Director, Human Resources

Part of Canada’s foreign affairs and development efforts, the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) invests in knowledge, innovation, and solutions to improve lives and livelihoods in the developing world. Bringing together the right partners around opportunities for impact, IDRC builds leaders for today and tomorrow and helps drive change for those who need it most. IDRC’s success is dependent on its people, and the diversity of its workforce is a major strength. The global nature of IDRC’s operation combined with a workforce composed of international and multilingual employees enhance the need to recruit an experienced and innovative Director of Human Resources. 

This helps the organization improve its understanding of development challenges, identify opportunities for innovation and impact, and invest in solutions.

Reporting directly to the President, the Director of Human Resources plays an important strategic role in leading IDRC in its efforts to achieve excellence and innovation in the delivery of human resources services.

As a key member of the Centre Management Committee (CMC), the Director will drive strategic decisions relating to the most important resource of the Centre; it’s employees. The Director contributes to the achievement of the organization’s mandate by providing advice and guidance on all issues affecting human resources management to both senior managers and the Board of Governors.

The Director leads collective bargaining at the Centre and oversees the administration of all collective agreements. In doing so, the Director promotes an environment that fosters effective working relationships with unionized and non-unionized workforce.

The Director is responsible to oversee the delivery of human resources services which includes the following key areas: compensation, classification, talent management, recruitment, employee development, performance management, labour relations, and occupational health and safety.

As the ideal candidate, you possess a Bachelor’s degree in a field relevant to human resources management. A CHRL designation would be an asset. You bring extensive experience in collective bargaining and the interpretation of collective agreements. You demonstrate key leadership values such as integrity and respect, cultural awareness, a positive outlook as well as tact and diplomacy. You are adept at finding innovative solutions to complex problems, and you have a track record of implementing innovative new HR programs within organizations. You hold strong competencies in the area of strategic thinking, engaging and mobilizing people, innovating and managing change, collaboration as well as achieving results. Your ability to communicate in English and French will help you interact in the international fora in which IDRC operates.