Sr Director, Labor & Employee Relations

Employee Type:
Full time

Location:

IL Oak Brook Job Type: Human Resources General Job Posting

Title:

Sr Director, Labor & Employee Relations

About Us:

Tree House Foods is a leading manufacturer of private label packaged foods and beverages, operating a network of over 20 production facilities and several corporate offices across the United States and Canada. At Tree House Foods, our commitment to excellence extends beyond our products and revolves around our people. We are investing in talent and creating a performance-based culture where employees can do their best work and develop their careers, directly impacting our mission to make high quality, affordable food for our customers, communities, and families.

We hope you will consider joining the team and being part of our future. Named one of America’s Best Large Employers by Forbes Magazine, we are proud to live by a strong set of values and strive to "Engage and Delight – One Customer at a Time." Guided by our values—Own It, Commit to Excellence, Be Agile, Speak Up, and Better Together.

We are a diverse team driven by integrity, accountability, and a commitment to exceptional results. We embrace change, prioritize continuous learning, and foster collaboration, transparency, and healthy debate. Together, we set each other up for success to achieve enterprise-wide goals.

• Competitive compensation and benefits program with no waiting period – you’re eligible from your first day!
• 401(k) program with 5% employer match and 100% vesting as soon as you enroll.
• Comprehensive paid time off opportunities, including immediate access to four weeks of vacation, five sick days, parental leave and 11 company holidays (including two floating holidays).
• Leaders who are invested in supporting your accelerated career growth, plus paid training, tuition reimbursement and a robust educational platform – DevelopU – with more than 10,000 free courses to support you along the way.
• An inclusive working environment where you can build meaningful work relationships with a diverse group of professionals.
• Take advantage of opportunities to build on our team-oriented culture, such as joining one of our Employee Resource Groups.
• Access to our wellness and employee assistance programs.

About the Role:

The Senior Director, Labor & Employee Relations (LR/ER), based out of our corporate office in Oak Brook, IL, provides enterprise-wide leadership for the development and execution of a forward‑looking labor and employee relations strategy that advances business objectives across Tree House Foods’ U.S. and Canada manufacturing network. This role serves as a trusted strategic advisor to the CHRO, HR Leadership Team, Operations, Legal, Finance, Plant Leadership, and site HR leaders on complex workforce, labor, and organizational matters.

This position establishes the enterprise vision and governance for labor and employee relations, driving a consistent, proactive approach to collective bargaining, contract administration, grievance and arbitration strategy, union engagement, and positive employee relations across both represented and non‑represented work forces. The role is accountable for shaping labor strategy, mitigating organizational risk, strengthening leadership capability, and fostering a high‑performing workplace culture that supports operational excellence, workforce stability, and long‑term business success.

Tree House Foods operates 24 manufacturing sites across the United States and Canada, including 13 sites with collective bargaining agreements and 11 non‑union sites. Employees are represented by multiple unions across the network, including BCTGM, Teamsters/IBT, UFCW, and Unifor. Approximately 44% of the hourly workforce is covered by a CBA. Collective bargaining agreements generally range from 3 to 5 years, creating a recurring need for disciplined negotiation planning, cost/benefit analysis, stakeholder alignment, and implementation follow‑through.

Non‑union sites require a consistent, proactive employee relations operating model focused on trust, communication, fair practices, leader capability, and early…