Director, Labour Relations

destinationone Consulting•Area M (Beautiful Nicola Valley - North), BC

5d•CA$177,959 - CA$197,732•Onsite

About The Position

KIRAH Executive Search & Leadership Advisory has been retained by the Vancouver School Board (VSB) to lead the search for its next Director, Labour Relations. This is a senior leadership appointment within VSB’s Employee Services Division, offering an opportunity to provide strategic labour relations leadership across one of British Columbia’s largest and most complex public education environments. Reporting to the Executive Director, Employee Services, the Director, Labour Relations will serve as VSB’s senior labour relations leader and a trusted advisor to District leadership and key internal and external stakeholders. The successful candidate will bring deep technical labour relations expertise together with executive judgment, political awareness, leadership presence, and the ability to build trust in a highly unionized and publicly accountable environment. This mandate will appeal to a labour relations leader who can move confidently between strategy and execution, lead through complexity, strengthen team capability, and help shape the longer-term direction of VSB’s Labour Relations function. The Vancouver School Board is one of Canada’s largest and most diverse public school systems, serving more than 50,000 students across approximately 110 schools and programs, supported by more than 7,700 employees. The District is committed to equity, inclusion, accountability, continuous improvement, and creating learning environments where every student can succeed. As a large public-sector employer operating within a highly unionized and publicly accountable environment, VSB requires sophisticated labour relations leadership capable of balancing organizational responsibilities, employee and union relationships, legislative obligations, operational realities, and broader public-sector considerations. The Director, Labour Relations will provide strategic leadership and expert advice across VSB’s labour relations portfolio, which spans collective bargaining, collective agreement administration and interpretation, grievances, mediation and arbitration, workplace investigations, employee discipline, human rights matters, legislative compliance, labour-management relationships, leadership development, and labour relations strategy. VSB operates within a particularly complex labour relations environment involving 14 collective agreements. The incoming Director will be expected to develop a strong understanding of the major terms, operating implications, and recurring issues across these agreements while ensuring that labour relations advice remains consistent, credible, practical, and aligned with the broader needs of the District. This is both a strategic and hands-on leadership role, where the Director will be expected to shape the direction of the portfolio while remaining sufficiently connected to significant matters to exercise judgment, provide confident advice, and support the team through complex files.

Requirements

Seven to ten or more years of progressive labour relations experience.
Significant experience leading collective bargaining and grievance arbitration processes.
Demonstrated experience within complex, multi-union and highly regulated environments.
Strong expertise in collective agreement administration and interpretation.
Experience with grievances, mediation, arbitration, workplace investigations, employee discipline, and human rights matters.
Strong relationship-building, conflict-resolution, communication, and leadership capability.
A degree in Human Resources, Labour Relations, Law, or a related field.
CPHR designation.
Experience within public education, broader public sector, healthcare, municipal government, post-secondary education, or another sophisticated unionized environment will be highly relevant.

Nice To Haves

A graduate degree is considered an asset.

Responsibilities

Establish and advance the strategic direction of VSB’s Labour Relations function.
Provide trusted advice to the Executive Director, Employee Services and senior District leadership.
Bring an enterprise perspective to significant labour relations matters.
Assess legal, operational, organizational, reputational, and stakeholder implications when advising on complex issues.
Strengthen consistency and quality across labour relations practices.
Develop longer-term priorities and operating plans for the function.
Provide leadership across collective bargaining strategy and negotiations.
Support effective administration and interpretation of VSB’s collective agreements.
Guide the organization through complex bargaining, grievance, mediation, and arbitration matters.
Maintain credible and constructive working relationships with union partners.
Ensure the employer position is represented confidently, professionally, and consistently.
Translate complex labour relations issues into concise and decision-ready executive advice.
Provide clear recommendations where legal, labour, operational, and reputational considerations intersect.
Anticipate emerging risks and identify appropriate courses of action.
Exercise sound judgment in highly sensitive and visible matters.
Keep senior leadership appropriately informed without over-escalating routine issues.
Coach and mentor labour relations professionals.
Create meaningful developmental opportunities.
Expose team members to increasingly complex files, bargaining, mediation, and arbitration.
Strengthen succession capability within the function.
Promote accountability, professional standards, and sound judgment.
Build confidence and capacity throughout the team.
Represent the employer with confidence and credibility.
Maintain professionalism through disagreement and high-pressure situations.
Build trusted relationships while maintaining clear employer accountability.
Navigate grievances, bargaining, investigations, and other difficult matters constructively.
Recognize the broader organizational impact of labour relations decisions.
Examine existing practices, processes, and metrics.
Identify opportunities to improve consistency and responsiveness.
Strengthen documentation, advice, communication, and execution standards.
Develop a longer-term vision for the Labour Relations portfolio.
Support a culture of continuous improvement and professional accountability.