Manager, Workforce Development & Retention - Environmental Services

GFL Environmental Inc.•Edmonton, AB

65d

About The Position

We are looking for a Manager, Workforce Development & Retention to design and lead the strategies that keep our best talent growing with us. You will be responsible for the full employee journey - from a new hire’s first day to their third promotion. This role is perfect for someone who enjoys building programs from scratch, analyzing turnover trends, and creating clear career paths that ensure our employees see a long-term future here.

Requirements

Relevant Experience: 5+ years in People Operations, Talent Management, or Employee Experience with a proven track record of building programs from the ground up.
Analytical Thinking: You are comfortable using data to tell a story and can turn turnover statistics into a strategic plan.
Frontline Fluency: You understand the unique challenges of frontline leaders and can translate high level corporate goals into practical training for supervisors.
Project Management: You are highly organized and capable of managing multiple large-scale projects, from a total onboarding redesign to annual survey cycles.
Strong Communication: You can easily build trust with employees at all levels, from entry-level staff to senior executives.

Responsibilities

Onboarding Redesign: Lead the end-to-end overhaul of our onboarding process. You will build a centralized, consistent program that ensures every new hire is welcomed and prepared for success.
Retention Initiatives: Develop and implement proactive programs aimed at reducing turnover and increasing overall employee satisfaction.
Employee Feedback: Own the employee survey process (Pulse and Annual) and conduct regular check-ins and "stay interviews" to identify and fix cultural friction points.
Turnover Reporting: Track and analyze attrition data, providing leadership with clear reports on why people leave and actionable recommendations to improve retention.
Career Pathing: Create clear, transparent career frameworks so employees understand the skills and milestones needed to move up or across the organization.
Internal Hiring Strategy: Design and manage the process for internal moves, ensuring we prioritize our own talent for open positions before looking externally.
Talent Development: Partner with department heads to identify high-potential employees and build development plans that prepare them for their next role.
L&D Partnership: Work closely with the Learning & Development team to identify skill gaps across the company and help design relevant training solutions.
Frontline Supervisor Training: Lead the rollout of specialized training for frontline supervisors. You will equip our first-time and shop-floor leaders with the essential coaching, communication, and conflict resolution skills they need to lead effectively.
Profile Overhaul: Support the large-scale overhaul of our job profiles. You will work with department leads to ensure every role has a clear, modern, and accurate job description.
Skill Alignment: Lead the process of defining core competencies and technical skills for each role, ensuring alignment across the organization so employees know exactly what is expected for their current and future positions.
Standardization: Assist with building a centralized library of job descriptions and competency models to be used in hiring, performance reviews, and promotions.

Benefits

We believe in great careers, making a positive impact on the environment and supporting our people with their life ambitions.
We aspire to create the right jobs in a way that brings you along with us.
At GFL, growth isn’t just for our business—it’s for our people.
Because we see the potential in all our employees to do whatever it is they set their mind to, and we’re proud to support them in that journey.
We consider our employees’ personal goals, helping them create the career, and life, that they desire—whether it’s advancing in their job, learning new skills, forming lasting relationships, or mentoring others, while having time to pursue other life ambitions.
With safety and sustainability at the core of what we do, we all come together to form “Team Green”—united by our shared purpose to provide environmental solutions that enable our customers and the communities we serve to be Green For Life.
We’re proud to say that working for GFL is more than a job.
It’s an opportunity to make a difference and grow tremendously along the way.
Regardless of the work we’re doing today, we’ve got our sights set on the big picture—not just tomorrow, but for life.
GFL empowers those looking for growth in their career and lives, whether that's on our Field Operations teams or Professional Services teams.