Description

The Senior Director, Care Team & Labor Relations is a key Human Resources leader responsible for shaping and advancing MaineHealth's enterprise-wide strategy for employee relations, labor relations, workforce engagement, and the associated impacts on organizational culture. This leader serves as a trusted advisor to executive, clinical, academic, and operational leadership, ensuring the organization maintains a high-performing, inclusive, and legally compliant work environment while supporting exceptional patient care outcomes.

Reporting to the Chief People Officer, the Senior Director provides strategic leadership for all care team and labor relations activities across MaineHealth. The role balances organizational priorities with a commitment to fairness, dignity, respect, and engagement for all care team members. The incumbent leads enterprise efforts related to labor strategy, collective bargaining administration, workforce investigations, workplace conflict resolution, professionalism, and the associated impacts on organizational culture.

This executive leads a team of labor and employee relations professionals and partners closely with HR Centers of Excellence, legal counsel, operational leadership, academic programs, security, and external stakeholders to proactively address workforce challenges, mitigate organizational risk, and drive a consistent, supportive employee experience across the health system.

Responsibilities

Enterprise Employee & Labor Relations Strategy

-Develop and execute an integrated enterprise strategy for employee relations and labor relations that supports MaineHealth's mission, culture, workforce priorities, and business objectives.
-Create a proactive approach to workforce engagement, conflict resolution, professionalism, and organizational effectiveness.
-Serve as the organization's senior subject matter expert on labor and employee relations matters.
-Anticipate workforce trends, labor market dynamics, and organizational risks, recommending strategic actions to leadership and COE partners.

Labor Relations Leadership

-Provide executive oversight for all collective bargaining activities, contract administration, grievance management, arbitration processes, and labor negotiations.
-Lead labor relations strategies that maintain productive union partnerships while supporting organizational goals and operational continuity.
-Ensure consistent interpretation and application of collective bargaining agreements across the system and in compliance with Federal and State standards.
-Represent organizational interests during complex labor matters and negotiations.

Workforce Culture, Engagement & Inclusion

-Champion a culture of accountability, inclusion, respect, and belonging across the enterprise.
-Partner with executive and operational leaders to strengthen engagement, retention, and workforce effectiveness.
-Ensure equity, inclusion, and belonging principles are embedded throughout employee relations practices.
-Foster an environment where employees feel valued, heard, and supported.

Organizational Risk Management

-Direct the organization's approach to complex employee relations investigations and workplace issues.
-Partner with Legal, Compliance, Privacy, Security, and Risk Management leaders to mitigate organizational exposure.
-Oversee responses to sensitive workforce matters including professionalism concerns, workplace conduct issues, workplace violence, and policy violations.
-Ensure compliance with federal and state employment laws, labor regulations, accreditation standards, and organizational policies.

Leadership Consultation & Influence

-Act as a trusted advisor to senior executives, physician leaders, operational leaders, and academic partners on workforce matters.
-Guide leaders through complex organizational decisions involving employee relations, labor issues, performance management, and organizational change.
-Influence enterprise decision-making through sound judgment, data analysis, and risk assessment.

Talent Leadership & Operational Excellence

-Build and lead a high-performing Care Team & Labor Relations function recognized for expertise, consistency, responsiveness, and business partnership.
-Establish performance metrics, governance standards, and service delivery expectations.
-Develop team capabilities and succession pipelines to ensure long-term organizational strength.
-Drive continuous improvement and standardization across the health system.
 

Success Measures

-Foster workforce engagement, trust, and overall support to frontline care team members.
-Improve consistency and effectiveness of employee and labor relations practices across the enterprise.
-Minimize labor and employee relations risk through proactive intervention and swift follow up when issues arise.
-Successfully lead labor negotiations and contract administration efforts.
-Strengthen leader capability in performance management, conflict resolution, and workforce decision-making.
-Develop a best-in-class employee and labor relations team.
-Advance inclusion, belonging, and employee experience outcomes.
-Maintain operational continuity during complex workforce and labor matters.

If you have questions about this role, please contact michael.bolanz@mainehealth.org

Requirements

Required Qualifications

-Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Human Resources, or Industrial Relations is required. A Master’s degree or a Juris Doctor (JD) is preferred but not required.
-10-plus years of progressive experience in human resources, employment compliance, employee and labor relations.

Experience Strongly Preferred:

-Progressive leadership experience in employee relations, labor relations, human resources, or workforce strategy within a complex organization.
-Significant experience leading workforce in operating and corporate environments; ideally to include union workforces and collective bargaining negotiations.
-Demonstrated success advising senior executives on sensitive workforce and organizational matters.
-Experience leading organizational change, investigations, conflict resolution, and workforce culture initiatives.
-Healthcare, academic medical center, or highly regulated industry experience strongly preferred.