VP, Human Resources

VP, Human Resources

ELIGIBLE FOR REFERRAL: PRIORITY

Reports To:   Chief Executive Officer

Every employee must honour the vision, mission and values of Northern Savings Credit Union. 

Primary Purpose:

The VP, Human Resources (VPHR) is a member of the Senior Leadership Team who provides strategic direction and oversight of all human resources functions for Northern Savings Credit Union (NSCU) to ensure the credit union attracts, develops, and retains top talent. This leader translates business strategies into goals, objectives, developing and administering policies and programs in an effort to ensure exemplary member service. 

This business unit leader is responsible for development, implementation, and administration of NSCU resources and training policies, programs, services, systems and processes, providing for engagement of employees, and managing the operations to be efficient and effective. Taking action to mitigate current and emerging risk and providing for financial health of the unit while contributing to the operational and financial health of the Credit Union as a whole, while ensuring Culture Risk is appropriately addressed and mitigated. 

The VPHR is to conduct their duties while demonstrating positive leadership within the Credit Union and externally in the community. This role is responsible for shaping workplace culture, driving employee engagement, and aligning HR strategies with the credit union’s mission, vision and long-term business goals. The VPHR is to inspire the employees of the business unit to achieve their maximum potential and produce results in the best interest of the credit union while respecting the members.

Key Accountabilities:

Human Resources Management

• Works collaboratively with other areas of the business to ensure the effective implementation of human resources and training programs, services and initiatives.
• Coaches managers to ensure that the programs/resources HR and training provide are valuable and used to meet NSCU’s needs. 
• Acts as a resource, providing guidance and advice to all management and supervisory staff on interpretation of all HR programs and policies. 
• Overall responsibility for effective functioning of the business unit and attaining stated objectives.
• Identifies process improvements and implements such and shares internally.
• Overseas and addresses day to day administrative issues of the business unit. Motives the Human Resources staff in support of service excellence

Talent Management

• Oversee recruitment, retention, on-boarding, performance management, and leadership development.
• Drive succession planning and talent development for critical roles across the organization.
• Ensure training and development programs strengthen employee skills and support career progression.
• Consults with managers on recruitment and selection and assists with identification of staffing needs. Analyses positions and establish the selection criteria and ratings.
• Effectively manage the performance of all reporting staff through personal development, regular performance reviews, and recognition and ensuring their conduct is in accordance with corporate personnel policies. 
• Participates in recruitment processes and supports the selection of candidates. 
• Implements performance management systems and measures.
• Provides performance feedback, coaching and career development to managers, teams and employees to maximize probability of success. 
• Oversees the performance documentation record system. 

Total Compensation

• Oversee the design and administration of competitive compensation and benefits and rewards programs.
• Ensure alignment with industry benchmarks and organizational performance. 
• Implements job evaluation procedures and consults with managers to prepare job descriptions. 
• Works with finance in the development of the payroll budget and HR’s expense budget and monitors these budgets on an on-going basis.

Risk Management and Financial Health

• Identifies the inherent risks which the division has responsibility for and develops appropriate responses and mitigation of those risks. 
• Maintains confidentiality over information as appropriate to the sensitivity of the information and within privacy requirements.
• Develops and maintains relevant management level policy for the division and ensure HR policies and practices comply with employment standards, human rights, privacy and occupational health and safety legislation.
• Identify and mitigate people-related risks, including culture risk, retention and compliance risk. 
• Ensures appropriate action and adherence to policies, with respect to performance management is taken throughout the Credit Union, including discipline if required. 

Labour Relations 

• Leads communications with union representatives and shop stewards.
• Administrates and interprets the collective agreements. 
• Responds and facilitates grievances. 
• Maintain positive union/employee/management relations.
• Provides advise on issue relating to labour and employee relations including hiring, discipline and termination. 
• Organize and attend the collective bargaining sessions within timelines in collective agreement.

Employee Engagement 

• Leads by example the credit union’s values, culture, and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. 
• Build positive capable teams to meet the mandate of the business units. 
• Build a positive work environment that is motivating to employees.
• Foster a positive, member and employee focused workplace culture that supports high performance and engagement. 
• Lead employee engagement strategies, including recognition, communication and wellness programs. 
• Responsible for measuring and providing information to management on employee engagement and employee feedback. 
• Work with direct reports in establishing annual goals and targets and supervises progress on meeting those goals. 
• Foster a culture consistent with the credit union’s values and service philosophy.
• Conduct annual performance planning including completion of annual performance appraisals for direct reports and ensure this occurs for indirect reports.  

Strategy & Planning

• Serve as a strategic advisor to the CEO and executive team on all people-related matters.
• Develop and execute HR strategies that support organizational growth, member service excellence and community impact. 
• Provide leadership in organizational design, workforce planning and succession planning. 

Credit Union Support

• Is a key resource and participates as member of Governance, Ethics and Human Resources Committee (GEHR)
• Participate in credit union meetings, community meetings as required.
• Ensure department meetings are held in a timely and efficient manner to maintain communication with staff.
• Identifies amendments required to policies at governing and managing level in light of changing circumstances within the Credit Union, regulatory requirements and in the external marketplace.
• Support CEO and Senior Management in setting short and long-term credit union goals; implement plans to achieve goals.
• Support CEO and Senior Management in the development and achievement of sales targets. 
• Collaborates with the Senior Leadership Team, Management, and with Corporate Office staff.

Additional Business Interests

• Ensures business units meet compliance and regulatory requirements as well as abiding by corporate level policy.
• Proactively identifies inherent risk to business units and implements appropriate risk responses to mitigate to acceptable tolerance.
• Ensure operations of business units meet legislative requirements.
• Monitor/ensure expenses to maximize profitability of the business units.
• Provide reporting to the CEO as required and follow up on initiatives.

Knowledge of Market and Industry

• Maintain up to date knowledge of markets with regards to services, products, rates, and fees.
• Maintain knowledge of current market activity locally and nationally in order to identify opportunities for Northern Savings.
• Maintain knowledge of economic factors and implications for the behaviour of credit risk.
• Maintain awareness of competitor’s products and features in products.
• Ensure professional image of units to members and internal customers. 
• Continually markets the benefits of membership to non-members to grow the membership
• In conjunction with the Senior Leadership Team, provide recommendations regarding service delivery channels and opportunities that may enhance sales and service.

Core Effectiveness Skills:

Interpersonal/Communication

• Builds and sustains effective working relationships between staff, members, and community
• Communicates clearly and concisely
• Strong written communication skills
• Effective listening and telephone skills
• Ability to support effective interaction between and among people and groups of people
• Deals with conflict positively and supports others to resolve differences
• Ability to mediate differences between individuals and groups of people
• Ability to persuade, influence, negotiate, motivate people and events
• Public speaking skills/facilitation skills
• Ability to sustain openness and trust, provide emotional support and effectively handle expression of strong feeling

Leadership

• Strategic and forward-thinking leadership
• Recognition of and respect for people’s diversity and individual differences
• Coach, mentor, develop and motivate employees, board, members, community, external groups
• Facilitate interaction among people
• Develop strategies to improve team, individual and credit union performance
• Instils commitment to values and vision
• Provide an environment that supports skill development
• Take responsibility for personal actions and the actions of others

Managing Change

• Culture and change management expertise
• A positive attitude toward change
• Continuous learning and development
• Ability to balance work and home responsibilities
• Stress management
• Effective organizational and time management skills
• Understanding of the change management process; leads changes as they relate to credit union strategic direction
• Ability to diagnose organization’s readiness for change
• Forecast change and understand its impact on organizational effectiveness and direction
• Drives change as it relates to the strategic plan
• Monitor and evaluate the effects of change
• Flexible and adaptable in implementing the credit union’s goals

Problem Solving and Decision Making

Problem Solving

• Identify problems, discover plans or patterns, link information to strategic direction, reach conclusions, evaluate action in relation to organizational development/department operations
• Ability to recognize when a problem requires referral to General Manager or Board
• Identifying opportunities based on an in-depth analysis of complex issues
• Take action

Decision Making

• Ability to make sound decisions based on policies, procedures and experience
• Setting objectives, determining strategy and implementing a plan
• Decisions that support achieving strategic direction
• Take action

Working in Teams

• Ability to inspire, coach, and develop leaders 
• Work collaboratively to accomplish common goals
• Lead in team development and in identification of team roles, responsibilities and goals
• Lead project teams and ensure collaborative relationships
• Understand team dynamics
• Provide focus and direction
• Recognize and celebrate team successes
• Lead in development of strategies to improve team and individual performance
• Enable team members to make decision within the scope of their position

Innovation/Creativity

• Finding and communicating new ideas for old problems
• Presenting new ideas that have productive outcomes (results in the generation of practical applications or development of new procedures)
• Pushing the limits of knowledge and ability to identify and create new ideas/solutions
• Development of new programs and policies

Strategic Thinking and Planning

• Ability to relate actions to the strategic plans of the organization
• Knowledge of the organization and the credit union system
• Recognition of global implications
• Sensitivity to organizational cultures
• Implement strategic plan and through actions, motivate others to achieve corporate direction
• Ensuring priorities are strategically based
• In cooperation with the board, establish and confirm vision and strategic direction
• Identify an organization structure and management style to meet credit union objectives
• Using strategic plan, develop, prioritize and implement organizational/department plans and strategies

Core Occupational Skills

• Sales skills
• Recognizes basic financial terminology
• General understanding of industry conditions
• General knowledge of competitors products and services
• General knowledge of the features and benefits of credit union products
• Human Resource management (Employee Engagement)
• Understands Compensation and benefits
• Recruitment
• Performance management, conflict resolution
• Compliance and labour standards, human rights legislation
• Human resource policy and procedure development, implementation, interpretation
• Planning/forecasting/budgeting
• Credit Union product knowledge
• Knowledge of Credit Union philosophies and principles
• Working knowledge of Credit Union technology and operations
• Understanding of Credit Union Act and regulations; policies and procedures

Education & Experience

• University degree is required, bachelor’s degree or diploma in Human Resources Management.
• Chartered Professions in Human Resources (CPHR) designation or equivalent is required. 
• Six to ten years of related management experience is required. Or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Extensive financial services experience is required.
• Expert knowledge of Human Resources and their regulatory requirements is required.
• Experience evaluating and drafting policy and procedures is preferred.
• Extensive experience in evaluating all aspects of Human Resources at a corporate level is required.

Travel is a requirement of this position.