February 27, 2026 Posting # 1537

YouthLink believes in the potential of every youth. We are dedicated to providing them with the support, guidance and opportunities they need to make positive life choices. We provide youth with brief and ongoing counselling, in-home wraparound support, shelter, housing, educational support, and safe drop-in spaces. YouthLink works towards equitable outcomes for youth in our community and, as such, is committed to equity-based hiring practices.

We welcome applications from candidates who reflect the communities we serve, particularly candidates from Black communities, Indigenous communities, and racialized people, persons with disabilities, members of diverse gender identities and people with lived experiences. We are seeking candidates who demonstrably operate and practice from an equity and trauma-informed lens. We encourage applications from passionate professionals who will help us dismantle systemic barriers and will embrace working outside of Euro-centric practices.

YouthLink Benefits are Top of Class!

• Competitive pay
• Health & dental coverage for you and your family with 100% premium cost paid by employer.
• *Annual vacation with pay at 1.66 working days for each calendar month to a maximum of 20 working days per year.
• *5 ‘authorized absence’ days for family illness or emergency circumstances that prohibit employees from reporting to work.
• *3 paid agency days every calendar year after 3 calendar months’ service.
• Maternity / parental /adoption leave top-up payments (to top-up Canadian government unemployment benefit payments)
• 100% premium cost for long-term disability coverage paid by employee.
• Eligibility to participate in pension plan after 2 years of continuous service with generous matching contribution from employer.

Director, People, Culture, & Labour Relations

(Permanent, Full-time, 35 hours/week)

(Non-Bargaining Unit Position)

Reporting directly to the Executive Director, the Director of People, Culture and Labour Relations is a senior leader responsible for shaping and stewarding an inclusive, empowered, and high-performing workplace culture within a unionized, nonprofit environment.

The role balances two equally critical mandates:

1. Strengthening a values-driven, performance-based culture where employees feel respected, engaged, and accountable; and
2. Ensuring full compliance and effective administration of the collective agreement and all employment legislation.

The Director is the senior leader responsible for aligning talent strategies to organizational priorities, ensuring the “right roles, right person” mandate is fulfilled, to support YouthLink’s ability to deliver on our mission.

A humble leader, the Director of People, Culture and Labour Relations recognizes the powerful impact of collaboration in partnering with operational leaders in the design, delivery and execution of a human resource strategy. The DPC&LR is a highly collaborative, objective, trusted advisor to operational leaders in service to YouthLink’s mission.

The Director serves as the organization’s lead spokesperson in collective bargaining, oversees grievance management, and provides strategic oversight of all of the functional HR responsibilities.

As a culture champion, this leader works across a diverse workforce to build trust, collaboration, and shared accountability at every level of the organization.

Highlights of Your Role

Strategic Leadership & Culture Development:

• Develop and implement a People and Culture strategy aligned with the organizational mission and strategic priorities.
• Champion an inclusive, equitable and psychologically safe workplace culture.
• Lead initiatives that foster employee engagement, empowerment, development, and accountability.
• Embed performance excellence frameworks that align individual contributions with organizational impact.
• Partner with senior leadership to strengthen leadership capacity and cultural alignment across teams.
• Develop and implement policies and practices within the agency that drive and shape a culture of engagement and performance.
• Build an active physical presence at all YL sites and serve as a visible cultural ambassador across the organization.
• Build leadership capacity across the organization through training, coaching and performance frameworks.
• Lead learning and development initiatives that strengthen equity-informed, people-centred leadership.
• Work collaboratively with the Executive Director and the Senior Leadership team to establish and lead the strategic direction of the organization.

Labour Relations and Collective Bargaining:

• Act as chief spokesperson in collective bargaining negotiations.
• Lead preparation for bargaining, including data analysis, costing, strategy development, and mandate preparation.
• Administer and interpret the collective agreement to ensure consistent and fair application.
• Provide expert advice and coaching to leaders on unionized workforce management.
• Develop proactive labour relations strategies that strengthen trust and collaboration with union partners.
• Support managers in people leadership, conflict resolution and difficult conversations.
• Mitigate risk through collaborative partnership and de-escalation of people-related issues.
• Monitor trends in labour relations and recommend mitigation strategies.
• Lead grievance management processes, including investigations, documentation, responses, and arbitration preparation.
• Represent the organization in mediations and arbitrations as required.
• Provide guidance and coaching to managers to resolve issues before escalation.
• A strong steward of the organization’s resources, effectively manages labour negotiations, bargaining, and dispute resolution with careful consideration to the financial impact of decisions and actions.
• Track grievance trends and implement preventative strategies.

Human Resources Oversight:

• Oversee all core HR functions including recruitment, onboarding, performance management, compensation and benefits, employee relations, policy development, learning & development, and workforce planning.
• Provide supportive leadership, coaching, mentorship to the Manager, People and Culture and the HR team.
• Ensure compliance with employment legislation, health and safety requirements, ESA, and regulatory standards.
• Implement and monitor people analytics and metrics to inform decision-making and measure organizational health.
• Establish and monitor HR key performance indicators (time-to-fill, quality of hire, retention and engagement metrics, etc.) to ensure the effectiveness and efficiency of the People and Culture department.
• Builds and monitors HR budgets, meets with finance team and leadership team to adjust spending priorities.
• Responsible for budget management and ensuring service delivery of HR department on scope within budget.
• Oversee or conduct workplace investigations as required.

Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging:

• Advance organizational commitments to equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging.
• Partner with diverse employee groups to ensure culturally responsive practices.
• Address systemic barriers and promote equitable policies and practices.

Additional duties as required:

• Act as the agency’s privacy officer.
• Act as the lead for job evaluation process for the agency.

Highlights of What You Bring

Education:

• Bachelors degree in Human Resources, Industrial Relations, Organizational Development, Business Administration or related field.
• A combination of an undergraduate degree in an unrelated field, coupled with specialized training in Human Resources Management (i.e. a post-diploma certificate), with relevant experience may be considered
• Masters degree in Industrial Relation is an asset
• CHRP, CHRL or CHRE is an asset

Experience:

• Minimum 7–10 years of progressive human resources leadership experience, including senior-level responsibility.
• 7 years+ experience as the most senior level HR leader in a non profit organization is an asset
• Demonstrated experience working in a unionized environment, including collective agreement administration and grievance management.
• Experience leading or supporting collective bargaining processes.
• Experience with policy development and oversight.
• Experience in the non-profit sector strongly preferred.
• Proven track record of leading culture change, organizational development, or people-focused transformation initiatives.

Knowledge, Skill, and Abilities:

• Deep understanding of labour relations principles, collective bargaining, and grievance/arbitration processes
• Strong working knowledge of the ESA, OHSA, Human Rights Code, and pay equity
• Understanding of equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging principles, particularly in mission-driven or community-based organizations
• Exceptional relationship-building and stakeholder management skills
• Strong negotiation, mediation, and conflict resolution skills
• Ability to translate complex labour and HR issues into clear, practical guidance
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities, with sound judgment and discretion
• Experience maximizing productivity through optimizing HRIS system capabilities
• Ability to lead through complexity, ambiguity, and change
• Champions Equity, Inclusion and Belonging with a specific focus on Anti-Black Racism is an asset.
• Bilingualism is an asset.

Other Requirements:

• Broad Record Police Check is required.

Salary: $106, 250

Full job description available here: https://youthlink.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/JD-Director-People-Culture-Labour-Relations-Feb-2026.pdf

How to Apply

• Submit application to managementposting@youthlink.ca - Please quote posting #1537 in the subject line.
• As an equal opportunity employer, we encourage applications from qualified candidates who reflect the diversity of our communities. If you have a disability and require accessibility accommodations with the application process, please contact accessibility@youthlink.ca.
• Job posting deadline: Open until filled