Vice President & Assistant General Counsel

Summit School Services companies share a strong commitment to provide the highest level of transportation safety, quality transportation, outstanding customer service and positive employee relations. Our corporate headquarters, located in Warrenville, Illinois, houses the administrative and corporate support functions for the organization. Our 250+ local customer service centers (CSCs) are supported by regional operations teams located throughout North America.

As a member of the Labor & Employment Group within the Legal Department, the Vice President & Assistant General Counsel, Labor Relations will have primary responsibility for labor negotiations at our many geographically dispersed operating locations. The role will also interact closely with managers and senior leadership, providing prompt and accurate day-to day advice on a wide range of labor and employment topics including collective bargaining strategy, contract interpretation, grievance handling, policy and procedure implementation, and responding to administrative or regulatory matters.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Develop and lead overall corporate labor strategy;
• Lead Labor Department in all Team contributions;
• Act as lead negotiator in collective bargaining negotiations while working closely with managers and senior leaders to develop targeted strategies for individual contract negotiations that align with the Company's business objectives and initiatives;
• Communicate guidelines for successful labor negotiations to managers and senior leaders, and facilitate the process by providing updates on a timely manner;
• Assist senior leaders in developing the Company's collective bargaining strategy and ensure consistent application of such strategy throughout the organization;
• Provide day-to-day advice and counsel to managers regarding the interpretation and administration of collective bargaining agreements including issuing discipline, implementing policies and procedures, conducting workplace investigations and making discipline decisions;
• Manage the Company's responses to labor petitions filed with the National Labor Relations Board;
• Develop strategies for responding to labor petitions that are consistent with the Company's business objectives and initiatives;
• Provide labor relations updates, advice and training to managers and senior leaders;
• Provide day-to-day advice to managers regarding compliance with federal, state, and local labor and employment laws;
• Assist in-house or external labor counsel with representing the Company against Unfair Labor practice charges, arbitrations, or other labor litigation matters including gathering documents, interviewing witnesses, and providing other support as needed;
• Perform other tasks as assigned from time to time by the VP, Assistant General Counsel of Labor & Employment or the General Counsel, for example, provide advice and counsel to other labor negotiators on collective bargaining law and strategy, assist with strike contingency planning, etc.

Pay range is $200-$210k annually.

Qualifications

REQUIREMENTS:

• Bachelors' degree in a relevant field of study; law degree is not required;
• Minimum of 10 years labor negotiations experience;
• Superior labor negotiating skills;
• Knowledge of negotiation strategies and principals of labor contract administration;
• Knowledge of US Labor & Employment laws, including NLRA and its application in negotiations, petition handling and ULPs, especially protection of Section 7 rights;
• Knowledge of Canadian Labor & Employment laws a plus;
• Experience working in an operations environment with a track record of positive employee relations;
• Strong analytical and problem solving capability, along with the ability to communicate both orally and in writing in a clear, concise, organized, and persuasive manner to all levels;
• Interpersonal leadership and project management skills;
• Strong working knowledge of MS Office Software (Excel, Access, Word, Outlook, PowerPoint);
• Committed to providing excellent customer service to both internal and external clients;
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team;
• Self-starter with ability to organize and prioritize a large volume of concurrent tasks;
• Ability to work within strict time frames and deadlines;
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with others;
• Ability to work extended hours and days, as needed, to accomplish assigned responsibilities;
• Ability to travel 60 to 75%

Summit School Services has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with its policies and values, including sexual exploitation and abuse, harassment, abuse of authority, and discrimination. Summit School Services is committed to promoting the protection and safeguarding of all children and passengers.

We offer medical, dental, vision, basic life insurance coverage, holiday pay, and PTO accrual. Additionally, employees are able to enroll in a retirement savings plan.

At Summit School Services our goal is to be a diverse workforce that is representative of the communities we…