Manager, Human Resources

Aecon • Toronto, ON

14d • CA$110,000 - CA$120,000

About The Position

The Human Resources Manager, Utilities is a strategic HR business partner responsible for supporting and enabling the people priorities of Aecon’s Utilities business across Canada and the United States. Working closely with operational and functional leaders, senior HR leadership, Centres of Excellence, and Talent Acquisition, this role provides both strategic and hands-on HR leadership across employee relations, performance management, workforce planning, talent development, succession, organizational effectiveness, employee engagement, and HR compliance.

This role plays a critical part in translating business priorities into practical, high-impact people strategies that strengthen leadership capability, build workforce readiness, support operational performance, and enhance the employee experience. The Human Resources Manager acts as a trusted advisor to leaders, balancing business objectives, employee needs, policy requirements, and legislative obligations while promoting a culture of accountability, inclusion, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

In addition to providing day-to-day HR business partner support, the Human Resources Manager will lead and contribute to sector-wide HR initiatives that improve organizational effectiveness, drive consistency in HR practices, strengthen talent pipelines, and support the Utilities sector’s growth and transformation agenda.

Requirements

• Post-secondary education in Human Resources Management, Business Administration, Industrial Relations, or a related discipline.
• 8–10 years of progressive Human Resources experience, ideally within a complex operational or matrixed environment.
• Minimum of 2 years of people leadership or supervisory experience.
• Broad HR generalist experience across the employee lifecycle, including employee relations, performance management, workforce planning, talent management, recruitment, compensation, organizational effectiveness, and HR compliance.
• Strong business partnering capability, with the ability to build credibility with operational leaders and provide pragmatic, business-aligned HR advice.
• Demonstrated experience supporting leaders through complex employee relations matters, performance issues, organizational changes, and talent-related decisions.
• Strong understanding of employment legislation, HR policies, and compliance requirements across Canadian jurisdictions; U.S. HR experience considered an asset.
• Experience partnering with Centres of Excellence, Talent Acquisition, Total Rewards, and senior HR leadership to implement enterprise programs and sector-specific initiatives.
• Strong analytical skills, with the ability to interpret workforce data, identify trends, simplify complex issues, and recommend practical actions.
• Experience with HRIS platforms; SAP experience considered an asset.
• Strategic and operational HR judgment, with the ability to balance long-term priorities and immediate business needs.
• Strong consulting, coaching, and advisory skills with the ability to influence leaders at multiple levels.
• Excellent problem-solving skills, with the ability to assess complex issues, identify risk, and develop practical solutions quickly.
• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, dynamic, matrixed environment with competing priorities and evolving business needs.
• Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and follow-through.
• Ability to build alignment and consensus among stakeholders while maintaining momentum and accountability.

Nice To Haves

• Organizational development, change management, or leadership development experience is highly desirable.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a trusted advisor to operational and functional leaders, providing proactive HR guidance that supports business priorities, operational performance, and effective people leadership.
• Partner with leaders to understand workforce needs, organizational challenges, talent risks, and business objectives, translating these insights into practical HR strategies and solutions.
• Provide strategic and day-to-day support across the full employee lifecycle, including workforce planning, employee relations, performance management, talent development, succession planning, compensation, engagement, and organizational effectiveness.
• Contribute to the development and execution of Utilities sector people priorities in alignment with broader HR and enterprise objectives.
• Lead the planning, implementation, and continuous improvement of sector-wide HR programs and initiatives, ensuring alignment with business needs and organizational priorities.
• Partner with senior HR leadership and Centres of Excellence to implement enterprise-wide programs within the Utilities sector, ensuring thoughtful change management, leader readiness, and effective adoption.
• Identify opportunities to improve HR processes, leader capability, employee experience, and operational consistency across the sector.
• Support the execution of HR initiatives related to organizational design, leadership development, employee engagement, talent planning, workforce readiness, and culture.
• Provide guidance to leaders on employee relations matters, ensuring issues are handled professionally, consistently, and in accordance with company policies, employment standards, collective agreements where applicable, and legislative requirements.
• Assess employee relations matters with sound judgment, balancing business needs, employee experience, risk mitigation, and fairness.
• Ensure HR activities comply with applicable Canadian and U.S. employment legislation, internal policies, and company standards.
• Promote consistent application of HR policies and practices across the Utilities sector while recognizing business-specific needs and operational realities.
• Support leaders with performance management, objective setting, development planning, and coaching to ensure clear alignment between individual performance expectations and sector objectives.
• Facilitate talent reviews for operational teams, ensuring discussions are insight-driven, action-oriented, and focused on strengthening talent pipelines and leadership readiness.
• Support talent and succession management initiatives by identifying critical roles, assessing bench strength, and ensuring appropriate succession plans are in place for key roles across the sector with a focus on strengthening talent pipelines and leadership readiness.
• Partner with leaders to identify high-potential talent, capability gaps, readiness risks, and development opportunities.
• Support workforce planning activities that enable the sector to proactively address resourcing needs, critical skill gaps, leadership capacity, and business continuity.
• Provide input into organizational structure, role clarity, team effectiveness, and change impacts to support business performance and scalability.
• Collaborate with leaders and HR partners to implement solutions that improve organizational effectiveness, communication, accountability, and decision-making.
• Leverage workforce insights and HR data to support informed decision-making and proactive people planning.
• Collaborate with hiring managers and the Talent Acquisition team on recruitment activities, workforce planning needs, and critical searches.
• Support leaders in defining role requirements, assessing talent needs, and ensuring hiring decisions align with business priorities and long-term workforce plans.
• Support proactive talent pipeline strategies for critical roles within the Utilities sector.
• Provide informed guidance to leaders on compensation practices, working collaboratively with the Total Rewards team to ensure alignment with internal frameworks, market considerations, and business needs.
• Work with appropriate HR teams and business leaders to ensure learning solutions are selected, implemented, reinforced, and tracked effectively.
• Support employee development and capability-building efforts that strengthen current performance and future readiness.
• Manage and provide day-to-day direction to HR team members, ensuring clear priorities, strong execution, and alignment with sector and HR objectives.
• Foster a collaborative, solutions-oriented HR team environment focused on service excellence, consistency, accountability, and continuous improvement.

Benefits

• Ensure you and your family receive the services and benefits needed to support your mental, emotional, and physical well-being.
• Are intentional when it comes to investing in your development. We help you build your career and advance your skills through our Aecon University, tuition reimbursement, and Leadership Programs.
• Are committed to creating work environments focused on mutual respect, teamwork, collaboration, and new ideas, through meaningful initiatives, training, partnerships with Veteran groups, our Aecon Women in Trades and diversity programs, as well as our Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), to ensure we are building with top talent and harnessing our collective strengths within every aspect of our culture.
• Operate responsibly by managing risk, safety, and environmental considerations across all our projects and surrounding communities.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager
• Education Level: Associate degree