Chief People Officer, Vancouver, Kamloops or Kelowna (CLOSED)
About Open Door Group
Established in 1976, Open Door Group started as a small team of volunteers in Vancouver offering woodworking and sewing workshops for individuals living with disabilities.
Open Door Group has now grown into one of BC's largest independent not-for-profits in the employment services sector, providing employment and leisure services to thousands of individuals each year, including those facing significant barriers to employment such as youth, people with disabilities, individuals living with mental illness, immigrants, and Indigenous people. The unionized society operates with an annual budget of $26 million, over 140 staff, and additional supervision of over 40 partner staff in eleven locations throughout the province.
Open Door Group’s mission is opening doors to lifelong learning and career success by connecting people with meaningful work and community connection and by helping employers connect to skilled employees including untapped talent pools. Working in partnership with all levels of government, more than 20 service organizations, and hundreds of businesses, at their core, Open Door Group is about people and relationships.
As one of Canada’s Certified Great Places to Work, a Living Wage Employer, and a CARF-accredited organization, Open Door Group prides itself on modelling a culture of accountability and authentic care for others.
Read more about Open Door Group’s Mission, Vision, and Values on their website.
The Opportunity
Chief People Officer
Under the general direction of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), the CPO will lead and manage the Human Resources (HR) and the Learning and Development (L&D) departments. Four positions report directly to the CPO: The Director of HR and three Associate Directors of Learning and Development.
The CPO oversees the strategy and processes related to building and retaining an exceptional team of professionals. The CPO optimizes people-centered activities such as recruitment, continuous learning, professional development, employee engagement and experience, safety and wellness, and performance management to ensure these efforts support the organization’s impact and growth.
The CPO will prepare reports and inform the CEO of the issues and accomplishments arising out of both departments and will build strong relationships with the organization’s leadership team. The CPO is responsible for developing and managing HR and L&D aspects of the annual budget in conjunction with the CFO and CEO. Finally, the CPO will assist the CEO in setting comprehensive goals for performance and growth, planning, and organizing, and they will support the implementation of strategies in alignment with the organization's values.
Key priorities will include optimizing recruitment, retention, and succession strategies; supporting the organization’s overarching accessibility, equity, diversity, inclusion, and decolonization efforts as set by the CEO and Board; and fostering a data-informed, decision-making approach throughout the portfolio.
This position can be based in Open Door Group’s Vancouver, Kamloops or Kelowna offices and will include a mix of remote and on-site work.
The CPO will empower the HR and L&D teams in all their planning, coordination, staffing, and execution. The CPO's main responsibilities include but are not limited to:
Human Resources Leadership
Ensuring clear accountabilities and effective processes are in place to measure performance, develop leadership capability, and address concerns in alignment with ODG’s values
Positioning ODG as an employer-of-choice in the human services industry
Attracting and hiring top talent with a focus on: current and future organizational requirements, meeting the needs of diverse customers, value-alignment, employee experience, and equity, diversity, and inclusion
Ensuring a robust employee development framework to support career development and succession planning across all key positions
Compliance
Overseeing compliance efforts with all employment laws, regulations, internal policies, as well as any accreditations/certifications (e.g. Great Place to Work, Living Wage Employers, CARF)
Maintaining an accurate knowledge of market trends and employment legislation to ensure current and future regulatory compliance
Learning and Development Centre Management
Developing strategies related to full-cycle organizational learning and development
Developing a Performance Management framework to support meaningful and consistent employee evaluation and development
Innovation, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation
Staying abreast of labour market trends, key competitor developments, best practices, and utilizing evidence-based evaluation to identify areas of development
Implementing and leading a continuous quality improvement process focused on ensuring HR and L&D practices are efficiently organized and that systems/processes are consistently followed and always improving
Executive Leadership
Developing annual operating plans for HR and L&D departments
Preparing and managing annual budgets for HR and L&D departments that align with departmental and organizational priorities
Collaborating closely with the CEO, CFO, and COO to address both existing and forecasted staff needs and operational requirements
Essential Qualities and Experience
The ideal candidate is a proven HR leader with a track record of success in complex provincial or multi-site organizations. Senior executive leadership experience drawn from private sector, public sector or non-profit organizations in employment services or adjacent areas, such as family, mental health, disability, and immigrant and settlement services, will be considered an asset.
A strategic and data-driven approach, inclusivity, transparency, and a passion for the mission of ODG will be keys to success in this role. Our client broadly welcomes credibly experienced leaders to apply for the role, but will prioritize candidates who possess the following attributes:
Minimum education bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business, Leadership or related discipline. Master’s degree is an asset. Chartered Professional in Human Resources (CPHR) designation preferred.
Eight to twelve years of experience in progressively higher level managerial and supervisory roles
Previous senior supervisory experience, leadership skills, competencies, and a passion for customer experience
Experience developing strategic plans related to workforce and learning considerations based on comprehensive analysis of the internal/external environment and company priorities
Experience successfully leading change management and enriching employee engagement
Demonstrated experience in developing high performance leadership teams
Prior labour relations experience is an asset
Strong technical abilities, including CRM and Microsoft 365 applications
Compensation and Search Process
This position is a strategic leadership role and Open Door Group’s pay will be competitively commensurate with comparable opportunities.
The search process may include conventional longlist, shortlist, and committee interview stages. We will request for finalists to offer comprehensive and recent references and to complete a background check.
Diversity is a part of Open Door Group’s DNA. They are proud to offer equal employment opportunities, and they actively encourage equity, diversity, and inclusion in their workplaces. They seek leaders who represent, at all job levels, the diversity of the people they serve, and they encourage applications from Indigenous peoples, individuals of all genders and sexual orientations, origin and ethnic affiliations, disabilities, ages, and religions.
Accommodation will be provided by Open Door Group and Mosaic Executive Search throughout the recruitment, selection, and assessment process, upon request, to applicants with disabilities.
Applications (cover letter and curriculum vitae) or nominations for the CPO opportunity with Open Door Group should be submitted in confidence to: info@mosaicsearch.ca
You are also welcome to email:
Dave Namkung (dave@mosaicsearch.ca) or
Jane Hill (jhill@mosaicsearch.ca) with any related questions.
