Associate Vice-President, Human Resources

Celebrating its 55th anniversary in 2020, Lakehead is a comprehensive university with a reputation for innovative programs and cutting-edge research. With campuses located in Thunder Bay and Orillia, Lakehead has approximately 10,000 students and 2,160 faculty and staff. With an emphasis on collaborative learning and independent critical thinking enabled by a multidisciplinary teaching approach, Lakehead offers a variety of degree and diploma programs at the undergraduate, graduate and doctoral levels through its ten faculties: Business Administration, Education, Engineering, Health and Behavioural Sciences, Natural Resources Management, Science and Environmental Studies, Social Sciences and Humanities, Graduate Studies, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (West Campus) and Ontario’s newest Faculty of Law. 

Located at the head of Lake Superior, Lakehead’s Thunder Bay campus is situated in the beautiful natural environment of Northwestern Ontario, with many of its programs complemented by fieldwork and a focus on northern socio-economic issues. The University has annual expenditures of $171 million and its annual economic impact on the cities of Thunder Bay and Orillia is $319 million and $41 million respectively. 

The Office of Human Resources at Lakehead supports the University’s commitment to excellence through the provision of innovative and evidence-based HR programs and resources. As the initial point of contact for Human Resources support to Lakehead’s leaders, faculty, staff and retirees, the Office of Human Resources team is dedicated to delivering accurate and prompt service; providing industry leading human resources advice, best practices, direction, policy and procedure development and interpretation; working with all employees to create and maintain a healthy, inclusive, engaged, and supportive workplace; and centring everything we do around the people we serve. 

Reporting to the Vice-President of Administration & Finance, the Associate Vice-President, Human Resources (AVPHR) provides strategic leadership, planning, implementation, and operational excellence for all Human Resources services that support and align with Lakehead University’s vision, mission, belief, and goals. Responsible for an operating budget of $1.1 million, the AVPHR will lead talented teams in the areas of Employee and Labour Relations, Human Resources and Organizational Development, and Employee Health, Safety and Wellness. 

The AVPHR will provide leadership in establishing and maintaining productive and positive relationships with organized labour (seven bargaining units) and non-unionized staff groups (two units) and will provide strategic and consultative advice to University leadership and staff teams regarding Human Resources programs and policies, management of labour and employee relations, organizational development and change management, and high-level engagement and performance. The AVPHR will also ensure functioning programs are in place and provide leadership, development and counsel to team members in their provision of Human Resource services on a daily basis. The AVPHR will introduce policies and programming to support the strategic plan deliverables for talent acquisition and employee development, and reflect Lakehead University’s goal that embodies being a recognized employer of choice. As the leader of HR within the University, the AVPHR will maintain a solid and high functioning Human Resources structure and team that can deliver customer-focused and value-added services and will support the integration of diversity, equity, inclusion, workforce trends, environmental changes, and modern approaches in a progressive workplace to the Human Resources service model. 

As the ideal candidate, you are an experienced senior human resources leader with exceptional interpersonal skills and a substantial record of executive-level Human Resources experience in a complex, collegial, and multi-union organization, ideally within the public sector. You have a proven record of leading and building high performance teams, developing and retaining a diverse workforce, fostering a productive and positive relationship with organized labour, and demonstrated excellence in leading progressive Human Resources practices and services in support of the strategic direction of the organization. As a leader, you display strong conflict management, negotiation, problem solving and strategic planning skills. You have experience developing and implementing a human resource strategy and overseeing and shifting an organizational structure to support this strategy. You have the credentials, reputation, experience and confidence to work seamlessly with the university’s senior leaders to strategically improve the human resource function. You have experience promoting equity, diversity and inclusion initiatives and strategy within a strong institution, and are considered a progressive thought leader and subject matter expert who will be effective in leading a human resource department and strategy that aligns with the mission and strategic objectives of the university.

As the ideal candidate, you possess a University degree, ideally at the graduate level, accompanied by an industry recognized designation and/or qualifications relevant to the field of Human Resources, demonstrated accomplishments in a senior Human Resources role, as well as experience working collaboratively in a unionized environment with an in-depth knowledge of collective agreement administration and the university governance model.

If you are interested in this opportunity at an organization that is committed to making a difference in the communities it serves, please apply online at www.kbrs.ca/career/14492.  For more information, contact Katherine Frank (kfrank@kbrs.ca) or Beth McLennan (bmclennan@kbrs.ca).

Lakehead University is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment and welcomes applications from all qualified individuals including women, racialized persons, Indigenous people, persons with disabilities and other equity-seeking groups. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadian citizens and permanent residents will be given priority, in accordance with Canadian immigration requirements.

We will provide support in the recruitment processes to applicants with disabilities, including accommodation that takes into account an applicant’s accessibility needs. If you require accommodation in order to participate as a candidate in the recruitment process, please contact accommodate@kbrs.ca.

Lakehead Thunder Bay is located on the traditional lands of the Fort William First Nation, Signatory to the Robinson Superior Treaty of 1850. Lakehead Orillia is located on the traditional territory of the Anishinaabeg. The Anishinaabeg include the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Pottawatomi nations, collectively known as the Three Fires Confederacy.