Vice-President, People, Equity & Inclusion

Your leadership will guide our transformation –join us!

The University of Windsor (the University) is situated on the traditional territory of the Three Fires Confederacy of First Nations: the Ojibwa, the Odawa, and the Potawatomi. The University is a comprehensive research and teaching institution with more than 16,000 students, and boasts a welcoming, student-centred community committed to equity, diversity, inclusion (EDI), Indigenization, decolonization, and accessibility in our teaching, learning, knowledge creation, and work environments. 

The University is committed to becoming a community and regional leader, and an intellectual and practical centre of excellence for efforts to foster anti-oppressive and socially just organizational cultures. We are actively investing in anti-racism and organizational change and advancing diverse ways of knowing. The University has deeply committed to the goal of becoming a truly diverse, just, and inclusive community where all students, faculty, and staff feel welcome, are treated equitably, and can thrive. We have made tangible progress towards this goal in the last few years, but still have a long way to go. This new leader will help get us there.

The University invites qualified candidates to apply for this inaugural leadership role. The Vice-President, People, Equity & Inclusion (VP, PE&I) position is a challenging and exciting one that requires a changemaker, diplomat and consensus builder to help us embed EDI principles into policies and practices. The VP, PE&I will develop and execute a progressive, effective approach to supporting people and cultures, empowering faculty, staff and student efforts to advance the University’s mission and cultivate an equitable, inclusive, respectful and healthy campus environment and positive organizational culture. The VP, PE&I will provide guidance, advocacy, insight, and leadership as we continue to develop systematic and coherent infrastructure and relationships to foster increasingly welcoming, equitable, inclusive, just, and safe campus communities. 

Leading a team that includes the AVP, Human Resources; the Executive Director of Human Rights, Equity, Diversity and Accessibility; the Director, Anti-Racism Organizational Change; the Senior Executive Officer EDI Strategic Initiatives, and the Executive Director, Office Of Student Rights And Responsibilities the VP, PE&I leads institutional efforts to deliver effective and efficient human resources services, while ensuring that people feel well supported and that EDI principles are deeply embedded in our organizational culture.

Reporting to the University President and Vice-Chancellor, the VP, PE&I will work in partnership with the Provost; the Vice-President, Finance and Operations; the Vice-President, Research and Innovation; the Senior Advisor to the President for Indigenous Relations; the Associate Vice-President, Student Experience, Deans, and campus and community leaders and advocates to focus on the following key priorities: 

Leadership in fostering an increasingly equitable, just, welcoming, and inclusive campus

• Develop a whole-system approach in which EDI considerations, principles, and values permeate and form foundations of practice in policymaking, teaching and learning, research and scholarship, service, co-curricular activities, and community engagement; 

• Inspire, lead, and work collaboratively to build sustainable EDI infrastructure, to address racism and discrimination, and to support and implement a broad range of strategic initiatives;  Establish and oversee processes and structures to dismantle systemic discrimination and oppression; Support and amplify the voices of all equity-seeking groups, and offer safe, authentic, credible, warm, and trustworthy spaces for dialogue and relationship building; Lead and facilitate processes to engage, listen, learn, advocate, partner, and facilitate change with local communities, the region, and other institutions locally and nationally.

Oversight of the University’s human resources portfolio

• Lead the evolution of the University’s human resources portfolio, emphasizing intentionally inclusive human resources practice and procedure, rooted in equity, inclusion, and anti-oppression, and emphasizing transparency, accountability, and trustworthiness; Oversee the University’s Office of Human Resources, including responsibility for client services, labour relations, talent acquisition, onboarding, pension and benefits administration, compensation, employment equity, HR systems, accommodation, disability/health management, succession planning and compliance with legislation;

• Lead efforts in capacity building through strong, inclusive recruitment and employee development practices and the provision of relevant and accessible education, training and professional development.

While the Search Committee recognizes that no one candidate is likely to meet all of the qualifications in equal measure, these requirements will be used in the assessment of candidates for the position:

• Qualifications and scholarly achievements commensurate with appointment at a minimum level of associate professorship;
• Minimum of seven years of recent and relevant experience as an academic or post-secondary leader;
• Lived experience and expertise in areas such as anti-racism, human rights, anti-oppression, decolonization, etc.;
• Experience and/or expertise in organizational development, talent acquisition, talent management, labour law, conflict resolution, etc.; experience working in unionized environments preferred.
• Successful experience planning, leading, navigating, and effecting change/transformation in highly decentralized and siloed academic environments
• Demonstrated resilience, tact, and courage in the face of opposition to dismantling systemic inequities; 
• Evidence of building and managing successful partnerships and results-oriented teams;
• Understanding of Canada’s Human Resources industry and trends, including relevant policies, procedures, best practices, and legal and legislative frameworks including pertinent sections of the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act, Ontario Human Rights Code, Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act and relevant case law;
• Effective interpersonal and communication skills, verbal and written, and strong emotional intelligence acumen;
• Expertise and experience working with different equity groups and experience building strong relationships with student, faculty and staff campus groups, departments and community organizations;
• Ability to manage confidential and sensitive matters, and experience responding to, de-escalating, and mediating highly complex and sensitive employee and student matters. 

In pursuit of the University's Employment Equity Plan, members from the designated groups (women, Indigenous/Aboriginal (First Nations, Métis, Inuit) persons, racialized persons/visible minorities, persons with disabilities, and persons of a minority sexual orientation and/or gender identity) are encouraged to apply and to self-identify. If you need an accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please contact accommodate@kbrs.ca. Should you require further information on accommodation, please visit the website of the Office of Human Rights, Equity & Accessibility (http://www.uwindsor.ca/ohrea). All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.

If you’re interested in this opportunity, please contact Amorell Saunders N’Daw at asaundersndaw@kbrs.ca, or Bola Moradeyo at bmoradeyo@kbrs.ca, or submit your application online at: www.kbrs.ca/Career/16511.