or editing written department responses. Acts as a third party in the resolution or mediation of both formal and informal grievances and complaints, including collecting, verifying and analyzing acts of complaints in terms of reasonableness of managements’ actions, establishing effective working relationships with academic employee representatives for the purpose of developing workable resolutions and facilitating productive discussions between and among parties. Facilitates resolution of informal and formal complaints by responding to employee-initiated issues and grievances regarding terms and conditions of employment, implementation of policy and procedure and issues involving allegations of inappropriate conduct or behavior. Evaluates the merits of grievances, complaints, and unfair labor practice charges by conducting workplace investigations, interviewing witnesses, reviewing policies and contracting provisions and procedures, identifying defense strategies, reviewing documentation, and reviewing precedent cases. Performs in-depth legal research and interprets and applies case law, statutes, and regulations. Maintains and researches files and labor relations law regarding past practices, prior arbitration awards, trends in employment practices, and legal precedents for proposed actions. Informs campus academic leaders (department chairs and directors, deans, associate and assistant deans) managers/supervisors, system-wide administration, and employee relations consultants of significant arbitration decisions. Makes recommendations for improving the formal complaint process from filing to final resolution. Applies expert labor relations concepts to represent the organization’s objectives at the bargaining table and has authority to make binding agreements with all unions, utilizing an understanding of systemwide goals and priorities. Represents the Director of Academic Employee and Labor Relations in both system-wide and local collective bargaining sessions. Analyzes documents pertaining to the collective bargaining process, including, but not limited to, the Higher Education Employer-Employee Relations Act (HEERA) and the case law interpreting HEERA, current and past contract language, and comparable contract language, and any other materials pertinent to the collective bargaining process. Leads and conducts extremely complex and varied analyses of issues or concepts and develops resulting recommendations. Identifies and diagnoses problems and issues by utilizing all internal/external resources available to obtain and verify facts in order to formulate alternative courses of action. Provides analysis, recommendations, and drafts correspondence or position papers pertaining to grievances, lawsuits, and/or preparation for higher-level staff meetings. Works with all levels of management to recommend position on settlement options. Negotiates settlement agreements by identifying management’s objectives, securing necessary approvals, and drafting legally sound agreements that protect future University interests. Develops and negotiates legally sound settlement agreements and memoranda of understanding that ensure formal resolution to a complaint or issue while contributing to the operational effectiveness of the University and confirmed to established University settlement practices.

 

 

• 30% - Collective Bargaining Agreements: Compliance, Guidance, and Negotiations

Leads all levels of negotiations in various bargaining units. Develops and implements a negotiation strategy. Effectively conducts labor-management meetings by determining and confirming management’s objectives, reviewing union agenda, and researching past practices as needed. Responds as appropriate to union demands and assures follow-up with academic leadership/management, including implementation of agreed-upon items. Participates with the Director and colleagues in reviewing a variety of issues, including proposed policy revisions, internal procedures and practices, contract administration training content and format, and departmental organizational processes. Researches issues relevant to Academic Employee and Labor Relations and develops recommendations for policy and/or procedure revisions, as appropriate. Represents the campus in systemwide bargaining, and has authority to commit the campus to systemwide agreements. Represents the Director of Academic Employee and Labor Relations in collective bargaining negotiations with labor unions that represent University employees. Participates in collective bargaining negotiations, as a member of the bargaining team, or as a consultant to the chief negotiator, the bargaining team or to University officials who make decisions related to the University’s position during collective bargaining negotiations. Responsible for administering extremely complex collective bargaining agreements and for interpreting the agreements. Analyzes the University’s collective bargaining agreements using the appropriate labor relations tools for contract interpretation. Advises academic leaders/managers, supervisors and others about the University’s interpretation of the collective bargaining agreements that apply to University employees; applies these guidelines to the facts of a particular situation to ensure consistency with past practices. Provides contract interpretation to department academic leaders and managers; coordinates system-wide contract interpretations with the Office of the President- Academic Personnel and with Labor Relations by responding to proposed written interpretations or obtaining interpretations on vague contractual language. Surveys other campuses to determine how contractual issues are being interpreted. Provides interpretations of HEERA to departments and academic leaders/managers regarding the rights of union representatives to access, represent employees, and organize strategies or tactics.

 

 

• 30% - Leadership, Communication and Training

Functions as a team leader to build consensus in a collaborative manner among diverse entities (for example, academic leaders, appointees, and union representatives). Develops and maintains appropriate union-management relations through informal and formal oral and written communications with exclusive and non exclusive representatives. Communicates with labor unions, academic leaders, supervisors, and others about the information to be provided in response to a Request for Information (RFI). Responds to union requests for information, such as providing salary data, and policy information; determines which type(s) of information can or cannot be released by reviewing relevant records laws, campus practices, and HEERA. Represents the Director on campuswide and system-wide committees by attending meetings, participating in discussions, and contributing to the decision-making process. In collaboration with systemwide and campus Labor Relations colleagues, develops a system or combination of systems for informing supervisors and managers of renegotiated sections of the contract. Provides consultation to administrators and supervisors in developing and writing documentation pertaining to counseling and disciplinary memos, performance appraisals, and work rules. Determines appropriate technical language to be incorporated into documents and edits documents for clarity. Coaches academic leaders and supervisors in implementing appropriate processes and techniques for guiding and disciplining employees to achieve acceptable levels of performance and conduct. Provides notice to exclusive and non-exclusive representatives as required by HEERA, past practice as determined by University management. Reviews proposed policy, procedural, and work-related changes to determine notice requirements. Initiates, develops, and conducts training programs for individual departments or through In-Service Training programs in such areas as performance appraisal, progressive discipline, FMLA, etc.

 

Department Overview

UC Davis Academic Affairs has oversight for more than $5 million from a variety of funding sources. Academic Affairs is the central office that functions as the Human Resources office for more than 20 different academic title series and oversees approximately 5,000+ non-represented and represented academics campus-wide. In addition, there are 2100+ academic appointments that are without salary that require analysis. These academics reside in the following:
UC Davis Colleges/Schools/Units
College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
College of Biological Sciences
College of Engineering
College of Letters and Science
Continuing and Professional Education (formerly Univ. Extension)
Graduate School of Management
Offices of the Chancellor and Provost and their units:

• Aggie Square
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
• Global Affairs —Graduate Studies
• Grand Challenges
• Imagining America
• Office of Public Scholarship and Engagement
• UC Center Sacramento
• Undergraduate Education

Office of Research and their units:

• Air Quality Research Center
• Coastal and Marine Science Institute/Bodega Marine Laboratory
• California National Primate Research Center
• Comprehensive Cancer Center
• Center for Healthcare Policy and Research
• Institute of the Environment
• Special Research Programs
• Research Instruments and Central Facilities

School of Education
School of Law and Law Library
School of Medicine
School of Nursing
School of Veterinary Medicine
Shields Library

Academic Affairs oversees and provides information, analysis, and recommendations to senior management (Assistant Vice Provost, Vice Provost, Provost, Chancellor), the Academic Senate and the Academic Federation, and supports the work of senior campus leaders (Department Chairs, Assistant/Associate/Executive Associate Deans, Deans, Vice Provosts and other full-time faculty administrators, Central Payroll, Budget and Institutional Analysis, etc.) with responsibility in the areas of academic personnel/human resource matters.

Academic personnel matters include but are not limited to: navigating, understanding, researching, consulting, problem-solving, collaborating, advising and implementing recruitments, appointments, academic labor and employee relations (including advises on conflict management and disciplinary matters for academics and leads all work related to three collective bargaining agreements — RA, IX, LX, advancements, compensation, academic range adjustments, equity analysis, retentions, system-wide reporting (i.e., Deans compensation and outside professional activities, new hires and separations, etc.), leaves (i.e., sabbaticals, FML and other medical leaves, bereavement, etc.), faculty outside professional activities, leading the campus’ national and international awards, managing campus-wide awards programs for faculty/academics, leading faculty/academic professional development and training programs, managing academic work life programs, leading diversity initiatives for academics, etc.

 

Position Information

• Salary or Pay Range: $107,100/annually - $224,100/annually - This position is subject to a budgeted maximum salary, commensurate with experience and education.
• Salary Frequency: Monthly
• Salary Grade: 26
• UC Job Title: LABOR REL REPR 5
• Appointment Type: Career
• Percentage of Time: Full-Time, 100%
• Shift Hours: Manager will advise
• Location: Davis, CA.
• Union Representation: No
• Benefits Eligible: Yes
• Hybrid/Remote/On-Site: Hybrid – Position is a mix of on-site and remote work

 

Benefits

Outstanding benefits and perks are among the many rewards of working for the University of California. UC Davis offers a full range of benefits, resources and programs to help you bring your best self to work, as well as to help you and your family achieve your health, wellness, financial and career goals. Learn more about the benefits and eligibility rules by visiting Benefits Summary for UC Davis Health Employees or Benefits Summary for UC Davis Employees and our Benefits Page.

 

If you are represented by a union, benefits are negotiated between the University of California (UC) and your union and finalized in a contract. Read your bargaining unit's employment contract, stay abreast of current negotiations and learn about collective bargaining at UC: https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/labor/bargaining-units/index.html

 

 

• High quality and low-cost medical plans to choose from to fit your family’s needs
• For eligible roles, UC pays for Dental and Vision insurance premiums for you and your family
• Extensive leave benefits including Pregnancy and Parental Leave, Family & Medical Leave
• Paid Holidays annually as stipulated in the UC Davis Policies or Collective Bargaining Agreement
• Paid Time Off/Vacation/Sick Time as stipulated in the UC Davis Policies or Collective Bargaining Agreement
• Continuing Education (CE) allowance and Education Reimbursement Program as stipulated in the UC Davis Policies or Collective Bargaining Agreement
• Access to free professional development courses and learning opportunities for personal and professional growth
• WorkLife and Wellness programs and resources
• On-site Employee Assistance Program including access to free mental health services
• Supplemental insurance offered including additional life, short/long term disability, pet insurance and legal coverage
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSFL) Qualified Employer & Student Loan Repayment Assistance Program for qualified roles
• Retirement benefit options for eligible roles including Pension and other Retirement Saving Plans. More information on our retirement benefits can be found here
• UC Davis cares about building a community, which is why we provide resources to enhance diversity, equity and inclusion as well as Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) to support our staff

 

Physical Demands

• Ability to sit and work at a computer for extended periods of time
• Occasionally carry up to 10 pounds
• Constantly utilize close visual acuity (e.g., viewing a computer screen, using measuring devices)
• Work at a computer for extended periods of time.

 

Work Environment

UC Davis is a smoke and tobacco free campus effective January 1, 2014. Smoking, the use of smokeless tobacco products, and the use of unregulated nicotine products (e-cigarettes) will be strictly prohibited on any UC Davis owned or leased property, indoors and outdoors, including parking lots and residential space.

https://ucdavispolicy.ellucid.com/documents/view/271

• Work flexible schedule including evenings and weekends to meeting operational needs.

 

Special Requirements

Background Check

This position is a critical position and subject to a background check. Employment is contingent upon successful completion of background investigation including criminal history and identity checks.

 

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging

At UC Davis, we’re solving life’s most urgent challenges to bring a fuller, healthier, and more resilient world within reach. We grow from every challenge we take on and we don’t just maintain - we improve. We recognize that creating an inclusive and intellectually vibrant organization means understanding and valuing both our individual differences and our common ground. The most comprehensive solutions come from the most diverse minds, and you belong here. As you consider joining UC Davis, please explore our Principles of Community, our Clinical Strategic Plan and strategic vision for research and education, and our latest efforts to outgrow the expected. The University of California, Davis is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age or protected veteran status.

 

For the University of California’s Affirmative Action Policy please visit: https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/4010393/PPSM-20.

For the University of California’s Anti-Discrimination Policy, please visit: https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/1001004/Anti-Discrimination.

 

Because we want you to be seen, our recruiting process at UC Davis fosters authenticity, diversity, and inclusion. Studies have shown that some people may not apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. Each unique role at UC Davis has a set of requirements and you could be perfect for this role, or you could be perfect for the next role! Don’t meet all the requirements? We still encourage you to apply! #YouBelongHere

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