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Labor Relations & Compensation Policy Director
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Description
Please note: The starting salary offer will be determined based on the successful candidates’ qualifications within the starting salary range of $150,000 - $165,000 annually. Please note that there is career salary growth beyond this starting range for the successful candidate.
Hybrid: Our physical office is in Olympia, WA. We offer flexible work schedules and locations. This is a hybrid position where most of the work allows for telework. However, you will need to travel to in-person activities, meetings, and events as needed for business purposes.
Why work for OFM
The Office of Financial Management (OFM) serves as the backbone of Washington state government. Our mission is to make our state a better place by connecting people, budgets, policies, data, and systems for state agencies and the Legislature. Our team includes budget advisors, researchers, and other experts, all dedicated public servants working towards an equitable future for every Washingtonian.
If you want to play a key role in enhancing how state government serves its citizens, you’ve found the right place. Join us in making a meaningful difference for every Washingtonian!
The job opportunity
As the Director of our Labor Relations and Compensation Policy Section, you’ll serve as the state’s lead voice on labor relations, trusted by executive leadership, agency leaders, and labor organizations to bring sound judgment, deep labor law knowledge, and steady leadership to complex and high-stakes issues.
This role puts you at the center of labor relations and compensation strategy for the state of Washington. You’ll also guide negotiations and oversee the development and administration of more than thirty collective bargaining agreements and major health care agreements, with decisions that can represent financial commitments of a billion dollars or more. These decisions shape pay, benefits, and working conditions for tens of thousands of state employees and publicly funded service providers.
In this role, how you engage matters. You must communicate carefully and respectfully in every setting, recognizing that your words and decisions can bind agencies, impact working conditions, and create substantial financial obligations for the state.
If you are motivated by public service, comfortable with accountability, and prepared to lead labor relations work that affects hundreds of thousands of people across Washington, this role offers the opportunity to make a meaningful statewide impact.
Duties
What you'll work on
- Develop statewide labor relations strategy and approach with labor organizations representing state employees and publicly funded service providers.
- Making recommendations on state employee compensation strategy.
- Set the direction, activities, and performance measures of the Labor Relations and Compensation Policy Section.
- Work with the Division Chief of the Attorney General's Office (AGO), Labor and Personnel Division, to ensure alignment with legal guidance, consistent collective bargaining agreement interpretation, and a unified approach to labor relations and legal advice to agencies.
- Brief the Labor and Policy Strategy Officer, who will liaise with the Governor, Governor’s policy staff, and Legislative staff on bargaining progress and outcomes and other labor relations matters.
Qualifications
What we need you to bring
Required Qualifications:
- Demonstrated knowledge of professional-level labor relations negotiations, including setting strategy, executing collective bargaining agreements successfully, and implementing the terms of those agreements post-bargaining. As well as leading others to do the same.
- Demonstrated skills as a lead negotiator, preferably in the public sector. This should include demonstrated ability to formulate and articulate labor relations principles and negotiating strategies, including the role of the union and its business interests and goals.
- Demonstrated skills managing a team or workgroup with four or more employees, including responsibility for interviewing, hiring, assigning and directing work, evaluating, setting expectations, instructing, coaching, and identifying training needs.
- Significant experience developing professional working relationships with labor organizations. This includes demonstrated experience diffusing situations that may be contentious or vitriolic to achieve results, settlements, and agreements, with integrity and professionalism.
- Significant experience demonstrating appropriate independent judgment and exceptional personal awareness in a high-profile/strong-influence role that navigates political, contentious, sensitive, or complex matters of high visibility or of significant impact.
- Demonstrated experience effectively managing or leading teams (e.g., staff teams, bargaining teams, coalitions) by using influence and collaboration, developing teamwork, and demonstrating effective people interaction skills.
- Demonstrated ability to research, interpret, and understand RCWs and their implementing WACs.
- Demonstrated knowledge of the state legislative process to include bill analysis.
- Demonstrated knowledge of State Government budget related to collective bargaining implementation and statewide accounting principles related to employees.
- Proficient in common computer applications and the ability to manage collective bargaining proposal development and use of legislative track changes in MS Word.
Desired Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in human resources, business administration, public administration/policy, social sciences, organizational development, labor and employment relations, or related field. A law degree will also be accepted.
Supplemental Information
What we offer:
At OFM, we foster a culture of integrity, innovation, inclusion, and belonging. We value both learned and lived experiences, believing that diversity makes us stronger. To support your health and well-being, we offer a variety of benefit programs for our employees.
Please visit our Recruitment Page for a comprehensive list of benefits available to employees. Here’s a quick glance at some of the unique benefits that OFM offers:
- An environment of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging
- Medical, Dental, Vision, and Life Insurance
- 12 paid holidays, 14 paid vacation days (minimum), and 12 days of sick leave per year
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State retirement programs??
Once you’ve decided to apply for a state government job, you’ll complete an online application to showcase your qualifications. Please note that once you submit the application, a real person will review it. We do not use AI or other technology that screens your application and rejects it. Please ensure that you provide clear and detailed information about your work history, allowing your qualifications to be accurately assessed. We will contact the top candidates directly to schedule interviews. If you require a reasonable accommodation during the application process, please call 7-1-1 or 1-800-833-6384.
Your application will not be considered complete and sent to the hiring teams for review unless you attach all of the following:
- Cover letter: describing your qualifications for this specific position
- Resume: that details your applicable experience and education.
- References: at least three professional references and their contact information.
Questions:
OFM's Staff ASL interpreter is available to all deaf and hard-of-hearing applicants. For questions about this recruitment or to request a reasonable accommodation during the application or interview process, please email us at TalentAcquisition@ofm.wa.gov.
The Office of Financial Management is an equal opportunity employer. We strive to create a working environment that includes and respects cultural, racial, ethnic, sexual orientation, and gender identity diversity. Women, racial and ethnic minorities, persons with disability, persons over 40 years of age, and disabled and Vietnam-era veterans are encouraged to apply.
OFM's Staff ASL interpreter is available to all deaf and hard-of-hearing applicants. For questions about this recruitment or to request a reasonable accommodation during the application or interview process, please email us at TalentAcquisition@ofm.wa.gov.
The Office of Financial Management is an equal opportunity employer. We strive to create a working environment that includes and respects cultural, racial, ethnic, sexual orientation, and gender identity diversity. Women, racial and ethnic minorities, persons with disability, persons over 40 years of age, and disabled and Vietnam-era veterans are encouraged to apply.
This position is exempt from civil service rules.
For more information, please see WAC 357-19-195.
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