Executive Director

Our client is a leader in the aviation and transportation industry.

Location: Toronto, ON

Position Scope:

Reporting to the Chief Human Resources Officer, the Executive Director, Workforce Strategy & Labour Relations provides enterprise leadership for the organization's workforce strategy, labour relations and HR Business Partner operating model.

The role ensures workforce decisions are forward-looking, risk-informed and aligned with organizational priorities, operational requirements and the future of work at the organization.

As a trusted advisor to the Executive Team, this leader provides executive-facing workforce insight, governance and prioritization across business units while strengthening integration between workforce strategy, labour relations and business execution in a complex, unionized environment.

Responsibilities:

• Own and shape the organization's enterprise workforce strategy, integrating workforce planning, labour strategy and future-of-work considerations.
• Anticipate workforce, labour market and regulatory trends, translating insights into enterprise priorities and decision frameworks.
• Align workforce strategy with business strategy, operational resilience and long-term sustainability.
• Act as a primary workforce and labour advisor to the Chief Human Resources Officer and Executive Team.
• Lead executive-level workforce governance, prioritization and escalation of complex workforce and labour matters.
• Provide strategic oversight of labour relations and employee relations across the enterprise, including collective bargaining strategy, risk mitigation and long-term labour sustainability.
• Ensure consistent interpretation and application of collective agreements, policies and governance frameworks.
• Own the HR Business Partner operating model, enterprise priorities and executive-facing cadence, ensuring HR Business Partners focus on high-value strategic advisory.
• Champion the use of workforce data, analytics, forecasting and scenario planning to inform executive decisions.
• Lead and develop senior leaders across HR Business Partnerships and Labour & Employee Relations, building a cohesive, high-performing leadership team.
• Collaborate with Legal, Finance, Operations, union leadership, external counsel and professional networks to support integrated decision-making and effective issue resolution.
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

Education, Knowledge and Experience:

• A university degree in Human Resources, Industrial Relations, Business Administration or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• A graduate degree, such as an MBA or master's degree in Human Resources, Industrial Relations or a related discipline, is preferred.
• A CHRL or equivalent professional designation and demonstrated expertise in labour relations within a unionized environment.
• 15 or more years of progressive Human Resources or labour relations experience in a large, complex organization.
• Eight or more years of senior leadership experience, including experience leading through Directors.
• Extensive experience advising executive leaders on workforce strategy, labour relations and organizational effectiveness.
• Proven experience operating in a highly unionized and operationally complex environment.
• Expert knowledge of labour relations, employment legislation and employee relations governance.
• Strong enterprise workforce planning, analytics and scenario-planning capability.
• Executive-level influencing, judgment and decision-making skills, with the ability to balance long-term strategy and near-term operational and labour demands.
• The ability to lead through others, providing direction and support while maintaining clear accountability.
• Enterprise workforce strategy or transformation leadership experience and experience supporting Board or executive committee workforce matters are considered assets.

Key Attributes:

• Enterprise-minded and strategically oriented.
• Trusted executive advisor with sound judgment.
• Collaborative, influential and relationship focused.
• Decisive and comfortable navigating complexity and ambiguity.
• Data-informed and forward-looking.
• Accountable, pragmatic and risk aware.
• Experienced in leading through senior leaders and building high-performing teams.

Committed to constructive labour relations and organizational effectiveness.