Labour Relations Specialist

About Optima Living
Founded in 2007 by two friends inspired by their families’ dementia journeys, Optima Living was created to provide a more home-like experience in seniors housing and care. What began as a personal mission has grown into one of Western Canada’s leading senior living and continuing care providers.
Today, Optima Living offers Independent Living, Assisted Living, Supportive Living, Long-Term Care, Brain Health, and Memory Care across Alberta and British Columbia. Our innovative approach includes Spark, Your Wellness, Your Way; our proprietary brain health and care model. As the only Top 10 Canadian senior living and care provider focused exclusively on Western Canada, we proudly serve more than 6,000 residents.
Guided by our North Star, Let us welcome you home™, we are committed to People, Place, and Community. With a resident-first philosophy and a focus on innovation, we are redefining aging with purpose creating communities where seniors live with dignity, connection, and joy.
Position Summary
The Labour Relations Specialist plays a strategic and operational role in supporting Optima Living’s growing unionized workforce across Alberta and British Columbia. Acting as a trusted advisor to operational leaders, Human Resources, and senior leadership, this role provides expert guidance on collective agreement administration, grievance management, investigations, discipline, accommodation, bargaining support, and labour relations best practices.
Reporting directly to the Director, Labour Relations, this position is instrumental in strengthening Optima Living’s internal labour relations capacity and supporting consistent, proactive labour relations practices across unionized communities. The successful candidate will partner closely with operational leaders to provide practical, business-focused solutions while fostering respectful and productive union-management relationships.
Key Responsibilities
Labour Relations Advisory
• Provide day-to-day labour relations guidance and support to operational leaders, Human Resources, and community leadership teams.
• Interpret collective agreements and provide practical recommendations regarding compliance, operational risk, and employee relations matters.
• Advise leaders on progressive discipline, attendance management, accommodations, investigations, and return-to-work processes within unionized environments.
• Support leaders in managing complex employee and labour relations situations with professionalism and consistency.
Grievance and Dispute Management
• Manage the grievance process from initial assessment through resolution, including grievance meetings, responses, settlements, and arbitration preparation.
• Partner with leaders and legal counsel to gather documentation, assess risk, prepare evidence, and support hearing readiness.
• Maintain accurate grievance tracking, timelines, and labour relations documentation.
• Identify trends and opportunities for proactive issue prevention and operational improvement.
Collective Bargaining Support
• Support collective bargaining preparation, including proposal development, costing, research, bargaining strategies, and mandate preparation.
• Participate as an employer representative during bargaining and labour-management meetings as required.
• Draft Letters of Understanding, settlement agreements, and labour relations correspondence.
• Maintain bargaining history, precedent tracking, and collective agreement records.
Operational Partnership and Coaching
• Build strong working relationships with community leaders and support operational decision-making through a labour relations lens.
• Deliver coaching and education to leaders on collective agreement interpretation, documentation standards, investigations, respectful workplace practices, and grievance prevention.
• Support onboarding and transition activities for newly unionized communities.
• Promote consistent labour relations practices aligned with Optima Living’s values and operational objectives.
Compliance and Continuous Improvement
• Monitor developments in labour legislation, arbitration decisions, and labour relations trends across Alberta and British Columbia.
• Recommend process improvements and best practices to strengthen organizational labour relations capabilities.
• Support the development of labour relations tools, templates, trackers, and reporting mechanisms.
• Ensure confidentiality and professionalism in all labour relations matters.
Qualifications and Experience
• Minimum 3–7 years of progressive labour relations experience in a unionized environment.
• Demonstrated experience supporting collective bargaining, grievance management, and collective agreement administration.
• Experience in healthcare, seniors living, continuing care, or multi-site operations is considered a strong asset.
• Post-secondary education in Human Resources, Labour Relations, Industrial Relations, Business, Law, or a related field.
• CPHR designation, or progress toward designation, is considered an asset.
• Strong understanding of employment legislation, labour relations principles, human rights, accommodation, and progressive discipline practices.
• Excellent interpersonal, communication, negotiation, and conflict resolution skills.
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to travel regularly to communities across Alberta and British Columbia.
• Skills and Competencies
• Strategic thinking and sound judgment
• Relationship building and stakeholder management
• Conflict resolution and negotiation
• Confidentiality and professionalism
• Strong written communication and documentation skills
• Analytical and problem-solving abilities
• Leadership coaching and operational support
• Ability to work independently while collaborating across teams
Conditions of Employment:
• Clear Police Information Check
• Clear Vulnerable Sector Check