Lead Labor Relations

The Lead, Labor Relations provides strategic leadership and enterprise coordination for complex labor relations programs, initiatives, and bargaining activities across FirstEnergy’s represented workforce. This role serves as a senior labor relations subject matter expert and strategic advisor to business, HR, Operations, Legal, and Labor Relations leadership.

The Lead is accountable for leading complex, cross-functional labor relations initiatives; developing and implementing enterprise labor strategies; strengthening consistency in collective bargaining and contract administration; and providing analytical and strategic support on matters with significant operational, financial, workforce, or employee-relations impact.

The role provides substantive leadership of labor relations work while operating primarily through program ownership, subject-matter expertise, influence, and cross-functional leadership rather than direct people management.

Key Responsibilities

Enterprise Labor Relations Strategy & Program Leadership

- Lead enterprise labor relations programs and initiatives that support business strategy, workforce objectives, operational performance, and constructive union-management relationships.
- Translate labor strategy into actionable programs, workplans, governance processes, and measurable outcomes.
- Lead complex, cross-functional labor initiatives involving multiple business units, bargaining units, or operating locations.
- Identify enterprise labor risks, emerging trends, and opportunities and develop recommendations for senior leadership.
- Establish program standards, processes, and governance that improve consistency across represented operations.

Collective Bargaining Strategy

- Lead planning and strategic preparation for significant or complex collective bargaining activities.
- Develop bargaining strategies, proposals, research, costing scenarios, data analyses, and supporting materials.
- Partner with Lead Negotiators and Labor Relations leadership to promote consistency in bargaining strategy and outcomes.
- Evaluate proposed settlements for alignment with enterprise labor strategy, business objectives, financial considerations, and operational requirements.
- Provide strategic support during high-risk or complex negotiations and labor disputes.

Contract Administration & Labor Governance

- Provide senior-level expertise regarding collective bargaining agreement interpretation, past practices, work rules, and labor-management issues.
- Develop enterprise approaches to recurring or complex contract interpretation issues.
- Identify inconsistencies in contract administration and recommend approaches that strengthen enterprise alignment.
- Support implementation and communication of negotiated contract provisions.
- Develop tools, standards, and governance practices that strengthen contract administration and labor relations execution.

Complex Grievance, Arbitration & Dispute Resolution

- Provide strategic leadership for significant grievances, arbitrations, mediations, and other complex labor disputes.
- Assess business, operational, financial, and labor-relations implications of significant cases.
- Partner with Legal and business leaders in developing case strategy, evidence, testimony, and resolution approaches.
- Identify trends across grievances and disputes and recommend systemic solutions to address recurring issues.

Labor Analytics & Workforce Insights

- Develop and utilize labor relations analytics to identify emerging workforce trends and business risks.
- Analyze grievances, arbitration activity, absenteeism, discipline, labor costs, contract provisions, and other workforce indicators.
- Translate labor and workforce data into actionable insights and recommendations for senior leadership.
- Develop executive-level analyses and presentations supporting labor strategy and business decisions.
- Evaluate labor implications of workforce planning, restructuring, productivity initiatives, and organizational change.

Strategic Business Partnership

- Serve as a senior labor relations advisor to HR, Operations, Legal, and business leadership.
- Advise leaders on complex labor matters, workforce strategies, productivity opportunities, organizational changes, and labor risk.
- Lead cross-functional labor relations projects requiring coordination across multiple business and functional organizations.
- Support significant organizational transformation or operational initiatives affecting represented employees.
- Build effective relationships with internal stakeholders and union representatives to facilitate constructive issue resolution.

Policy, Compliance & Labor Practices

- Lead development and continuous improvement of labor relations policies, practices, tools, and governance processes.
- Monitor developments in labor law, labor market practices, collective bargaining, and employee relations that may affect FirstEnergy.
- Partner with Legal to support compliance with applicable federal and state labor laws and collective bargaining agreements.
- Promote consistent application of labor policies and practices across represented operations.

Labor Relations Capability & Knowledge Management

- Develop tools, resources, playbooks, and training that strengthen labor relations capability across HR and operating leadership.
- Facilitate labor relations education for leaders on contract administration, grievance management, bargaining, and other labor topics.
- Capture and share lessons learned from negotiations, grievances, arbitrations, and significant labor matters.
- Provide technical guidance and mentorship to Labor Relations professionals as a senior subject matter expert.

Qualifications

Required

- Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Industrial Relations, Labor Relations, or related discipline.
- 8-10 years progressive labor relations experience in a unionized environment.
- Demonstrated experience supporting or leading collective bargaining, contract administration, grievance resolution, arbitration, and complex labor relations matters.
- Demonstrated experience leading complex programs or cross-functional initiatives.
- Strong understanding of labor law, collective bargaining agreements, grievance/arbitration processes, and union-management relations.
- Demonstrated ability to analyze complex workforce and labor issues and translate findings into business recommendations.
- Strong executive communication, negotiation, influencing, and conflict-resolution capabilities.

Preferred

- Master’s degree, JD, or advanced Labor/Industrial Relations degree.
- Electric utility, energy, industrial, manufacturing, or other highly unionized operating-environment experience.
- Experience leading multi-location or multi-bargaining-unit labor initiatives.
- Experience supporting significant organizational transformation involving represented workforces.

Work Environment & Travel

- Reporting location to be determined.
- Regular engagement with operating locations and represented workgroups.
- Travel to bargaining sessions, union meetings, arbitrations, business locations, and corporate meetings as required.