Director of Academic Labor Relations

Portland State University seeks a Director of Academic Labor Relations
Click here to view position profile: https://summitsearchsolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/PSU_DALR_Profile.pdf
Location: Portland, Oregon

The Position:
The Director of Academic Labor Relations (DALR) reports to the Vice Provost for Faculty Success (VPFS) and is the campus lead for academic labor relations and directly collaborates with the VPFS on short and long-range strategic approaches to academic labor relations. This position is responsible for developing, sustaining, and creating a culture that supports positive and professional relationships between academic employees, union representatives, supervisors, managers, and administrators. The academic faculty, staff, and graduate employees are critical to delivering the institution’s primary educational and research mission. Full-time faculty and staff are represented by the PSU Chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP). The part-time faculty and researchers are represented by the PSU Faculty Association (PSUFA). The graduate teaching, research, and administrative assistants are represented by the Graduate Employee Union (GEU).

The Director serves as the lead in managing collective bargaining negotiations, contract interpretation, and contract administration, including responding and coordinating all grievance responses in a timely and contractually compliant manner. This critical leader oversees and manages the implementation of investigatory meetings, progressive discipline, and employee separation agreements, and may appear on behalf of the University at arbitration, mediation, and appeal hearings. The Director has strong leadership skills and a proactive approach to academic employee and labor relations. The portfolio includes coaching and training for supervisors and managers in the areas of performance management, progressive discipline, setting expectations, and workplace interventions for academic employees.

The Director participates in a collaborative team-based environment, working with Human Resources, the Office of Global Diversity and Inclusion, Associate Vice Provost & Special Advisor to the Provost, and the Office of General Counsel’s Office to arrive at equitable, fair, and ethical solutions to the many complex issues that arise in academic labor relations. The Director also collaborates with peer directors, managers, administrators, and supervisors at PSU, providing counsel to senior administrators, department heads, directors, managers, and supervisors across the University in an effort to foster employee engagement and guide represented academic employee and labor relations matters.

Responsibilities:
Academic Employee and Supervisor Relations

• Supervises the Academic Labor Relations Specialist.
• Supervises the Special Advisor to Academic Labor Relations.
• Advises the Provost, Vice Provosts, Deans, and other managers, supervisors and employees on performance management and other workplace issues, conducts investigations as needed, and recommends solutions to disputes and/or performance or misconduct issues.
• Provides consultation for managers and supervisors on corrective actions, including disciplinary actions involving bargaining unit employees to ensure consistent and fair application of the principles of due process and just cause, as well as collective bargaining agreements and University policy.
• Interprets collective bargaining language and relevant employment laws and policies for supervisors and employees.
• Provides training to managers and supervisors regarding the interpretation and application of collective bargaining agreements, progressive discipline, and performance management.
• Assists managers and other PSU investigatory bodies with employment investigations, coordinates responses to employee grievances; prepares for and assists in presenting arbitration and contested cases, may appear on behalf of the University at arbitration, mediation, and appeal hearings.
• Works with Human Resources and General Counsel on investigations, disciplinary proceedings, grievances, and arbitrations.
• Conducts training for managers and supervisors in contract administration, due process, and related employee relations issues in cooperation with Human Resources.

Labor Relations

• Builds relationships with campus union leadership, meets with union leadership and representatives regularly to resolve concerns, problems, and grievances.
• Works with stakeholders, bargaining team and management team to develop negotiation strategies, draft contract language, and prepare communication plans.
• Serves as a chief spokesperson for collective bargaining or as member of the University’s bargaining team.
• Implements and administers collective bargaining agreements.
• Serves as the primary contact for AAUP, GEU, and PSUFA regarding contract administration and leads and/or participates in meetings with the bargaining and management teams in preparation for all negotiations.
• Represent the University at meetings with AAUP, PSUFA, and GEU.
• Coordinate and manage all Requests for Information, grievance processes, demands to bargain, and unfair labor practice filings.
• Act as a consultant for the University Policy committee (UPC) or may serve on UPC when the Office of Academic Affairs (OAA) representative seat is vacant.

Qualifications:
Required:

• Bachelor’s, Master’s degree, JD, or PhD degree.
• Five years of progressively responsible experience in employee or labor relations.
• Experience as a first or second lead negotiator on a collective bargaining team.
• Demonstrated competency with word processing, spreadsheet applications, and databases to retrieve and analyze data and/or create reports.
• Strong writing and communication skills.

Preferred:

• Experience with higher education labor management relations, grievance administration and/or collective bargaining, either representing an institution of higher education or a labor organization.
• Experience with public sector labor and employee relations activities.
• Familiarity with university organizational structure, policy, and political issues in higher education.
• Knowledge or awareness of Oregon employment law, in particular, the Public Employee Collective Bargaining Act, and the Oregon Employment Relations Board.
• Demonstrated expertise in negotiating, facilitating or mediating the resolution of employment or human resource-related issues.

About Portland State University:
Portland State University (PSU) is Oregon’s largest urban university, located in Portland, Oregon. PSU enrolls over 22,000 students and offers programs for bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees. PSU is an internationally recognized university known for excellence in student learning, innovative research, and community engagement. PSU contributes to the economic vitality, environmental sustainability, and quality of life in the Portland region and beyond. Employees describe Portland State University as a vibrant, diverse, progressive place to work and an environment that welcomes process improvement and innovation. Portland State’s 50-acre downtown campus is located in the heart of the city; a hub of culture, business, and technology, and just 90 minutes from mountains and the Oregon Coast.

Portland State is composed of 10 constituent schools and colleges, offering undergraduate degrees in 123 fields and postgraduate degrees in 117 fields. Schools at Portland State include: The School of Business, College of Education, School of Social Work, College of Urban and Public Affairs, College of the Arts, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science, the joint OHSU/PSU School of Public Health, the Graduate School, and the Honors College. The athletic teams are known as the Portland State Vikings and compete at the NCAA Division I Level, primarily in the Big Sky Conference. See www.pdx.edu for additional information about the institution.

Portland State University is committed to providing access and excellent education to students from all backgrounds.

• PSU is a national College of Distinction, a mark of excellence earned for its pioneering University Studies program, a four-year pathway to undergraduate success.
• U.S. News & World Report ranks PSU as the No. 1 school in Oregon for social mobility due to the institution graduating the highest number of economically disadvantaged students and No. 1 in Oregon for Service Learning.
• PSU was among the first universities in the country to garner the community engagement classification from the Carnegie Foundation in 2006 and has just been recognized again for its exceptional commitment.
• Portland State has been named by Newsweek as one of America’s Greatest Workplaces for Diversity for 2024.
• For the second year in a row, PSU has received the Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine.
• In 2022, PSU became an emerging Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI), and in fall 2023 received a five-year grant under its Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAPISI) designation.
• PSU recently joined more than 300 institutions nationwide as part of the College Cost Transparency Initiative, making it easier for students and families to navigate the financial aid process.

As President Ann Cudd recently remarked, “PSU is truly an anchor institution: We are a powerhouse for education and the arts in this region. We are woven into the fabric of this city. We are an innovative hub of research, much of it trained on addressing Oregon’s current and future challenges. And our students — our wonderful, creative, and passionate students — will take their education out into the community and make lasting change.”

Leadership
Dr. Ann E. Cudd
President Ann E. Cudd joined Portland State in August of 2023, bringing with her an immense amount of energy and focus on the mission and values of Oregon’s urban research university. She came to the president’s office as an accomplished academic leader and philosophy scholar whose research explores themes of oppression, economic inequality, capitalism and gender. Cudd came to Portland from western Pennsylvania where she served as Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor of the 34,000-student, five-campus University of Pittsburgh from 2018 to 2023. During her tenure at Pitt, applications increased by 60% and Cudd was instrumental in the university offering enhanced financial aid through the Pitt Success Pell Match, similar to PSU’s Tuition-Free Degree Program. She is a proven champion of racial justice and equity initiatives, including the development of an online course for incoming students on racism in America. Cudd holds three advanced degrees from the University of Pittsburgh, including a doctorate of philosophy and master’s degrees in philosophy and economics. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and philosophy from Swarthmore College. She has held faculty positions at the University of Kansas, Occidental College, Boston University, and the University of Pittsburgh.

Dr. Cudd, the second woman to serve as PSU’s president in its 76-year history, said her initial priorities include restoring the University’s downtown campus vitality. Dr. Cudd is keen to ensure that the University plays an active role in the city of Portland’s revival, using the example of the city’s current charter reform process and suggesting ways that PSU can act as a convener of citizens and experts to help inform and shape that effort. Getting more students to enroll at Portland State is also high on her list. “There is a national challenge in re-engaging potential students, especially among low-income and first-generation students, with higher education,” she said. “PSU is perfectly positioned to turn that around.”

Dr. Shelly Chabon
Dr. Shelly Chabon was appointed Interim Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs in August 2023. Dr. Chabon has worked in a university setting for over 35 years and has been at PSU since 2008. She formerly served as Vice Provost for Academic Personnel and Dean of Interdisciplinary General Education, as Associate Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences in the PSU College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and as Chair and Professor in Speech and Hearing Sciences. As Vice Provost, she directed leadership training, served as a liaison with union representatives, and oversaw general education including University Studies and PSU’s Honors College.

Chabon earned a B.A. degree from Brooklyn College, an M.S. in speech-language pathology from Pennsylvania State University, an M.S. in audiology from Towson State University, a Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh, and completed postdoctoral studies at Howard University. She is a Fellow and former President of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). Her association accolades include the Dorothy Dreyer Award for Volunteerism, the Certificate of Recognition for Outstanding Contributions in Higher Education, and Honors of the Association in 2021.

To Apply:
Confidential review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. Applications will be reviewed as they come in. Those received by September 24, 2024 will be given first consideration.

To apply, go to: https://theapplicantmanager.com/jobs?pos=su421. Applicants must submit a CV, a letter of interest that details their related qualifications and vision for the role, as well as a statement (one page maximum) that describes their commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion personally and/or professionally.

For more information or to offer recommendations or nominations:
Stephanie Rivas-Fowler
Senior Consultant
Summit Search Solutions, Inc.
(480) 213-7078
srivasfowler@summitsearchsolutions.com

Portland State University is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer and seeks candidates who are committed to the highest standards of scholarship and professional activities and a campus climate that supports equality, diversity, and inclusion.