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Oregon Health & Science University

Director, Employee Relations

🇺🇸 Portland, OR 🕑 Full-Time 💰 $137K - $232K 💻 Human Resources 🗓️ June 17th, 2026

Edtech.com's Summary

Oregon Health & Science University is hiring a Director, Employee Relations. This role leads a team to develop and implement equitable, business-focused HR strategies, policies, and training that support a positive workplace culture. The director manages employee relations, conflict resolution, policy consistency, and partners with leadership to drive inclusive HR practices across the organization.

Highlights
  • Lead HR policies, employee and labor relations, performance management, conflict resolution, and grievance processes.
  • Develop and maintain policies using an equity framework to ensure consistent and fair outcomes.
  • Drive initiatives to promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-oppression in workplace practices.
  • Manage hiring, coaching, and performance of the employee relations team.
  • Provide employee relations training and develop resources to foster a healthy work environment.
  • Analyze employee feedback and HR data to create action plans that address challenges and promote positive relationships.
  • Guide leadership on employment decisions, including discipline, promotion, and termination, ensuring consistency.
  • Collaborate with Labor Relations, Legal, and other internal teams to align strategies and handle sensitive personnel issues.
  • Require a bachelor’s degree or equivalent, seven years of HR experience in represented environments, with three years managing employee relations functions.
  • Compensation range: $136,635.20 to $232,252.80 annually, based on experience, education, and equity.

Director, Employee Relations Full Description

Department Overview: 
ACC conducts fair, objective investigations into workplace concerns, ensuring outcomes are grounded in facts and aligned with policy. We emphasize consistency in how practices and disciplinary actions are applied, reducing the risk of future grievances while reinforcing a culture of People First! We manage formal employee grievances and respond to RFIs with professionalism and timeliness, helping to resolve issues constructively in partnership with the business. We ensure our policies are clear, current, and consistently applied, supporting compliance with legal and contractual requirements. We deliver targeted training and educational resources to leaders and employees, empowering them with the knowledge to navigate workplace challenges, adhere to company policy and to uphold our Code of Conduct.
 
The Director of Employee Relations leads a team to provide equitable, proactive, business-focused initiatives that help build and support OHSU’s commitment to people and culture. The person in this position is responsible for developing the strategy in collaboration with the VP, HRBP setting goals and priorities for the team, and creating accountability for equitable outcomes. This position builds partnership with the business and delivers relevant training and communication to ensure consistent application of HR practices across the organization. 

Function/Duties of Position: 
  • Lead the function that provide equitable, timely, and consistent interpretation and guidance on HR policies and procedures, employee and labor relations matters, performance management conversations and documentation, conflict resolution, compensation, benefits, discipline, grievances, arbitrations, support services and resources, and other employee services.
  • Develop and maintain relevant policies and procedures using an equity framework to ensure consistency in implementation, experience, and outcomes. Identify, implement, and communicate policy improvements to team members and stakeholders.
  • Identify, develop, and implement opportunities to further diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-oppression in all aspects of the work.
  • Manage team members, including making hiring decisions, providing onboarding, coaching and training, setting priorities and assigning work, implementing discipline, and setting and assessing progress towards goals.
  • Provide employee relations trainings and develop supporting tools and resources aimed at promoting a healthy work environment.
  • Conduct, analyze, and develop action plans using employee feedback to develop and maintain positive employee relations. Analyze data and diagnose challenges to resolve ongoing issues.
  • Provide guidance on complex employee relations issues and complaints to team members to ensure timely, thorough, culturally aware approaches are taken in the assessment, recommendation, resolution, and follow-up.
  • Influence leadership around employment decision-making, including those around discipline, promotion, and termination, to ensure decisions are consistent.
  • Develop policies and procedures that support consistent employment decisions and analyze HR data regularly to assess for equitable outcomes. Promptly adjust HR and management practices to resolve identified inequities or inconsistencies. 
  • Provide coaching to OHSU managers, employees, and HR team members on the integration of consistent, transparent, and inclusive practices into their approaches and recommendations.
  • Develop practices that foster collaboration with the Labor Relations, Legal, OCIC, and CAP teams as needed, and seek guidance from these functions to ensure an effective, aligned approach on matters that overlap.
  • Address confidential and sensitive personnel issues that require follow up and consultation with senior leadership.
  • Implement programs and practices that provide an equitable and inclusive workplace.
  • Track progress towards goals by analyzing trends in HR data. Make data-driven recommendations and decisions. Ensure HR team members have access to the data they need to make data-informed recommendations.
  • Monitor the team and related project budgets, review financial reports, and make recommendations on adjustments to the AVP, HRBP, Labor and Employee Relations to ensure goals are met.
  • Develop and provide HR communications to the workforce to promote openness and accessibility of HR services.

 Required Qualifications: 
  • Bachelor’s degree in business, HR or related field, or equivalent combination of education, experience, and training.
  • 7 years of progressively responsible Human Resources work experience in a represented environment. 3 years of experience managing an HR function that involved responsibility for employee relations, or equivalent combination of education and experience. 
  • Expert-level experience ensuring the HR function follows federal, state, and local employment laws as well as organizational policies and values.
  • Excellent organizational, coaching, and leadership skills, including ability to lead and support diverse teams.
  • Experience identifying opportunities and taking action to build inclusion and equity into organizational strategy, culture, employee engagement, and employee relations.
  • Effective, clear, and culturally aware communication verbally and in writing; ability to draft concise and factually accurate reports and documents, influence leadership in decision-making, and communicate HR information clearly to the workforce.
  • Demonstrated ability to develop and maintain an equitable and inclusive workplace through interactions, decisions, and recommendations.
  • Excellent people management skills, including the ability to foster collaboration and inclusion, provide individualized support to employees, build relationships with remote team members, and foster a team culture of engagement and accountability.
  • Effective conflict resolution skills and the ability to navigate sensitive, emotional, or difficult situations with empathy.
  • Experience using HR data to inform equitable policy development, decision-making, and program implementation.  
  • Ability to apply principles of change management to promote adoption of new processes, systems, and policies.
  • Ability to thoughtfully and appropriately individualize employee relations strategies to meet the varying needs of individuals, teams, and missions.
  • Experience applying restorative practices to address and promote healing from harm caused in the workplace, in addition to other corrective measures.
 
Why apply to OHSU?: We are Oregon's only public academic health center. In addition to caring for patients, we lead groundbreaking research. We also train the next generation of health care professionals. As Portland's largest employer, we give you opportunities to learn and advance in a system of hospitals and clinics across Oregon and Southwest Washington. All are welcome. OHSU welcomes people of all ages, ethnicities, genders, national origins, religions and sexual orientations. We are striving to build an anti-racist, multicultural institution and encourage people with diverse backgrounds to apply. To request reasonable accommodation, contact askhr@ohsu.edu