The People & Culture Manager is responsible for leading all people-related functions across the organization, including human resources, organizational culture, and communications. This role serves as the organization’s senior people leader and primary point of contact for all employee-related matters.
This is a hands-on role suited to someone who enjoys both operational HR work and contributing to a positive, engaged workplace culture. The People & Culture Manager partners closely with the Executive Director and management team to support employees, strengthen leadership practices, and foster a healthy and inclusive work environment.
Communications staff report to this role, ensuring alignment between people practices, culture, and internal messaging.
Responsibilities
People & Culture Leadership
- Serve as a trusted advisor to the Executive Director and management team on employee relations, performance management, and workplace issues
- Provide strategic and practical guidance to managers on leadership practices and team effectiveness
- Support managers with difficult conversations, performance improvement, and disciplinary processes
- Strengthen organizational culture by supporting employee engagement, inclusion, and collaboration
- Ensure people practices align with organizational values, legal requirements, and best practices
- Identify opportunities to improve the employee experience across the full employment lifecycle
Recruitment and Onboarding
- Lead full-cycle recruitment including job postings, interviews, hiring decisions with hiring managers, and offers
- Develop and maintain strong onboarding practices and ensure managers are accountable for effective onboarding
- Monitor onboarding progress and follow up to support employee success and retention
- Support workforce planning and organizational growth
Payroll, Benefits, and HR Administration
- Oversee payroll processing and benefits administration, working with external providers as needed
- Maintain accurate and confidential employee records and HR files
- Ensure compliance with employment legislation and organizational policies
- Support reporting and tracking of HR metrics where appropriate
Health, Safety, and OH&S
- Lead the organization’s occupational health and safety program
- Ensure policies, procedures, training, and incident reporting are in place and followed
- Act as the primary point of contact for workplace safety matters
- Support managers in maintaining safe and healthy work environments
Policies and HR Programs
- Develop, update, and implement HR policies and procedures
- Ensure policies are communicated clearly and applied consistently
- Support continuous improvement of HR systems and processes as the organization grows
- Lead or support organizational initiatives related to employee engagement and culture
Communications Leadership
- Provide leadership and direction to the Communications function
- Ensure internal communications support a clear and consistent employee experience
- Support the development of messaging that reflects organizational values and priorities
- Align communications planning with organizational initiatives and people-focused priorities
- Collaborate with the Communications team to support organizational visibility and stakeholder engagement
Qualifications
- 7+ years of progressive HR experience
- Nonprofit, healthcare, social services, or unionized environment experience an asset, but not required
- Strong working knowledge of employment legislation, payroll, benefits, and OH&S
- Experience supporting organizational culture, employee engagement, or change initiatives
- Confidence handling sensitive employee relations issues with professionalism and empathy
- Ability to balance compliance, compassion, and practicality in a fast paced environment
- Comfortable working independently and taking ownership of the HR function
- Excellent communication, organization, and relationship building skills
- HR designation such as CPHR is an asset but not required.