Director, People & Culture

Coast Mental Health•Vancouver, BC

About The Position

As Coast Mental Health continues to grow in scale, complexity, and impact, we’re looking for a senior leader to strengthen the culture and people practices that enable our employees to thrive. As Director, People and Culture, you will lead an engaged team with a comprehensive portfolio spanning human resources, recruitment, labour relations, compensation and benefits, occupational health and safety, training and professional development, performance management, employee engagement, and the volunteer program. Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer and serving as a member of the Senior Leadership Team, you will shape strategic and operational decisions that influence how Coast attracts, supports, develops, and retains people in an evolving social and health services unionized workforce environment. This role requires a leader who can think strategically while staying grounded in execution, and who can approach high-stakes priorities with compassion and collaboration. You will continuously improve People and Culture systems, coach leaders through complex and sensitive situations, and translate values into consistent day-to-day practice that advances care for thousands of people with mental illness and addiction.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field; CPHR/CHRP (or equivalent) is an asset.
Significant progressive HR/People & Culture leadership experience, including accountability for multiple functional areas (labour relations, total rewards, talent, engagement, safety, learning).
Demonstrated experience leading labour relations and employee relations in a unionized environment, including grievance and investigation processes.
Experience in non-profit and/or public sector environments—preferably in health, housing, social services, community health, and/or mental health settings.
Proven commitment to equity, Reconciliation, and supporting mental health and housing.
Exceptional emotional intelligence, with well-honed self-perception skills, a compassionate approach to leadership, and an authentic commitment to collaboration.
Strong strategic thinking paired with disciplined execution and operational follow-through.
Exceptional written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills.
Ability to manage complexity, multiple priorities, and changing demands.
High degree of judgment, discretion, initiative, and professionalism.
Excellent judgment and steady leadership in sensitive, high-stakes situations.
Ability to simplify complexity, build practical tools, and improve consistency across sites and teams.
Confidence with technology and digital tools (including M365), and comfort leveraging enabling technology responsibly
Financial acumen and experience managing budgets and resources.

Nice To Haves

CPHR/CHRP (or equivalent) is an asset.

Responsibilities

Lead Coast’s People Strategy and Culture: Set the strategic direction for People & Culture to strengthen organizational health, workforce stability, and employee experience. Champion a values-driven culture grounded in equity, inclusion, belonging, and Reconciliation across the employee lifecycle. Use workforce insights and practical change management to promote adoption of policies, programs, and tools.
Enable Leaders to Hire, Grow, and Lead Well: Strengthen recruitment and onboarding systems so Coast can attract and retain talent in a competitive social sector environment. Coach leaders on performance management and goal planning by building a consistent rhythm of expectations, feedback, development planning, and documentation. Build leader capability with practical tools and training that works in the real world of community-based mental health services.
Provide Senior Labour Relations and Employee Relations Leadership: Lead labour relations strategy and practice in a unionized environment, including interpretation/administration of collective agreements and implementation of negotiated changes, working closely with HEABC. Provide senior oversight for grievances, investigations, conflict resolution, and complex employee relations matters, ensuring fair, timely, and consistent outcomes. Build effective working relationships with unions and support leaders to navigate difficult conversations with professionalism and care.
Oversee Total Rewards, Safety, and Wellbeing Practices: Lead compensation and benefits strategy and administration to support internal equity, market alignment, and retention, ensuring alignment with HEABC direction. Provide leadership for Occupational Health & Safety and compliance, strengthening safety culture, training completion, and consistent practices. Oversee disability and injury/illness management processes, including WorkSafe, short/long-term disability, and absence management.
Drive Learning, Development, and Engagement: Design and oversee training and professional development programs that support continuous learning, leadership development, and mandatory training requirements. Lead employee engagement strategy and action planning, supporting leaders to translate feedback into visible improvements. Strengthen systems and processes to deliver responsive, high-quality People & Culture services across all Coast programs and sites.
Strengthen Coast’s Volunteer Program: Provide oversight for Coast’s volunteer program as part of a total workforce approach, providing role clarity, onboarding, training, supervision, recognition, and risk management. Build structures that support volunteer retention and engagement while protecting operational integrity and staff capacity.

Benefits

100% employer-paid benefits for employees and their families.
Vision Care, Dental Care, Prescription Drugs, Naturopath, Acupuncture, Chiropractic, Group Life, Massage therapy, Physiotherapy, and Unlimited Out-of-Province and Out-of-Country Emergencies.
General sick-leave accruals.
Long-term disability programs.
Short-term disability programs available to exempt positions only.
5 days of paid leave for Indigenous Employees for Ceremonial, Cultural, and Spiritual events per year.
8 weeks of paid leave for gender affirming care for medical procedures for transgender and gender diverse employees, cumulative total.
Employee and Family Assistance Program, which includes personal counselling, Life Coaching, Financial Coaching, Legal Referral and Advisory Services, and Health Coaching.
Cognitive behavioural therapy program (CBT abilities program) and Headversity for managing a variety of life issues and includes self-paced therapeutic support.
Municipal Pension Plan with guaranteed lifetime monthly pension when you retire.