Labour Relations jobs in Halifax, NS

Manager, Human Resources & Labour Relations

Coast Staffing & Recruitment Inc. | Full-Time, Permanent | Halifax, Nova Scotia

Coast is seeking a Manager, Human Resources & Labour Relations to lead workplace investigations, employee relations, and termination support for the client organizations Coast serves, including unionized long-term care operations in Nova Scotia. This is a senior practitioner role focused on investigations and pre-investigation assessment, progressive discipline, collective agreement administration, grievance management, and HR policy governance.

The Manager acts as a steady, impartial, and professional presence, ensuring that employee and labour matters are handled with consistency, fairness, and sound judgment. The role requires a solid command of Nova Scotia employment and labour law, disciplined follow-through, precise documentation, and the ability to navigate difficult people issues with firmness and discretion. The Manager works closely with corporate and client-site leadership to maintain a well-structured, policy-driven, and compliant workplace, and reports directly to Coast’s Executive Directot.

This is a specialist labour and employee relations role with defined decision-making authority. It is not a recruitment, scheduling, payroll, or benefits administration role. Coast invests in its people: the successful candidate will be supported in advancing toward their CPHR designation and trained to use modern tools, including approved AI-assisted drafting, research, and case management, within Coast’s confidentiality standards.

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Authority and Accountability

The Manager acts on behalf of the applicable employing organization under written authority defined for each client, and does not hold blanket authority across all organizations served. The Manager independently conducts investigations, assesses evidence, and recommends outcomes; discipline is issued in coordination with the authorized operational manager; and final approval of any termination rests with Coast’s Executive Director together with the authorized executive of the employing organization. The Manager may also handle occasional matters involving Coast’s own staff.

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Key Responsibilities

1. Pre-Investigation Assessment and Triage

• Receive complaints, concerns, and incident reports; establish the facts known at intake and identify the allegations with precision.
• Determine whether a matter requires a formal investigation, a preliminary inquiry, coaching, a performance response, an accommodation review, or referral elsewhere.
• Assess urgency, employee and resident safety, collective agreement obligations, statutory limitation periods, and legal or regulatory exposure.
• Recommend interim measures, secure evidence and records before they change, and identify conflicts of interest or matters requiring an independent external investigator.
• Ensure reporting obligations under the Protection for Persons in Care Act are met promptly and are never delayed by internal process.

2. Workplace Investigations

• Conduct and oversee investigations involving harassment, bullying, discrimination, workplace violence, misconduct, privacy breaches, and resident- or client-related concerns.
• Prepare investigation plans, witness and document lists, interview records, and evidence logs.
• Conduct fair and impartial interviews with appropriate notice and representation rights.
• Prepare investigation reports that separate factual findings from credibility assessments, policy conclusions, and recommended action, and that withstand legal and arbitral scrutiny.
• Ensure investigations comply with Nova Scotia occupational health and safety harassment requirements and procedural fairness standards.

3. Discipline and Termination Support

• Advise and coach managers on expectations, probation, attendance, performance improvement, misconduct, and progressive discipline.
• Assess the completeness and strength of the employment file, identify missing evidence or process concerns, and recommend whether termination should be considered.
• Coordinate legal review where required, prepare termination documentation once authorized, and plan and participate in the termination meeting.
• Ensure final pay, benefits, systems access, property return, privacy, communication, and recordkeeping steps are coordinated.
• Support any grievance, complaint, or legal response arising after a termination.

4. Labour Relations and Grievances

• Administer and interpret collective agreements within delegated authority.
• Manage grievances from receipt through resolution, arbitration referral, or labour board proceedings, including chronologies, mandatory time limits, disclosure, meeting preparation, and written responses.
• Escalate settlements involving material cost, precedent, policy change, reinstatement, or significant operational consequences.
• Support collective bargaining preparation and participate on employer bargaining committees as assigned.
• Build effective working relationships with operational leadership and union representatives while maintaining clear professional boundaries.

5. Policy, Documentation, and Reporting

• Maintain a controlled HR policy library, including policy owner, approving authority, effective date, revision history, and review cycle; draft revisions and identify conflicts among policies, collective agreements, legislation, and employment contracts.
• Prepare and quality-control letters of expectation, performance improvement plans, written warnings, investigation notices, suspension letters, grievance responses, and accommodation correspondence.
• Ensure all cases, investigations, and disciplinary actions are accurately documented, tracked to closure, and securely stored, with medical information kept separate from management records.
• Conduct periodic audits of personnel files, collective agreement compliance, and policy acknowledgements.
• Prepare concise, appropriately de-identified reports for executive review, highlighting labour relations risks, recurring issues, and outstanding management actions.

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Qualifications

• Post-secondary education in human resources, industrial or labour relations, business administration, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and directly relevant experience.
• Substantial progressive HR experience, including a minimum of four (4) years concentrated in employee and labour relations within a unionized Canadian workplace.
• Demonstrated experience personally conducting workplace investigations and authoring the resulting reports.
• Demonstrated experience supporting terminations, including file review and documentation.
• Demonstrated experience drafting and supporting progressive discipline.
• Demonstrated experience managing grievances through a formal grievance procedure and preparing employer responses.
• Strong working knowledge of the Nova Scotia Labour Standards Code, Trade Union Act, Human Rights Act, occupational health and safety legislation, and personal health information requirements.
• Exceptional written communication, documentation, and analytical skills.
• High personal integrity, impartiality, and professional resilience in managing complex employee matters.
• Comfort with technology and willingness to adopt approved AI-assisted tools within established confidentiality standards.
• CPHR designation, active candidacy, or eligibility preferred;
• Experience in long-term care, healthcare, or another 24/7 unionized environment considered a strong asset.
• Experience supporting employee relations through periods of operational change, or across multiple employers or business units, considered an asset.
• Valid driver’s licence and willingness to travel to sites across Nova Scotia.
• Ability to complete a criminal record check with vulnerable sector check.

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Position Details

Job Type: Full-Time, Permanent

Employer: Coast Staffing & Recruitment Inc.

Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia — hybrid, with regular travel to sites across the province and occasional overnight travel. On-site attendance is required for investigations, grievance meetings, and discipline and termination meetings.

Compensation: $80,000–$100,000 per year, paid biweekly

Vacation: 3 weeks paid annually

Benefits (following the probationary period, subject to plan eligibility):

• Group health plan — 100% employer-paid
• Dental care — 100% employer-paid
• Life insurance
• Long-term disability
• Accidental death and dismemberment coverage
• Group RRSP with 5% employer match
• Paid time off
• Travel and mileage reimbursement

Pay: From $80,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Company events
• Dental care
• Disability insurance
• Extended health care
• Life insurance
• Mileage reimbursement
• On-site parking
• Paid time off
• RRSP match
• Tuition reimbursement

Application question(s):

• Have you personally conducted formal workplace investigations and authored the resulting reports? Approximately how many?
• Have you personally supported terminations, including reviewing the employment file and preparing documentation?
• Have you personally managed grievances through the formal grievance procedure, up to and including arbitration referral?

Work Location: In person