Senior Director of People

Encore Travel•Montreal, QC

5d•Hybrid

About The Position

This role is for an intrapreneurial individual who thrives on building and shaping systems within a company, with the ownership and drive of someone building their own venture. The primary focus is on leading the company through a significant transformation as it becomes an intelligence company, where approximately 90% of daily tasks can be automated, leaving the remaining 10% that requires human judgment, relationship building, and unique problem-solving. The successful candidate will be responsible for understanding this transformation deeply and translating it into practical changes for every role, in every country. This involves redesigning systems for hiring, development, measurement, and compensation to ensure that automation is perceived as growth rather than a threat. The role emphasizes the importance of the "invisible" aspects of a business, such as culture and employee experience, which are difficult for competitors to replicate. The Senior Director of People will build the underlying structure that makes these qualities inevitable. The position also involves leading a capable HR team, ensuring compliance and risk management across multiple countries, and designing a system that moves people upwards, making them more capable and valuable over time. The role reports directly to the CEO and will include building dedicated talent acquisition capacity.

Requirements

An intrapreneur who builds inside a company with ownership.
Has shipped at least one thing nobody asked for that everybody now depends on.
A creative systems thinker who understands what structures reward, punish, and crack under growth.
Curious enough to understand the intelligence layer well enough to explain its impact to long-term employees without flinching or overpromising.
Trusts the unquantifiable and can defend intangible values in a business context.
Cares about the sum of the team and what exists between people.
Has an instinct for who's worth betting on, built from experience, emotional intelligence, self-awareness, curiosity, and business judgment.
Has led people through a real transformation, not just a reorganization.
Has coached leaders directly and can articulate the impact of that coaching.
Has carried HR compliance and employment risk across borders in a regulated industry.
Understands the difference between a policy that reads well and one that holds under pressure.

Nice To Haves

Someone who would start by understanding the vision and moving every person upwards into it, without losing what is intrinsically human.

Responsibilities

Build the structure that supports the company's transformation into an intelligence company.
Translate the company's strategic vision into practical changes for every role and employee.
Redesign systems for hiring, onboarding, development, coaching, promotion, and reskilling.
Ensure that automation is perceived as growth and opportunity, not a threat.
Develop and implement a system that makes the company a loved place to work.
Lead the full people function, reporting directly to the CEO.
Build dedicated talent acquisition capacity.
Oversee HR compliance and employment risk across four countries.
Sharpen existing HR functions, ensuring they are robust but not mistaken for the core job.
Develop leaders into exceptional people builders.
Ensure every person at Encore is more capable, valuable, and themselves after three years.