Director, Employee & Workplace Experience

Safe Software; Surrey; On-site; CAD 150,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Safe Software seeks a Director, Employee & Workplace Experience to lead the People & Culture function. You will own strategy and execution for culture, belonging, and the employee journey, partnering with Marketing and executives.

This leadership role builds programs, measures outcomes, and scales experiences across Canada, the US, and beyond. You will shape Day 1, onboarding, recognition, and events, while driving internal communications, employer branding, and DEI initiatives.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in employee experience, people ops, or similar.
• Product-like mindset for journey maps, personas, and feedback loops.
• Editorial discipline in internal communications.
• Experience building or evolving an Employer Value Proposition (EVP).
• Experience leading DEI initiatives with measurable outcomes.

Responsibilities

• Own the employee lifecycle as a product, from offer to exit, with clear outcomes.
• Redesign onboarding journeys with measurable engagement and emotional arc.
• Build recognition, belonging, and life@Safe programming.
• Lead internal communications strategy and scalable channels across the org.
• Define and embed Safe’s Employer Value Proposition and manage candidate-facing culture content.
• Own the physical workplace strategy and events calendar.

Skills

Employee Experience

Onboarding design

Internal communications

Employer branding

People ops partnership

Data-driven

Job description

Safe Software is looking for a Director, Employee & Workplace Experience to join our People & Culture team. As Director, Employee & Workplace Experience, you will build and own the function that makes life at Safe the kind of experience people write about on Glassdoor, talk about in interviews, and remember at their retirement party.

This is a player‑coach Director role reporting directly to the Chief People Officer. You will own both strategy and execution — setting the vision, building the programs, running the operations, and measuring what matters. You will partner closely with Marketing, the HRBPs, and the executive team, and you will lead a small team spanning employee experience, workplace, and facilities. This is not a support role. You will be the CPO’s right hand on anything that touches culture, belonging, and the story we tell about working here. We have an immediate opening and are excited to find the right candidate to join our team.

About the Team

Safe Software builds FME — the data integration platform trusted by 25,000+ organizations in over 100 countries. We are profitable, PE-backed, and on a clear path to $250M ARR. Our team of 350+ Safers works across Canada, the US, and a growing EMEA footprint.

We have strong culture bones: a strong Glassdoor rating, a set of values Safers genuinely live, and a Day 1 Mindset that keeps us moving fast. What we have built is good. What comes next has to be intentional — and this role is where that intention gets designed, owned, and measured.

Why This Role, Why Now

The best employee experiences in the world share one thing: they treat the employee journey like a product. Every touchpoint is designed. Every milestone is felt. Culture isn’t a slide in an all-hands; it’s what happens in the first week, the first review, the first moment someone feels like they belong.

Safe is ready to build that — not because we have a problem, but because we have an opportunity. The connective tissue that keeps a company of 350 people feeling like a team is not accidental. It gets built by someone. Specifically, the gaps this role closes:

• We are growing globally, and culture does not travel on its own — it has to be planted, tended, and measured.

• Internal communications has no single owner, no cadence, and no voice. At 350 people across multiple countries, that is a risk.

• Our employer brand is passive, which makes every senior hire harder and more expensive than it needs to be.

• Onboarding is a logistics exercise rather than an experience. Day 1 should feel like the best decision a new Safer ever made.

• DEI has no strategy, no owner, and no reporting — both a risk and a missed opportunity.

What You’ll Be Doing

As Director, Employee & Workplace Experience, you will:

Employee Experience Architecture

• Own the employee lifecycle as a product, from offer‑accept to exit, with intentional design at every stage.

• Redesign Day 1 and the 30/60/90‑day onboarding journey with the rigor of a customer onboarding playbook: clear outcomes, emotional arc, and measurable engagement.

• Build the recognition, milestone, and belonging programs that make Safers feel seen, not just compensated.

• Lead the Fun Committee, hybrid working culture, and all life@Safe programming with a community‑first rather than perks‑first mindset.

• Use data to lead: eNPS, Culture Guard, pulse surveys, and engagement trends tracked on cadence, not on demand.

Internal Communications

• Build and own Safe’s internal communications strategy — the cadence, channels, voice, and Safers‑first protocol.

• Translate leadership decisions, strategy shifts, and company milestones into clear, engaging, human messaging with no corporate speak.

• Partner with the executive team to ensure every major announcement lands with context, not just content.

• Design communications infrastructure that scales as we grow: all‑hands rhythm, async comms standards, and the editorial calendar for Safers.

Employer Brand and EVP

• Define and embed Safe’s Employer Value Proposition — the story we tell about what it is really like to work here.

• Own Glassdoor, LinkedIn Life, and all candidate‑facing culture content in partnership with Marketing.

• Build employer brand infrastructure ahead of EMEA and US hiring scale, so culture is exported intentionally rather than accidentally.

• Turn our Glassdoor score from a passive asset into an active recruiting tool.

DEI Strategy

• Build Safe’s DEI strategy from the ground up: goals, programs, ERGs, and reporting cadence.

• Ensure equity is embedded in people processes rather than bolted on, partnering with People Ops and the HRBPs to make it structural, not symbolic.

• Report quarterly to leadership and annually to the board.

Workplace and Physical Experience

• Own the physical environment as part of the employee experience, with Surrey HQ setting the cultural standard for all Safe offices.

• Directly manage the Facilities Manager and the events and workplace program.

• Lead the events strategy: all‑hands, offsites, global moments, and the cultural calendar.

Qualifications, Skills, and Competencies

Safers come from a variety of backgrounds with a diversity in skills and knowledge. That said, we find that those who are most successful in this role have experience with the following areas.

Required Skills:

• You have spent 8+ years obsessing over how people feel at key moments whether those people were customers, users, or teammates. You have built onboarding, culture, or experience programmes from scratch and you can show the outcomes, not just the process.

• You think like a product designer, working in journey maps, personas, and feedback loops.

• You have run internal communications with real editorial discipline.

• You have defined or significantly evolved an Employer Value Proposition.

• You have events or culture programming experience.

• You use data fluently — eNPS, pulse surveys, and engagement metrics are your native language.

• You have managed physical workplace or facilities at a growing company.

• You can influence a leadership team without a mandate; you earn the room.

Nice to Have:

• Experience at a global or multi‑site company.

• Experience partnering with Marketing on brand campaigns.

• Community‑building or ERG program experience.

• A background in change management.

• Experience leading DEI initiatives that produced measurable, not performative, outcomes.

• Most importantly: you believe employee experience is not a cost centre but a competitive advantage — and you are done working for organizations that haven’t figured that out yet.

About Safe Software

Safe Software transforms organizations with FME, the only All‑Data Any‑AI Enterprise Integration Platform connecting all your data, anywhere, at any velocity.

With over 30 years of expertise and 25,000+ enterprise customers across 125+ countries, we simplify your data journey, wherever it leads.

Founded in 1993, Safe is headquartered in Surrey, BC with over 300 team members and counting. We’re always looking for talented individuals with diverse backgrounds who are determined to learn and grow. Are you ready to join the team?

Our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

Safe Software is an equal opportunity employer and we truly believe that innovation and strength begin with diversity and inclusion.

We welcome all candidates regardless of race, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, ability, disability, national or ethnic origin, political belief, religion, or family status.

Should you require accommodations during the recruitment process, please contact [e-mail].

Notice Regarding Use of Automated Tools in Hiring

At Safe Software, we use automated tools to help us process applications and identify qualified candidates. These tools may assist in screening resumes and summarizing interview content based on the information you provide. This helps our team review applications efficiently while ensuring every candidate is considered based on the requirements of the role.

Please be assured that the final hiring decision is always made by a member of our team. For more information on how we protect your privacy, please see our policy. If you have questions about this process, please contact us at [e-mail].