Labour and Employee Relations Manager

Company Description

The Toronto Star is a progressive media organization with a long, proud history in newspapers and a passion for capitalizing on the fluid world of digital and mobile media. Our vision for success is driven by a deep customer-centric obsession, continued journalistic excellence, advanced data-driven competency and a culture that is selfless, focused, agile, collaborative and results driven. The successful candidate will be a champion of those priorities while keeping the customer at the heart of all of the creative work that s/he will be doing.

Our Commitment To Diversity
We strive to be a leader in building and cultivating an employee community framed around fairness, support and opportunity. We believe that what makes us different, makes a difference. And as a team, the diversity of our backgrounds, interests and experiences is what enriches our work, and our workplaces. We welcome all, and we strive for an inclusive culture that allows individual growth and shared success.

Job Description

Reporting to Vice President, People and Culture, the Labour and Employee Relations Manager is responsible for developing a labour management environment that establishes a trust based and collaborative relationship with the unions that enhances Torstar’s ability to drive innovation and improvement in organizational performance. The incumbent will facilitate and support implementation of labour and employee relations’ strategies by providing expertise to assigned leadership teams to translate their business objectives into strategic talent plans to resolve complex HR challenges. The initial client assignment will be Editorial teams across the Torstar publications. As required, the incumbent will provide team leadership guidance to peers to support growth and development. This is a hybrid role with an expectation of being 3 days onsite. The corporate office is located at 8 Spadina Ave., Toronto, ON.

Key Responsibility Areas

• Provide proactive and strategic advice and counsel to leadership teams on various of employee issues, including but not limited to managing performance and productivity  issues, high absenteeism, and disability management
• Provide expertise on issues related to the interpretation and management of collective agreements, grievances, arbitrations, and general labour relations.
• Manage and facilitate Labour Management Committee meetings, and ensure timely follow up of agreed to action items
• Lead assigned employee investigations as required
• Educate client groups to ensure they have a good understanding of the collective agreement through informal discussions and formal seminars
• Act as first chair in the collective bargaining agreement negotiations, which includes preparing mandate, drafting provisions and advising operational leads
• Coach senior leaders and managers to improve/enhance their leadership effectiveness and provide counsel and continuous feedback to drive a high performing culture.  
• Partner with HR colleagues to implement proactive employee engagement strategies, programs, and plans to drive business results and employee value proposition.
• Manage the talent review process and partner with leaders to create measurable action plans to develop and grow talent.
• Conduct strategic analysis of absenteeism trends, recommend education or mitigation strategies, facilitate and manage disability claims process including supporting employee return to work plans and accommodation arrangements
• Strengthen the organizational capabilities by challenging the status quo to achieve a high performing HR function
• Represent Torstar both internally and externally, role model organizational values, and foster collaborative and accountable relationships.
• Identify cross-functional challenges and opportunities and ensure effective and successful value-added solutions that maximize outcomes.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Human Resources, Business or equivalent
• 8+ years of progressive HR/Business Partner experience within a unionized environment
• A record of success leading the labour relations function across multi-union environment
• Having strong analytical, critical thinking and results oriented skills and abilities is a must
• Demonstrates exceptional business acumen and ability to influence stakeholders
• Impressive communication and collaborative skills to lead initiatives
• Has the leadership courage to try new ideas, make tough decisions, and address key opportunities
• Embraces change with the ability to adapt quickly to evolving dynamics and thrives in ambiguity and an entrepreneurial environment
• Comfortable working on both the strategic level and hands-on level
• Experience providing guidance, support and team leadership to peers is considered an asset

Why Join Toronto Star? 

• Be part of a progressive media brand that is proudly 100% Canadian-owned and operated that is committed to impactful journalism, democracy and innovation, whose diverse content assets reach over 11 million Canadians. 
• Work at the intersection of journalism, policy and digital transformation. 
• Contribute to meaningful conversations that shape Canadian society 

Additional Information

AODA
We are committed to providing an inclusive and barrier-free recruitment process ensuring equal access to employment opportunities for candidates, including persons with disabilities. In compliance with Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act and Ontario Human Rights Code we will endeavour to provide accommodation to persons with disabilities in the recruitment process upon request. If you are selected for an interview and you require accommodation due to a disability during the recruitment process, please notify the hiring manager upon scheduling the interview of your requirements.