Manager Labour Relations

WHO WE ARE

Opened in 1914 and welcoming over 1.3 million visitors annually, the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is Canada's most-visited museum, ranking among the top 10 cultural institutions in North America. At ROM, we are dedicated to building and sharing global collections, sharing knowledge, inspiring learning, and fostering community engagement. As a globally recognized field research institute, ROM houses an impressive collection of over 18 million artworks, cultural objects, and natural history specimens, showcased in over 40 galleries and exhibition spaces.

We are committed to creating a space where art, culture, and nature intersect, connecting people and communities to the past, present and shared future.

As we continue to work toward our goals to transform and evolve as one of the world’s foremost 21st-century museums, we seek passionate and dynamic team members who embody our mission and values.

This is an opportunity to play a key role in shaping labour relations practices within one of Canada’s leading cultural institutions.

We are seeking a strategic and experienced Manager, Employee & Labour Relations to join our Human Resources team. This role is ideal for a seasoned HR professional with deep expertise in labour relations, workplace investigations, and complex employee relations within a unionized environment.

As a senior subject matter expert, you will serve as a trusted advisor to leaders across the organization, providing thoughtful guidance on sensitive and high-impact workplace matters while supporting collective bargaining, grievance resolution, and labour strategy. You bring sound judgment, credibility, and the ability to balance organizational priorities, employee experience, and risk considerations.

The ideal candidate is a collaborative and pragmatic professional who builds trusted relationships, communicates with clarity and empathy, and is comfortable navigating complexity and ambiguity. You thrive in a fast-paced environment and are passionate about fostering respectful, inclusive, and high-performing workplaces.

• Serve as a senior advisor to leaders across the organization, providing strategic guidance on complex labour and employee relations matters with a focus on risk mitigation, defensibility, and alignment with organizational priorities
• Lead grievance and dispute resolution processes, including case strategy, preparation, and coordination to support effective and timely outcomes
• Contribute to labour strategy and support collective bargaining preparation through research, analysis, costing considerations, and collaboration with internal stakeholders and union partners
• Build and maintain strong, constructive relationships with union representatives and participate in labour-management discussions to support positive working relationships
• Lead and oversee complex workplace investigations, ensuring procedural fairness, consistency, and defensible decision-making
• Interpret collective agreements, employment legislation, and organizational policies to provide clear, balanced, and practical guidance on sensitive workplace matters
• Identify and mitigate organizational risk through proactive case management and thoughtful advisory support to leaders
• Coach and support leaders to strengthen labour relations capability, navigate complex employee situations, and foster respectful workplace practices
• Lead or contribute to the development, review, and implementation of Employee Relations/Labour Relations (ER/LR) policies, programs, and initiatives aligned with organizational priorities
• Analyze trends and emerging issues to provide insights that inform decision-making and support continuous improvement of ER/LR practices
• Develop and deliver training and education to leaders and teams on labour relations, employee relations, and workplace policies
• Apply strong project and change management discipline to support ER/LR initiatives and organizational priorities

• A post-secondary degree in Human Resources, Industrial Relations, Business Administration, or a related field, along with a CHRP or CHRL designation (or progress toward completion)
• 7–10+ years of progressive HR experience with a significant focus on employee and labour relations within a unionized environment, ideally in a complex or multi-stakeholder organization
• Demonstrated experience managing complex employee relations matters, including conducting or overseeing workplace investigations, supporting grievance processes, and providing guidance on performance, conduct, conflict resolution, and accommodation
• Experience supporting collective bargaining preparation and labour relations strategy through research, analysis, costing considerations, and collaboration with internal stakeholders
• Strong experience interpreting collective agreements and applying employment legislation, human rights requirements, and organizational policies to real workplace situations
• Experience working in complex or multi-union…