Senior Manager, Employee Experience

The Opportunity:

As an Employee Experience Senior Manager, you will provide guidance to the Employee Experience Advisors on solutions and strategies to resolve complex issues on a variety of Human Resources process related topics. You will partner with the Strategic Talent Team, Centers of Excellence, and the operational leaders with an objective of creating a consistent employee experience throughout the employee life cycle. 

You are responsible for managing, guiding, and coaching multiple direct reports in both official languages. You will provide clear performance objectives, and stretch the team to continue to learn and grow in their roles. You are a subject matter expert in key employee experience drivers, and provide insight and expertise to operational leaders, the Strategic Talent Team, and the Employee Experience Advisory team.

You will demonstrate an in-depth understanding of WSP’s Human Resources strategy and enablers, with a focus on integrating the talent strategy, including supporting our broader redeployment strategy, to drive a high-performance and thriving diverse culture. By effectively engaging in resolving employee relations matters with proficient coaching of management, you’ll be ensuring WSP remains and attractive employer, and maintaining strong engagement levels with staff. 

You are the first point of contact for escalation in the Employee Experience Advisor team for Quebec, Ontario and Atlantic. You will manage the most complex employee cases including investigations, performance management, and offboarding. You will inspire a culture of continuous learning, and encourage team members to share their experiences in case management so the team can all learn from each other.

You will continuously seek to develop and implement process improvements which foster sound employee relations and engagement. It is critical that the Employee Experience Senior Manager has a robust understanding of employment and Human Rights legislation provincially and nationally.

You will manage the collective reputation of the entire Human Resources team by being an ambassador of the Human Resources programs and by supporting the implementation of COE programs, as well as defining and delivering HR solutions.

The Employee Experience Senior Manager will have a variety of interactions with colleagues, managers, employees, and leaders as they respond to questions and issues related to HR policy and process. You will interact with legal, safety, finance and other interdependent functions to determine appropriate course of action and bring issues to closure. 

Why choose WSP?

• We value and are committed to upholding a culture of inclusion and belonging
• Our Flexible Work Policy – we recognize the importance of balance in our lives and encourage you to prioritize the balance in yours. We will support you on and off the job so you can be fully present in both your work and home lives.
• A Canadian success story - we're proud to wear the red and white of this beautiful country and show the world what Canada has to offer.
• Enhance the world around you - from the environment to the highways, to the buildings and the terrain, WSP is the fabric of Canada.
• Outstanding career opportunities - we're growing and pushing ourselves every day to be greater than yesterday - we're open to your ideas and trying new things.
• A phenomenal collaborative culture and a workforce filled with genuinely good people who are doing humbly important work. Come find out for yourself what it's like to be a part of our journey.

We offer attractive pay, flexible work options, a great corporate culture, comprehensive and employee-focused benefits including virtual healthcare and a wellness platform as well as great savings programs, and a clear vision for the future.

#WeAreWSP

What you can expect to do here:

• Performance management: Provide advice and counsel on performance management issues. Partners with the Strategic Talent Advisor, manager, and other business leaders as necessary to address performance gaps and facilitates discussions to assess appropriate action. Provides coaching to managers on all aspects of performance including delivering effective feedback and improving performance.
• Workforce relations: Conduct internal investigations and brings closure following appropriate protocol. Effectively investigate and implement resolutions on workplace issues in an effort to minimize risk to the organization. Collaborate with legal, safety, finance, and other internal parties as needed on situations that have potential for broad exposure.
• Talent Management: Act as a resource on competencies and development tools for managers and colleagues. May facilitate corporate courses for employee or manager development. Partner with employees on the creation of their Personal Development Plan to help them achieve their career goals within WSP.
• Offboarding: Supporting where asked to generate severance calculations for employees identified for involuntary offboarding. You will partner with operational leaders to coach and prepare them for involuntary offboarding discussions with employees, and participate in the meeting with those leaders, keeping the safety and wellbeing of our employees at the forefront.
• Return to work experience: Partner with the absence management team during complex return to work cases to facilitate a positive experience for employees returning from disability leave. This may involve coaching the receiving manager on ways to reintegrate the employee effectively into the workforce. Manage complex return to work cases for employees returning from other leaves of absence, including temporary layoffs.
• Policy/Procedure/Employment Practices and Laws: Respond to complex questions about Human Resources policy/process. Support managers in applying policies to high risk situations. You may become a subject matter expert in employment law for a region within Canada to provide guidance to your peers, and the broader Human Resources team.
• Acquisitions & Divestitures: As required, you will partner with the operational, legal, and finance teams to participate in, or project manage, a WSP acquisition or divestiture.

What you’ll bring to WSP:

• Demonstrated competence in the various HR functional areas: compensation, employee relations, management coaching, organizational development, and diversity and inclusion;
• Well-developed teambuilding and influencing skills, unquestioned integrity, and the experience, confidence, and stature to effectively address sensitive HR issues;
• Outstanding interpersonal and communication skills, both verbal and written;
• Proactive in developing and effectively introducing alternatives to current Human Resources practices as appropriate;
• Robust knowledge of employment laws and Human Resources trends;
• Well-developed team-building and influencing skills, unquestioned integrity, and the experience, confidence, and stature to effectively address sensitive Human Resources issues;
• Capability, energy, experience, presence and accountability outlook to quickly establish and maintain the Human Resources team’s credibility coupled with the ability to influence management, and resolve conflicts;
• Informal roll up your sleeves and get it done leadership style that is people-centric, effective and marked by a high level of energy;
• Ability to prioritize and execute tasks in time-sensitive situations;
• Diploma or Degree in Human Resources preferred; CPHR considered an asset;
• 10+ years’ experience in an HR generalist role with proven experience in management, coaching, performance management, and employee development;
• At least 2 years experienced leading a team 
• Excellent written & communication skills in both French and English