Director, People

Ready to Shape the Future of People & Culture? Join Cymax Group as Director, People & Culture

Be the Strategic Mind AND the Hands-On Executor

Are you an HR leader who believes that performance and accountability drive great cultures? Join Cymax Group Technologies, a dynamic 100+ person organization, where you'll have the unique opportunity to drive strategic people initiatives that build a high-performing, accountable workplace.

Why This Role is Different:

In this role, you'll operate at both altitude and depth—setting strategic direction for our people and performance systems, while personally executing the processes that bring them to life. You'll guide leadership on organizational design and workforce planning, and also ensure that every employee has clarity, feedback, and accountability for results.

Your Impact Will Be Immediate and Visible:

• Strategic Leadership: Partner directly with executives to align people strategies with business goals and drive organizational design decisions that enables speed, clarity and accountability
• Performance & Ownership: own the full performance management cycle from goal setting to calibration reviews. Equip managers to give meaningful feedback and drive continuous improvement. Champion a performance first culture where expectations are clear and excellence is recognized.
• Hands-On Recruitment: Lead end-to-end talent acquisition, from sourcing candidates on LinkedIn to closing offers for key hires
• Culture Champion: Lead engagement initiatives that drive a high-performance culture ensuring that recognition, development and accountability ladder up to measurable business outcomes.
• Business Partner: Translate complex HR challenges into strategic solutions that drive measurable business results

Perfect For Leaders Who:

• Love variety and want to avoid the bureaucracy of large corporations
• Want direct access to senior leadership and real influence on business direction aligning performance to business outcomes
• Believes accountability and clarity are the cornerstones of culture
• Enjoy building relationships with candidates and seeing the immediate impact of great hires
• Thrive in fast-paced, growth-oriented environments where agility matters
• Are energized by building scalable, high-performance HR infrastructure from the ground up

This is your chance to be both the architect and the builder of an exceptional workplace culture. You'll lead strategically, execute tactically, and make a direct impact on every aspect of our people experience.

Ready to roll up your sleeves and think big? Let's talk.

This is a hybrid role, working 2 days a week in our corporate headquarters in the vibrant Gastown area of Vancouver, BC.

Our Values

Our core values are the compass that guides our actions, unites our team, and shapes the future of our company:

• Grit & Agility: Forge Ahead, Pivot Fast
• Accountability: Bring It, Own It, Commit
• Go the Extra Mile: We Go Above & Beyond
• Understand the Map & the Terrain: Master the Details & the Big Picture
• Data Drives Decisions: Absorb Complexity & Transmit Clarity
• Think Beyond Today: Tomorrow's Vision, Today's Action

Compensation & Benefits

We are committed to transparency in our hiring process. The expected salary range for this role is between $110,000 to $130,000 depending on various factors including experience, skills, training and certifications, market demands, and organizational needs. Our salary ranges are determined by role, level and location.

We offer a comprehensive range of benefits which includes:

• Health and wellness support for our team members and their families including an employee assistance program
• 100% paid health and dental benefits in Canada
• Paid time off
• Easy access to online and phone-based counselling services
• And a remote-first flexible work environment.

Join Our AI Journey at Cymax Group

At Cymax Group, we thrive on innovation and entrepreneurship. As an AI-first organization, we are on an exciting journey to continuously grow and evolve our focus on AI, empowering our people at all levels. Our fast-paced environment encourages agility and nimbleness, enabling our team to adapt swiftly to changing market dynamics. We're passionate about continuous learning and growth, offering opportunities for professional development. Our data-driven decision-making ensures we make informed choices that lead to success. If you're excited about making an impact and being part of a dynamic, AI-empowered team, you'll feel right at home here.

Director, People & Culture

Role Summary:

The Director, People & Culture is a strategic HR leader who partners directly with Cymax Group's executive team to develop and execute people strategies that drive measurable business results. In this dual-faceted role, you will provide strategic counsel on organizational design, workforce planning, and culture initiatives while personally leading hands-on talent acquisition to build our growing 100+ person team. Reporting to the VP Finance and managing two direct reports, you will balance high-level strategy with tactical execution—from presenting workforce analytics to the C-suite to running end-to-end recruitment and implementing performance and engagement programs. This role is ideal for an HR leader who thrives where strategic vision meets practical implementation, and who believes clarity, speed, accountability, and performance should translate into tangible business outcomes.

Strategic Leadership & HR Strategy

• Aligns people strategies with business goals to drive speed, clarity, and accountability.
• Trusted advisor to executives, providing data-driven insights on people matters.
• Leads org design to build high-performing teams.
• Advises on people impact during strategic planning and leadership meetings.
• Manages and develops the People & Culture team.

Performance & Ownership

• Owns full performance management cycle and governance.
• Drives a performance-first culture with clear expectations and recognition.
• Coaches managers on feedback, development, and performance improvement.
• Connects performance outcomes to rewards, promotions, and development.

Talent Acquisition & Employer Branding

• Leads end-to-end recruitment across all levels.
• Builds talent pipelines through sourcing, networking, and referrals.
• Partners with hiring managers on interviews and candidate evaluation.
• Develops employer branding via social media, career content, and events.
• Builds strategic partnerships to enhance visibility and talent access.
• Ensures a positive candidate experience from outreach to onboarding.
• Tracks and improves recruitment metrics.

Culture & Communication

• Champions core values through leadership and engagement.
• Supports employee engagement and development programs.
• Fosters inclusive culture via wellness, team-building, and corporate initiatives.

People Analytics & Reporting

• Manages HRIS and integrates key people data.
• Provides regular reporting on staffing, compensation, and HR metrics.
• Partners with Finance on budgeting and forecasting.
• Identifies workforce trends and recommends proactive strategies.

People Operations & Program Development

• Oversees HR infrastructure: career paths, compensation, and performance tools.
• Implements programs across the talent lifecycle.
• Leads total rewards and recognition initiatives.
• Manages complex employee relations and legal matters.
• Ensures policy compliance and effective communication.
• Coaches leaders on performance, conflict resolution, and employment law.

Qualifications

Experience

• 6+ years of progressive HR experience with 3+ years in leadership roles, including hands-on recruitment experience
• Proven track record personally executing talent acquisition and employer branding initiatives
• Experience with workforce planning and organizational design in smaller, growing companies
• Background scaling teams and building HR infrastructure from the ground up

Strategic & Business Skills

• Strong business acumen with understanding of financial metrics and growth company dynamics
• Ability to balance strategic planning with hands-on execution in a fast-paced environment
• Experience partnering with senior leadership as both advisor and implementer

Leadership & Communication

• Exceptional communication and influencing skills across all organizational levels
• Proven ability to lead and develop small, high-performing teams
• Strong coaching, mentoring, and relationship-building capabilities

Technical Knowledge

• Deep knowledge of employment law and compliance requirements
• Proficiency in HRIS, ATS, and recruitment tools (LinkedIn Recruiter, job boards, etc.)
• Experience with HR budget management and recruitment metrics analysis

Cultural Fit

• Passion for building inclusive, high-performance cultures in growing organizations
• Hands-on leadership style with willingness to "roll up sleeves" and execute tactical work
• Entrepreneurial mindset with experience in small to mid-size company environments

Education

• Bachelor's degree in human resources management and business, and/or equivalent education and experience
• Professional HR certifications (CHRP, CHRL, SHRM)