Employee Relations Associate

Salary: See Position Description
Location : Ramapo College, Main Campus - Mahwah NJ
Job Type: Full-Time
Job Number:
Core: Teaching & Learning Core
Department: Office Of The Provost
Opening Date: 10/09/2026
FLSA: Exempt
Bargaining Unit: MN

Description
POSITION TYPE/EXPECTED HOURS OF WORK:

This is a full-time, managerial position and days of work and hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Occasional evening and weekend work may be required as job duties demand. Note: This position is in the "NL" category of employment (non-fixed work week), and individuals in this role have no claim or entitlement to time off or cash compensation for hours worked beyond their normal schedule. Compensatory time will not be granted for work done as an extension of the regular work day. It is the policy of the College to grant hour for hour compensatory time off, with advance approval, only when employees are required to work on a holiday. Time earned must be used within one fiscal year from the time it is earned.

Compensation:

Manager - D24 - Salary - $88,000-$107,000

Ramapo College of New Jersey is committed to considering qualified candidates who are legally authorized to work in the United States. Candidates who are currently authorized to work in the United States through a valid immigration status or employment authorization are encouraged to apply. Visa sponsorship may be considered for qualified candidates and positions, subject to applicable federal immigration laws and regulations.
Job Summary:

The Office of Employee Relations, Employee Relations Associate supports an Employee Relations (ER) strategy that results in effective and efficient service and support the College's mission and vision; Serves as a direct report to the Executive Director of Employee Relations and Faculty Resources which reports to the Office of the Provost under the Teaching, Learning, and Growth (TLC) Core. This position manages all faculty and AFT professional staff personnel actions, prepares related calendars, training sessions and various contractual reporting requirements. The individual supports the development and implementation of policies and procedures and serves as the primary administrative contact for Employee Relations. Performs related work as required within the context of established College policies, and as directed by the Executive Director of Employee Relations and Faculty Resources. This position is primarily responsible for the planning and organizing of the Employee Relations Unit. Assists in the coordination of activities and projects for the Office of Employee Relations, the Teaching, Learning, and Growth Core (TLC) and other units within the College.
Examples of Duties
Job Duties

• Serves as the Employee Relations Associate in coordinating and monitoring the work of All-College Committees during the Tenure, Promotion, Career Development, Faculty Scholarship, Sabbatical, Salary Range Adjustment and the Professional Staff Merit Based Promotion Processes as well as the reappointment processes for faculty and staff.
• Responsible for organizing various programs to support communication efforts and information sharing among all College Schools.
• Provides accurate, courteous, and timely support in order to administer Personnel Processes for AFT Professional Staff Merit Based Promotion Program, Reappointments and the Annual Performance Assessment System (APAS); Faculty: Career Development, Promotions, Reappointment, Tenure, Sabbatical, Faculty Scholarship Funding, Professional Leaves, etc.
• Develops and recommends goals, policies, and procedures in support of overall Employee Relations Unit administrative operations
• Responsible for the maintenance of pertinent data bases to track necessary APAS information and cycles.
• Establishes and maintains communication and cooperative working relationships with college administrators, union officials, faculty, and staff
• Together with the Executive Director provides support to professional staff and faculty on personnel procedures and shares timely information with employees as required on pertinent policy, contractual, and procedural questions
• Working with the Executive Director monitors and interprets AFT Agreement clauses for changes and application to existing personnel actions and requests.
• Maintains databases (Banner) to track professional staff and faculty personnel information used to accurately and proactively schedule, record, and share administrative information with other administrators
• Extracts information from a number of systems to format and build databases to be able to retrieve data efficiently and produce a variety of reports
• Manages and maintains the Employee Relations web page (Assistant Web Master).
• Oversees the maintenance of personnel records in accordance with the AFT Agreement for approximately 200 full-time faculty and 200 professional staff.
• Ensures accurate record keeping regarding annual personnel actions, and historical files
• Supports the Executive Director to coordinate and collaborate with AFT, FA, FAEC, Deans, VPs, Office of the Provost and Office of the President administrators on personnel process matters
• Prepares correspondence, maintains files, schedules meeting dates/times, prepares and distributes notification letters, reviews minutes and maintains historical records
• Inputs new policies, procedures, contractual agreements, and legal updates into the online information system/web page.
• Oversees the preparation of ER related official correspondence for the Offices of the President and Provost, Local Union, (appointment notifications/recommendations for the following actions to include but not limited to Emeritus, Promotion, Reappointment, Retirement, Tenure, reassigned time, Professional Leaves, and stipends, etc.)
• Supports all Faculty Handbook activities associated with the maintenance, revision, coordination of the production and publishing
• Assists in the preparation of the Employee Relations Unit budget, i.e., Career Development, Remembrance Day, Tuition Assistance.
• Supports Academic Operations administrative function as required in the processing of coordinating overload payments, adjunct contracts, and special payments
• Collaborates with the Budget Office during the preparation of the ER annual budget proposal; coordinates budget change requests
• Reviews data for compilations of various State, Union, and College reports
• Maintains purchase orders, keeps up to date account balances using authorized systems (Adaptive, UniMarket) as required
• Under the direction of the Executive Director, drafts proposed policies/procedures, resolutions and Memorandum of Agreements (MOA)'s for review and adoption.
• Under the direction of the Executive Director, analyzes current faculty lines and recycled lines to determine total number of available faculty lines for upcoming academic year in coordination with the Provost and the Budget office.
• As required, consults with Internal Auditor regarding Iron Mountain records retention.
  • Under the direction of the Executive Director, prepares routine and complex faculty and professional staff salary calculations, statistical charts, reports, lists, memos, letters, calendars, etc.,
  • Under the direction of the Executive Director reviews activities from Governor's Office of Employee Relations and/or union officials and supports required actions.
  • As required supports ER Executive Director during fact-finding investigations, preparation of investigative reports and scheduling of interviews with witnesses and subjects of investigation
  • Works closely with People Operations & Employee Resources staff for to support all AFT personnel activities.

Qualifications
REQUIREMENTS

Education

Graduation from an accredited college with a Bachelor's Degree in a relevant field. Master's Degree is desirable but not required.
Experience

A minimum of 4 years (6 plus years preferred) professional experience in support of employee relations, labor relations or related field. Experience in higher education is preferable, other government, non-profit or profit organizations may be considered.
Experience with Banner, Human Resources Information Systems and/or other software such as Microsoft Office 97 (Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint), with ability to manage databases and extract information for various reports.
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• Exceptional organizational skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines simultaneously.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to draft correspondence, memoranda, reports, meeting materials, and other sensitive communications.
• Excellent interpersonal and customer-service skills, with the ability to interact professionally with employees at all levels.
• Strong confidentiality and information-management skills, particularly when handling personnel complaints, investigations, medical documentation, disciplinary matters, and other sensitive information.
• Strong research and information-gathering skills.
• Strong editing, proofreading, and document preparation skills.
• Excellent attention to detail and accuracy.
• Strong data management and tracking skills, including maintaining case logs, action-item trackers, deadlines, calendaring and status reports.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams, PowerPoint, SharePoint, and other enterprise systems.
• Strong problem-solving and prioritization skills.
• Ability to prepare information and materials for senior leadership, legal counsel, grievance meetings, investigations, and employee relations proceedings.
• Ability to establish and work effectively with all campus stakeholders (executives, managers, faculty, staff, union representatives, and others).
  • Ability to acquire considerable knowledge of the program or unit purpose, goals, and objectives.
  • Ability to acquire and adhere to knowledge of the college philosophy, goals, and organization.
  • Ability to exercise exceptional judgment and discretion when handling confidential and sensitive employee matters.
  • Ability to recognize matters that require immediate escalation to the Executive Director/VP or other appropriate authority.
  • Ability to work independently, anticipate executive and departmental needs, and take initiative without requiring constant direction.
  • Ability to manage competing priorities in a high-volume, deadline-driven environment.
  • Ability to maintain accurate and organized records associated with employee relations cases and activities.
  • Ability to track complex cases, deadlines, investigations, grievances, meetings, and follow-up actions.
  • Ability to prepare clear, accurate, and professional correspondence and documentation based on establ