The posting
Position Summary
The Senior Manager, Human Resources serves as a strategic member of the Ithaca Leadership Team and leads all aspects of Human Resources for a large, complex manufacturing site. The role drives business performance through workforce strategy, labor relations, talent development, organizational effectiveness, employee experience, and HR operational excellence.
As the primary advisor to site leadership on workforce matters, this leader maintains a productive labor-management relationship while supporting operational transformation, organizational change, and future business needs. The role requires a highly visible leader who can balance strategic thinking with hands-on execution and build trust across all levels of the organization.
Key Responsibilities
Labor Relations and Employee Relations Leadership
- Serve as the lead Human Resources representative for labor relations strategy and union-management interactions.
- Lead contract negotiations and effects bargaining discussions while balancing business objectives, workforce needs, and long-term labor relations goals.
- Advise leaders on progressive discipline, performance management, conflict resolution, and compliance with labor and employment laws.
- Provide guidance on collective bargaining agreement administration, grievance management, contract interpretation, investigations, dispute resolution, arbitration preparation, and negotiations.
- Build constructive relationships with union leadership while effectively representing business interests.
- Partner with site leadership to identify and mitigate workforce and labor risks proactively.
- Ensure fair, timely, and consistent handling of employee relations matters and application of policies and practices.
- Develop labor relations capability within the HR team and site leadership population.
Strategic Business Partnership
- Serve as an active member of the Ithaca Leadership Team and trusted advisor to the Plant Manager and functional leaders.
- Translate business objectives into workforce strategies, organization plans, and HR priorities.
- Partner with operational leaders to improve organizational effectiveness, workforce productivity, and business performance.
- Lead workforce planning aligned with operational changes, technology, talent availability, and long-term business needs.
- Support organization design, restructuring, change management, and transformation initiatives.
- Use HR analytics and workforce insights to inform decisions and drive measurable outcomes.
- Support plant performance objectives through proactive management of attendance, turnover, overtime, absenteeism, and employee engagement initiatives.
- Drive accountability for leadership development, employee performance, and workforce capability building across the plant.
- Support continuous improvement and Lean Manufacturing initiatives through effective change management and workforce engagement.
Talent Management and Leadership Development
- Lead site talent review, succession planning, performance management, and leadership development processes.
- Build sustainable internal pipelines for critical technical, operational, and leadership roles.
- Partner with leaders to identify, develop, engage, and retain high-potential and critical talent.
- Facilitate leadership assessments, development planning, coaching, and career progression discussions.
- Ensure the site maintains credible succession coverage for key positions.
- Support regional talent initiatives and developmental assignments across the U.S. HR network.
Organizational Effectiveness and Change Leadership
- Drive employee listening, engagement, culture, and employee experience initiatives.
- Lead the people dimensions of change to improve business performance and organizational capability.
- Partner with leaders to strengthen team effectiveness, accountability, and leadership behaviors.
- Develop communication and change approaches that foster clarity, transparency, and trust.
- Advance a workplace culture aligned with BorgWarner values and beliefs.
HR Team Leadership
- Lead, coach, and develop the Ithaca HR team.
- Establish clear priorities, roles, operating rhythms, and accountability for HR service delivery.
- Develop labor relations knowledge, negotiation capability, and employee relations expertise within the HR team and site leadership population through coaching, training, and mentorship.
- Build capability in labor relations, employee relations, talent management, analytics, and change leadership.
- Create meaningful development opportunities that strengthen the future HR leadership pipeline.
- Promote continuous improvement, responsiveness, collaboration, and sound judgment.
HR Operations, Compliance, and Governance
- Oversee Employee Health and Safety and systems management and partner with leadership to support safety compliance, injury reduction, and safety culture initiatives.
- Oversee FMLA, ADA, Workers' Compensation, and leave administration programs.
- Oversee payroll administration, timekeeping, and labor reporting.
- Ensure compliance with federal, state, and local employment laws, collective bargaining agreements, company policies, and internal controls.
- Oversee investigations, workforce actions, policy administration, and employee relations cases.
- Review safety, payroll, training, and FMLA reports to identify trends and drive corrective actions.
- Partner with regional HR and centers of expertise to deliver effective programs and services.
- Maintain HR compliance, workforce reporting, and data integrity through HRIS systems and analytics.
- Monitor workforce and HR metrics (attendance, overtime, absenteeism, leave, safety, payroll, and training), identify trends, and implement corrective or improvement actions.
Qualifications
Required
- Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Industrial Relations, or a related field.
- Minimum of 8 years of progressive Human Resources experience, including leadership responsibility.
- Significant employee and labor relations experience in a manufacturing or similarly complex operating environment.
- Demonstrated ability to influence senior leaders and lead organizational change.
- Strong business acumen, strategic thinking, judgment, and problem-solving capability.
- Excellent communication, negotiation, investigation, and relationship-management skills.
- Experience leading, coaching, and developing an HR team.
Preferred
- Master's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Industrial Relations, or a related field.
- Experience in a unionized manufacturing environment, including contract administration and negotiations.
- HR certification such as SHRM-SCP, SPHR, or equivalent.
- Experience supporting restructuring, transformation, or large-scale organizational change.
- Multi-site, regional, or matrixed Human Resources experience.
Key Competencies
Leadership
Business
People and HR
Strategic thinking
Business acumen
Labor relations
Executive presence
Workforce planning
Employee relations
Influence and courage
Organization design
Conflict resolution
Talent development
Data-driven decisions
Coaching and development
Change leadership
Continuous improvement
Trust and relationship building
Measures of Success
- Workforce stability, talent retention, and improved succession readiness for critical roles.
- Constructive labor-management relationships and effective collective bargaining agreement administration.
- Timely, consistent resolution of grievances, investigations, and employee concerns.
- Improved leadership capability, accountability, and organizational effectiveness.
- Positive employee listening and engagement outcomes.
- Effective execution of workforce, organizational change, compliance, and business priorities.
Salary Range: $146,800.00 to $185,500.00
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Salary Range:
$146,800 - $201,850
Internal Use Only: Salary
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