Senior Manager, Human Resource Services - Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB)

A professionally and personally rewarding career opportunity for a Human Resources professional who is an effective, successful HR leader and a critically reflective practitioner who has led staff to innovative human resources practices and programs that are culturally responsive, and anti-colonial.

About the Board

The Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB) is committed to learning, equity, engagement and innovation, guided by its mission to empower students to learn and grow to their full potential in a diverse world. Proudly serving a community of approximately 50,000 students in the City of Hamilton and surrounding area, HWDSB operates across 84 elementary schools, 13 secondary schools and 1 Adult Learning Centre, in addition to providing support and service to more than 8,000 staff members. As the Board’s new Senior Manager, Human Resource Services, you will play a vital role in advancing the Board’s mission by acting as a trusted advisor and facilitator of change with the Board Trustees, Executive Council, school principals and vice-principals, managers, supervisors, union leaders and association chairs.

About the Role

Reporting to the Superintendent of Human Resource Services, and grounded in the Ontario Human Rights Code, you will demonstrate your professional and personal commitment to the Board’s strategic directions, and lead all aspects of a dynamic, collaborative, high-performing team of HR professionals committed to the execution of strategies that advance organizational and employee effectiveness and performance. You will make it your mission to ensure that all services provided by the Human Resource Services Division adhere to best practices and you will act in accordance with employment and human rights legislation by applying your subject expertise and modelling transparency.

A key priority for HWDSB is seeking leaders – like you – who are committed to the Board’s Human Rights and Anti-Black Racism policies and procedures, and demonstrate the following leadership competencies:

• Combine excellence in school operations, building relationships and developing people by supporting positive learning and workplace environments; 
• Prevent discrimination and harassment through their knowledge of Ontario's Human Rights Code, the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act and other relevant human rights legislation;
• Commit to Indigenous Education and Indigenous Educational Wellness by supporting the implementation of the Indigenous Education Circle Strategic Action Plan (IECSAP) 2021-2025;
• Demonstrate a commitment to ongoing professional development to develop their leadership competencies guided by an anti-racist anti-oppressive (ARAO) and human rights framework and approach; and
• Demonstrate a commitment to Human Rights and Equity through identifying, discussing, and actively disrupting current barriers for students, staff, parents/guardians/caregivers, and the community in their current practice.

A leader of leaders, you will provide strategic leadership and oversight for the Staffing and Human Resource Operations, Employee Support and Wellness, Occupational Health and Safety, Professional Development and Recruitment and Labour Relations departments. You will enact equity and inclusion strategies to safeguard bias-free staffing, recruitment and selection processes as well as employee retention, engagement and advancement. Staff will look to you as a role model, providing mentoring and coaching to build capacity and enhance professional collaboration within a multi-disciplinary team environment. Acting as a change agent, you will empower others through empathy, respect and optimism while consistently challenging and confronting inequity and exclusion within current employment practices and actions.

As Senior Manager of Human Resource Services, you will proactively design and implement innovative human resource solutions that support principals, vice-principals, managers and supervisors, and the delivery of instructional programs and services to students, while modelling respect, trust and transparency to build and sustain effective working relationships within a multi-union environment. Your data-driven mindset will also be evident as you consistently measure the effectiveness of HR initiatives and programs, assess organizational metrics and provide insights to the organization, and act strategically upon these insights in collaboration with other service departments within the Board.

About the Candidate

You are an empowering leader that incorporates feedback, honours the expertise of others, and demonstrates self-awareness with a strong moral and ethical compass. Your strengths as both a subject matter expert and a leader are built on a university degree in Human Resources or Industrial Relations, or equivalent education and directly related experience, and 5 to 7 years’ experience in a human resources managerial role within a complex, multi-union environment, preferably in the education sector. A CHRP/Human Resources Certificate or an equivalent related professional designation would be considered an asset.

Through such a background, you have gained a thorough knowledge of employment legislation and emergent issues in public education, and labour relations, including investigations, grievance processes and mediation/arbitration hearings. Above all, you operate with an Anti-Racist, Anti-Oppressive and Anti-Colonial lens, and know how to influence and guide system leaders through coaching and development.

To apply to this strategically significant, senior HR management role in public education, submit your application to Phelps by clicking: https://bit.ly/3iRPLk0

Application deadline: February 24, 2023.

If you require accommodation, please notify us in advance and we will work with you to meet your needs as HWDSB is committed to providing accommodation throughout the recruitment and selection process, based on any human rights protected grounds.

401 Bay Street, Suite 1400, Toronto, ON M5H 2Y4
Phone: 416 364 6229

HWDSB believes in giving each applicant an equal opportunity to succeed on their own merit and we strive to hire staff that reflect and support the diverse perspectives, experiences and needs of our students and our communities. We remain committed to upholding the values of equity, diversity, and inclusion in our living, learning and work environments. We know that diversity underpins excellence, and that we all share responsibility for creating an equitable, diverse, and inclusive Board community. Therefore, in pursuit of our values, we seek members who will work respectfully and constructively with differences and across the organizational hierarchy in actualizing the Board’s priorities, goals and principles.

We actively encourage applications from members of groups with historical and/or current barriers to equity, including, but not limited to:

• First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples, and all other Indigenous Peoples. Members of groups that commonly experience discrimination due to race, ancestry, colour, religion and/or spiritual beliefs, or place of origin. Persons with visible and/or invisible (physical and/or mental) disabilities. Persons who identify as women. Persons of marginalized sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions.

At HWDSB, we recognize that many of these identities intersect and, therefore, equity, diversity and inclusion can be complex. We value and respect the contributions that each person brings to enriching the Board and are committed to ensuring full and equal participation for all in communities that we serve.

HWDSB is located on ancestral Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee Confederacy land as determined by the Dish with One Spoon treaty. The Dish with One Spoon wampum belt represents the treaty relationship between the Haudenosaunee Confederacy and Anishinaabe with respect to sharing the land and resources thereon. The intent of this agreement is for all nations sharing this territory to do so responsibly, respectfully and sustainably in perpetuity. We respect the longstanding relationships with the local Indigenous communities, the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and the Six Nations of the Grand River.