Manager, Employee Relations

If you are looking to become part of a dynamic, capable Human Resources team and demonstrate your leadership skills, your search ends here. This team embraces our past and is committed to delivering our future, daily.

As part of the manufacturing Human Resources leadership team you will help us attract, retain and develop top talent to deliver our bold vision and future as an industry leader. You will play a vital role in advancing a winning, collaborative culture that engages and empowers diverse views to work together as a broad team of professionals to deliver extraordinary results.

We’re seeking change leaders, talent strategists, culture architects, and employee advocates who embrace each challenge as an opportunity to demonstrate human resources leadership effectiveness and business partnership to enable our teams to deliver and perform at their very best.

This role reports to the Director, Employee Relations, Windsor Site Operations, Ford of Canada Manufacturing, and will provide strategic Human Resources partnership to Operations leadership. You will work directly with senior leadership to develop and direct a Human Resources portfolio of services that enables delivery of the organization’s goals, foster a positive and ethical work environment, and you will partner with Human Resources leadership and peers to design and deliver solutions to optimize talent and the employee experience in your organization.

Employee Relations and Business Partnership

• Builds strong relationships with the leadership team within their customer group to identify solutions that drive sustainable cultural change and support the achievement of business objectives.
• Creates development plans, provides recognition, coaching and mentoring, and managing performance documentation and evaluations to support organizational goals for their team.
• Executes and consults on the talent management responsibilities within their customer group, including performance management, talent development, succession planning, Personnel Development Committee activities, compensation planning, disciplinary action, terminations, recruitment, pay decisions, and other personnel actions.
• Executes programs and services within their customer group to positively impact both the hourly and salaried employee life cycles.
• Fosters a positive and inclusive hourly and salary employee experience through proactive initiatives based on feedback through employee opinion surveys, suggestions, open-door policies.
• Supports Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives to boost engagement and address areas for improvement. Executes a strategic people plan to drive employee recognition events, planning, etc.
• Conducts daily floor walks in designated customer areas to build positive relationships with employees, ensure Human Resources availability, and enable a proactive response to early warning indicators.
• Leverages lean methodology and tools for problem solving in collaboration with internal departments, external vendors, auditors, and consultants to make decisions and drive effective change management programs. Actively engage in plant Kaizen events and is Green Belt certified in Six Sigma practices.
• Develops an understanding of plant operations to make informed decisions, provide valuable consulting to plant leadership, and offer strategic guidance on Human Resources matters aligned with business objectives.
• Partners with local communications staff to implement an integrated communications strategy that creates an informed employee population and drives 2-way communication across all shifts.
• Ensures compliance with employment laws, regulations, and company policies.
• Oversees interactions with local governmental agencies and coordinates charitable activities to support the plant's community engagement efforts.
• Deeply understand the organizations’ structure and composition. Proactively monitors key workforce metrics to identify potential risks and mitigating actions. Develop compelling narratives and recommendations for operating leaders that drives deliberate people decisions.
• Collaborates closely with customer group and relevant union representatives to ensure correct implementation and accurate interpretation of the collective agreement terms, addressing inquiries, grievances, and other union-related issues for consistent application. Oversees the resolution of employee union issues, such as conflicts, disputes, and disciplinary matters, ensuring fairness, consistency, and timeliness.
• Conducts investigations within their assigned customer group, ensuring that all disciplinary issues, grievances, and arbitration matters are handled in a timely and effective manner.
• Works closely with safety and occupational health team to address employee health and wellness concerns, conduct safety audits, implement wellness programs, and continuously improve safety performance for a healthy and safe work environment.

Labour Relations

• Manages resolution of employee union issues such as conflicts, disputes, and disciplinary matters, with fairness and consistency in a timely manner. Actively participates in preparing collective bargaining agreements and in associated negotiations with employee unions.
• Distributes and assigns all casework and grievances to the team and guides the team on investigations/responses to ethics and compliance hotline.
• Oversees payroll and attendance tracking processes by the team. Root causes payroll and attendance concerns to identify sustainable solutions. Comprehensive understanding of leaves of absences policies, Employment Standards Act, and the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board.
• Drives the talent management process for hourly employees within their customer group to support skill trades hiring, internal and external hourly hiring strategies, upskilling, transferring, and retirement management.

The Minimum Requirements We Seek

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Organizational Development, or any other related discipline ((Successful candidates will be required to provide proof of degree completion for the highest level of education attained. If the degree was obtained from a school outside of Canada, an Education Credential Assessment report showing Canadian equivalency is also required.)
• Five (5) + years of experience in a Human Resources management role.

Our Preferred Requirements

• Master’s degree in Human Resources, Organizational Development or any other related discipline
• Eight (8) + years of experience in a Human Resources management role in a manufacturing Human Resources/Labour Relations setting.
• CHRP/CHRL Professional Human Resources Certification
• Ability to effectively engage with all employees in the organization.
• In-depth experience in manufacturing processes.
• Excellent communication and problem-solving skills, including Six Sigma.
• Demonstrated ability to work as a team.
• Demonstrated ability to lead, empower and develop employees.
• Demonstrated conflict management skills.
• Proven analytical, problem solving, and organization skills.

This posting is for an existing vacancy within our team.

We thank all applicants for their interest, but only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

Ford of Canada is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to a culturally diverse workforce. Accommodations for applicants with disabilities throughout the recruitment, selection and / or assessment processes, where needed, are available upon request. Please inform Human Resources of the nature of any accommodation(s) that you may require.

Candidates for this position must be legally entitled to work in Canada. Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited does not sponsor work permit applications.