Senior Director of Human Resources & Labor Relations

Job Summary

Reporting to the Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO), the Senior Director of Human Resources & Labor Relations serves as a key strategic leader responsible for enterprise-wide HR and labor relations oversight across Michigan Medicine. This role is critical to advancing the organization?s Strong BASE, Bold Future vision by strengthening people practices, ensuring labor stability, and enabling a high-performing, inclusive, and accountable workforce in support of Michigan Medicine?s tripartite mission of patient care, education, and research. This role provides strategic leadership and direction for the HR Business Partner and Labor Relations functions, ensuring alignment of people strategies with organizational priorities, regulatory requirements, and collective bargaining obligations, while fostering collaborative and constructive labor-management relationships.

The Senior Director leads a team of HR Managers who oversee HR Business Partners as well as Senior Labor Relations Advisors/Labor Relations Advisors and other functional staff supporting faculty, staff, leaders, and departments across the academic medical center. The role plays a critical part in advancing a collaborative, inclusive, and high-performing culture while ensuring consistent, compliant, and effective human resources, labor and employee relations practices.

Why Join Michigan Medicine?

Michigan Medicine is one of the largest health care complexes in the world and has been the site of many groundbreaking medical and technological advancements since the opening of the U-M Medical School in 1850. Michigan Medicine is comprised of over 30,000 employees and our vision is to attract, inspire, and develop outstanding people in medicine, sciences, and healthcare to become one of the world’s most distinguished academic health systems.  In some way, great or small, every person here helps to advance this world-class institution. Work at Michigan Medicine and become a victor for the greater good.

What Benefits can you Look Forward to?

• Excellent medical, dental and vision coverage effective on your very first day
• 2:1 Match on retirement savings

Responsibilities*

Strategic Leadership & HR Business Partner / Labor Relations Management

• Provide strategic leadership, coaching, and development for HR Business Partner and Labor Relations teams to deliver proactive, consultative, and solution-oriented HR services.
• Serve as a trusted strategic advisor to executive leaders, department chairs, and managers on workforce strategy, sound and contemporary HR and people practices, and employee and labor relations.
• Design and implement HR and labor strategies that strengthen engagement, accountability, performance, and culture in support of institutional priorities.
• Leverage HR data, metrics, and feedback to identify trends, inform decision-making, improve processes, and enhance the employee experience.

Labor Relations Oversight

• Lead all labor relations strategy and operations, including collective bargaining, grievance administration, mediation, and labor-management partnerships.
• Interpret and administer collective bargaining agreements, ensuring compliance with applicable laws, policies, and procedures.
• Build and sustain constructive relationships with union leadership to support effective problem-solving and minimize workforce disruption.
• Advise senior leadership on labor risk, negotiation strategy, and the organizational impact of labor issues and agreements.

Employee Relations & Compliance

• Provide oversight for complex employee relations matters, including investigations, conflict resolution, and policy interpretation.
• Ensure consistent application of employment laws, university regulations, and Michigan Medicine policies.
• Partner with Legal Affairs, Risk Management, and other stakeholders on sensitive or high-risk workforce matters.

Organizational Effectiveness & Capability Building

• Support organizational design, workforce planning, and performance improvement initiatives within the HR / LR organization.
• Advance HR and labor relations capability through training, coaching, and development in employee relations, labor contract administration, and people leadership best practices.
• Contribute to broader HR transformation initiatives and evolving service delivery models.

Required Qualifications*

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required, master's degree in human resources, Business Administration, Healthcare Administration, Law, or a related field preferred.
• Minimum of 15 years of progressively responsible HR experience, including significant leadership experience in labor relations and HR business partnering within a healthcare, academic, or similarly complex environment.
• Demonstrated success leading and developing high-performing teams.
• Deep expertise in labor law, collective bargaining, employee relations, and HR best practices.
• Proven ability to design and execute strategic HR and labor initiatives aligned with organizational goals.
• Exceptional communication, negotiation, and relationship-building skills.
• Ability to exercise sound judgment, maintain confidentiality, and manage highly sensitive and complex issues.

Work Schedule

Working Conditions

• Hybrid work environment with an on-site presence of at least three (3) days per week, or more as operational needs require.
• Occasional evening or weekend work related to labor negotiations, critical employee relations matters, or operational exigencies.

Modes of Work

Positions that are eligible for hybrid or mobile/remote work mode are at the discretion of the hiring department. Work agreements are reviewed annually at a minimum and are subject to change at any time, and for any reason, throughout the course of employment. Learn more about the work modes.

Background Screening

Michigan Medicine conducts background screening and pre-employment drug testing on job candidates upon acceptance of a contingent job offer and may use a third party administrator to conduct background screenings.  Background screenings are performed in compliance with the Fair Credit Report Act. Pre-employment drug testing applies to all selected candidates, including new or additional faculty and staff appointments, as well as transfers from other U-M campuses.

Application Deadline

Job openings are posted for a minimum of seven calendar days.  The review and selection process may begin as early as the eighth day after posting. This opening may be removed from posting boards and filled anytime after the minimum posting period has ended.

U-M EEO Statement

The University of Michigan is an equal employment opportunity employer.