Senior Assistant General Counsel, Labor Relations

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is a district on the rise, serving over 320,000 students in 500+ schools and employing over 44,000 people, most of them teachers. CPS has set ambitious goals to ensure that every student, in every school and every neighborhood, has access to a world-class learning experience that prepares each for success in college, career, and civic life.  In order to fulfill this mission, we make three commitments to our students, their families, and all Chicagoans: academic progress, financial stability, and integrity.  Six core values are embedded within these commitments – student-centered, whole child, equity, academic excellence, community partnership, and continuous learning.

With a workforce of 42,307 employees, the Labor Relations team collaborates closely with various labor unions to negotiate wages, hours, and other essential terms of employment. The collective bargaining rights of CPS employees are protected under the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act (115 ILCS 5/1 et seq.) and the Illinois School Code (105 ILCS 5/34-1 et seq.). The Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board ensures compliance with these laws.

Job Summary:
CPS is seeking a Senior Assistant General Counsel who will work in the Labor Relations Unit of the Law Department.  Reporting to the Chief Labor Relations Officer, the Senior Assistant General Counsel will assist in administering and implementing collective bargaining agreements, conducting collective bargaining, advising principals and department leaders on matters related to collective bargaining agreements and labor relations, including discipline matters, drafting collective bargaining and grievance settlement agreements, and generally representing CPS in engagement with its labor partners.   

The Senior Assistant General Counsel will be held accountable for the following responsibilities:
•    Lead engagement with district principals and union representatives on labor issues, including advising CPS managers on best practices, contractual obligations, and creative problem solving.
•    Meeting regularly with labor representatives to address contractual issues in order to avoid unnecessary grievances.
•    Representing CPS in contract negotiations, other collective bargaining sessions, and impact bargaining discussions with labor unions representing CPS’ 40,000 plus unionized employees, including serving as the Board’s lead negotiator in these sessions.
•    Drafting responses to requests for information, grievance settlement agreements, and policy materials.

In order to be successful and achieve the above responsibilities, the Assistant General Counsel must possess the following qualifications:

Type of Education Required:
•    Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited college or university, required;
•    Juris Doctorate from an ABA- accredited law school, required; 
•    License and authorized to practice law and in good standing in the State of Illinois.
Type of Experience and Number of Years:
•    Minimum of five (5) years of legal practice in the labor and employment law area is required.
•    Additionally, experience in one of more of the following areas is strongly preferred: administrative law, alternative dispute resolution, or state and/or federal court litigation. 
•    Experience with management and leadership is preferred.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
•    Communication and engagement skills (writing, client communications, speaking, listening)
•    Experience advising and representing clients on labor arbitration and mediation cases
•    Knowledge of best practices in labor relations, federal and state labor and employment laws, and related federal and state laws
•    Interpersonal skills that will help build trusting internal and external stakeholder relationships
•    Ability to successfully engage in client counseling while working with a wide range of stakeholders
•    Ability to gather and collate data from a variety of sources into a coherent message
•    Strong client counseling background in a deadline-driven, high-volume environment
•    Highly organized with excellent time management and organizational skills 
•    Demonstrated success working in a fast-paced, rapidly changing environment 
•    Preferred prior supervisory experience and a demonstrated ability to manage personnel of differing abilities
•    Proficiency with Google Suite (docs, sheets, slides) and Microsoft Office

Conditions Of Employment

As a condition of employment with the Chicago Public Schools (CPS), employees are required to:
•    Establish/Maintain Chicago Residency - Employees are required to live within the geographic boundaries of the City of Chicago within six months of their CPS hire date and maintain residency throughout their employment with the district. The Chicago residency requirement does not apply to temporary/part-time positions, however, all CPS employees must be residents of Illinois.