Vice President, Human Resources and Labor Relations

Washtenaw Community College (WCC), founded in 1965, is a comprehensive community college located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Each year, the College serves more than 26,000 students in credit and non-credit classes and employs more than 1,600 faculty and staff. Located on 285 picturesque acres, the College offers approximately 100 credit programs in business, health and public service, humanities and social science, math and natural sciences, and technology. Additionally, WCC has four extension centers throughout southeast Michigan and offers an increasing number of distance learning courses. With a mission to make a positive difference in people’s lives through accessible and excellent educational programs and services, WCC is committed to supporting its learners and embraces diversity, innovation, partnerships, and excellence in teaching and learning. For more information about the College, please explore http://www.wccnet.edu/.

WCC invites applications and nominations for the position of Vice President, Human Resources and Labor Relations (VPHR). Reporting to the President and serving on her Executive Leadership Team, the VPHR directs all Human Resource department functions and is responsible for integrating human resource services across the College as well as developing and implementing a comprehensive plan for enhancing service to the College’s employees. The VPHR will partner with College leadership in developing long- and short-term strategies and services that meet the workforce and business needs of the College.  S/he will provide guidance to drive business strategy and value, build organizational strategic alignment to support execution of institutional goals, keep a pulse on workforce trends and business environment changes, and focus on shared responsibility for managing talent and culture as well as building workforce capability. The VPHR is responsible for negotiating and administering the collective bargaining agreements for multiple collective bargaining units and will assume primary responsibility for the interpretation and administration of all labor contracts, including prevention and timely resolution of grievances and preparation for the representation of the College in mediation, fact finding, and arbitration proceedings. S/he will also be responsible for developing proactive programs for enhancing employee talent, promoting employee wellness, ensuring a diverse workforce, and developing and disseminating the College’s human resource procedure. Supervising a staff of ten, the VPHR will work to position the College as an Employer of Choice by being aware of policies, practices, and trends within the higher education arena. S/he will also drive high level workforce effectiveness through employee recruitment, development, engagement, and talent retention. Additional responsibilities include developing and managing annual budgets for the human resource department; designing, establishing, and maintaining a human resource department organizational structure to effectively accomplish the College’s goals and objectives; evaluating and revising human resource department procedures to streamline and/or to automate processes, improve customer service, reduce paper flow, and improve human resources data management; providing guidance and input on department restructuring, workforce planning, and succession planning; overseeing the discharge of staff; collaborating with College General Counsel regarding labor and employment issues and related regulations; working closely with management and employees to improve employee relations, build morale, increase productivity and retention; and creating and delivering presentations to the Board of Trustees as directed by the President.

Qualifications: The successful candidate will possess excellent communication and interpersonal skills as well as exhibit leadership, initiative, enthusiasm, teamwork, and collaboration with faculty, administration, staff, and external constituents in the execution of the responsibilities of the position. S/he will demonstrate knowledge of organizational development theory and practices as well as skill and experience in examining and re-engineering operations, formulating policy, and developing and implementing new strategies and procedures. The successful candidate will have experience as a chief collective bargaining agreement negotiator. S/he will possess At least eight years of progressively more responsible full time work experience as a human resource manager and/or executive. Prior experience as a vice president, assistant vice president, or executive director in human resources is preferred, as is a Juris Doctor degree. A master’s degree in human resource management, labor relations, or a closely related field from a regionally accredited college or university is required.

Application: Interested candidates should submit only a cover letter and résumé/CV to RPA Inc. at WashtenawHR@rpainc.org. Please do not submit references at this stage, as they will not be retained. For a confidential discussion or to make a nomination, please contact Isaac Karaffa, Search Manager, at 800-992-9277. The first review of candidates will begin on April 26, 2017, and interviews will commence thereafter. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. WCC is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer and encourages applications from women, minorities, veterans, and people with disabilities.