Academic Labor & Employee Relations Specialist

Who We Are

Founded in 1965, UC Irvine is a member of the prestigious Association of American Universities and is ranked among the nation’s top 10 public universities by U.S. News & World Report. The campus has produced five Nobel laureates and is known for its academic achievement, premier research, innovation and anteater mascot. Led by Chancellor Howard Gillman, UC Irvine has more than 36,000 students and offers 224 degree programs.

It’s located in one of the world’s safest and most economically vibrant communities and is Orange County’s second-largest employer, contributing $7 billion annually to the local economy and $8 billion statewide.

To learn more about UC Irvine, visit (Use the "Apply for this Job" box below)..

Join our energized and effective team, committed to the success of brilliant academic personnel at UC Irvine! Office of Academic Personnel at UC Irvine is shaping the future by supporting and developing a thriving academic community, through trusted partnerships, expert guidance, and leadership. As part of the Provost's Office team, we implement policies and create programs that enable our faculty and other academic appointees to focus on their innovative research, teaching, and service responsibilities.

Within Office of Academic Personnel, the Academic Labor and Employee Relations unit supports all levels of leadership in administering our academic collective bargaining agreements and building successful and productive workplaces.

This is a two year contract position.

Within the large, complex, and dynamic setting of the University of California, the Academic Labor and Employee Relations Specialist (LER Specialist) is a key member of the UCI Academic Personnel labor and employee relations team. This team works to enhance the relationship between the University and campus employees by providing direction and guidance on unions, policies, agreements, and more.

The team works closely with managers and supervisors across campus to ensure that the correct application of policies, procedures, and laws are being used to manage UCI's diverse and dynamic workforce. Through various forms of intervention, Academic LER offers balanced advocacy to protect respective rights of management and employees, and to facilitate a more harmonious work environment and productive labor relations.

The LER Specialist will utilize academic employee and labor relations knowledge and experience to provide consultation and recommendations to academic leadership regarding strategic decision-making on a wide range of matters, including performance management, compliance, conflict management, grievance resolution for both represented and non-represented academic appointees, and other related areas.

The LER Specialist is a technical leader who is responsible for labor and employee relations matters that are diverse and complex in scope, requiring analysis of many factors and development of solutions in creative and effective ways that balance risk and business needs. The LER Specialist will regularly lead employee and labor relations projects critical to the organization and work on systemwide projects and objectives.

The LER Specialist will develop internal and external contacts and determine methods and procedures on new assignments.

The LER Specialist provides high impact employee and labor relations support to managers and supervisors in order to resolve all levels of issues; facilitates meetings with union representatives, employees, and management in an effort to resolve problems; identifies issues requiring corrective action and provides alternatives for resolution; assists with formal documentation of disciplinary actions up to and including dismissal; makes necessary referrals and obtains required…