Director, Human Resources

at  Douglas College

WORK ARRANGEMENTS

Regular hours of work are 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, Monday to Friday. The position is located at the New Westminster campus; however, travel between campuses may be required.

Douglas College is committed to supporting a healthy work/life balance for employees. We offer:

• Competitive extended benefits,
• Family-friendly benefits (including top-ups for maternity/parental leaves),
• Generous time-off benefits (vacation and sick leave days),
• Defined benefit pension plan with employer contribution,
• Free access to Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and TelaDoc, A variety of health and wellness benefits (to learn more, please visit: https://www.douglascollege.ca/about-douglas/campus-information/careers-douglas-college/total-compensation),
• Continuous professional development opportunities (e.g. PD funding, tuition waivers, free courses, free access to LinkedIn Learning courses, College-provided workshops, etc.),
• Free access to the campus fitness centres, along with free daily fitness classes, and
• Discounted rates on wireless phone plans, car rentals, and pet insurance.

WHAT DOUGLAS OFFERS

DO what you love. Be good at it. That’s how Douglas College defines a great career. It’s a philosophy that resonates through our classrooms, our offices and our boardrooms. It inspires our students and drives us to make Douglas College one of BC’s Top Employers. We love what we do. And we’re looking for passionate, motivated people to join us in making one of Canada’s best colleges even better.

THE ROLE

Reporting to the Associate Vice President, Human Resources, the Director, Human Resources provides organizational leadership, professional expertise, advice and direction related to all aspects of HR and in particular, employee and labour relations, including collective agreement administration and negotiations, recruitment and HR operations. The Director oversees the strategic and operational requirements of the assigned areas and, working closely with the Associate Vice President and other Responsible Administrators, contributes positively to influence the labour relations and workplace culture, enrich the workplace experience, and provide exceptional HR services. The Director models the College’s core competencies and values of honesty and integrity, innovation and creativity, diversity and inclusion, accountability and sustainability, community and relationships.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The Director, Human Resources is accountable for the following:

• Develops and maintains strong partnerships with College leaders to understand departmental business and operating objectives and to ensure the effective delivery of HR programs and initiatives. Develops and implements Human Resource interventions to meet short and longer-term strategies;
• Provides senior level advice and guidance to leaders on a range of human resources, employee and labour relations matters. Ensures they are informed and prepared to administer the provisions of the collective agreements as well as human resources policies, practices and procedures;
• Oversees all labour relations activities, including collective agreement administration, grievance handling and arbitration processes to ensure consistency across the College. Develops and maintains positive working relationships with union representatives.
• Provides leadership with respect to collective bargaining processes. Conducts research and engages with stakeholders to understand operational and strategic bargaining priorities. Develops bargaining proposals in support of longer-term College goals.
• Leads contingency planning in the event of labour disruption, including the creation of essential service plans, and prepares the College to manage strike issues.
• Leads or supports workplace investigations and provides advice on appropriate outcomes. When necessary, arranges the services of external investigators or mediators to resolve more complex or sensitive matters.
• Oversees and directs the strategic and operational requirements to ensure the delivery of efficient and effective strategies and procedures for recruitment, hiring, onboarding and other HR administration services.
• Provides leadership, direction and support to a team of human resources professionals through effective guidance, mentorship and team building. Hires, orients, supervises, evaluates and provides performance feedback to direct reports.
• Promotes an environment of collaboration and service excellence. Inspires, motivates and guides team members by fostering commitment, trust and providing support on complex or unique issues.
• Acts as a change agent to build awareness of new human resources processes and facilitates successful process, behaviour and cultural change. Develops and maintains an employee-oriented culture that emphasizes quality, continuous improvement, and high performance;
• Ensures compliance with legislative requirements as they pertain to employee and labour relations as well as College policies.
• Provides input into the Human Resources budget and strategic plan. Contributes to the management of the department operating budget through cost-conscious decisions.
• Actively models the Douglas College Core Competencies;
• Performs other related duties as required including acting on behalf of the Associate Vice President, Human Resources or other human resources leaders, as requested.

TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN THIS ROLE YOU WILL NEED

• Established professional credibility as evidenced by a post-secondary degree in a related discipline, such as Human Resources, Law or Business Administration and a CPHR designation;
• A minimum of ten years of progressively responsible HR/labour relations experience in a complex unionized environment, including five years in a managerial role. Public sector experience is preferred;
• A combination of education and experience may be considered;
• Excellent knowledge of current labour, employment and human rights law and related statutes and jurisprudence;
• Experience leading and conducting workplace investigations;
• Collaborative, people-centric approach to leadership and people development;
• Strong business acumen with a passion and commitment for business partnerships and service orientation;
• Superior written, presentation and oral communication skills;
• Ability to build relationships and influence at all organizational levels;
• Demonstrated skills in diplomacy, negotiation, conflict resolution and mediation;
• Exceptional organization skills and ability to work independently to deliver high quality work in a demanding environment with rapidly changing priorities. Demonstrated flexibility and capability to perform well in ambiguous situations;
• Solid project management skills including experience with developing, leading, implementing and evaluating the effectiveness of human resources projects and procedures;
• Demonstrated ability to model appropriate professional, ethical and collaborative behaviours consistent with the responsibilities of this position;
• Comfortable with technology including a working knowledge of MS Office products;
• Demonstrated abilities that align with the Douglas College Core Competency Framework.