Employee Relations Specialist jobs in Fort Lauderdale, FL

The City offers a wide variety of benefits to employees. In addition to the competitive benefits package and salary, the City participates in the Florida Retirement System (FRS) which offers an investment option and a pension option, and requires a 3% contribution from employees.  New hires are automatically enrolled in FRS.    

Say "Hello" to the City of Fort Lauderdale and Say "Goodbye" to Your Student Loan!
That's right! Under the U.S. Department of Education's Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, the remaining balance on your student loan may be forgiven after you have made 120 qualifying monthly payments while working full-time at the City of Fort Lauderdale!  Please visit www.fortlauderdale.gov/PublicServiceLoanForgiveness for more information or to see if you qualify. 

This is a classified position covered by the Personnel Rules. 

• Advises and confers with City management staff, department heads, and/or designees on discipline administration issues, contract interpretation issues, and EEO practices
• Meets with employees and union organizations regarding employee relations and EEO matters
• Advises department heads and/or designees in areas of department policy, rules and regulations for attendance, overtime, use of City property, and other employee relations issues
• Attends various department head staff meetings to discuss and advise officials regarding a variety of employee relations, discipline, and EEO issues
• Maintains knowledge of laws, Public Employees Relations Commission (PERC) rulings, court decisions, statutes, arbitrators' decisions, and other current activities related to employee relations and EEO issues
• Confers with and advises department heads and/or designees regarding appropriate written grievance responses and compliance with City discipline and grievance procedures
• Conducts training sessions for City management officials and new supervisory employees regarding discipline administration, grievance handling, and current developments and practices in the field of employee relations and contract administration
• Performs special projects and participates in specific internal investigations at the request of the City Manager's Office and makes recommendations on a variety of management/employee issues
• Meets with City Attorney's Office representatives and/or outside counsel as needed regarding employee relations issues
• Serves as the City's management representative at arbitration hearings; develops appropriate meeting strategy; prepares City witnesses; drafts strategic cross examination questions; prepares arbitration briefs when needed
• Serves as management representative in negotiating contractual agreements, when needed
• Maintains knowledge of the latest data concerning wages, salaries, EEO and labor contract cases, fringe benefits, hours of work, and conditions of employment
• Performs related work as required

1. Bachelor's Degree in Labor Relations, Human Resources, Business or Public Administration or a related field.
2. Three (3) or more years of experience in discipline administration, negotiating strategies and proposals; labor negotiations; contract interpretation and administration; EEO complaint resolution; grievance handling; EEO fact-finding and arbitration proceedings. Additional qualifying experience or completion of coursework at an accredited college or university in a job-related field, may substitute on a year-for-year basis for the required experience or education.

• Prior experience conducting labor relations investigations.
• Prior work experience within a Municipality or Government Agency.
• Professional in Human Resources (PHR) / Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) / Society for Human Resources Management Certified Professional (SHRM-CP) / Society for Human Resources Management Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) or other human resources-related professional certifications.

Depending on the number of applicants and the quality of their education and experience, the examination may consist of one or more of the following tests: Evaluation of Training and Experience, Oral Interview, Written Examination, or other assessment method.  Applicants must attain a minimum score of 70 in each part of the examination in order to qualify.  All successful applicants will be required to take a medical examination and/or pass a drug screening prior to appointment.

An eligible veteran who enters an open-competitive examination shall receive preference points added to the total passing score earned in the examination as provided for in the Florida Statutes. To obtain veteran's preference, candidates MUST submit a copy of separation papers and the City of Fort Lauderdale's veteran's preference claim form (J-204).