Director of HR

ThoughtFarmer; Vancouver; On-site; CAD 120,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive health benefits

Home office allowance

Learning and development allowance

Monthly staff events

Job summary

ThoughtFarmer in Vancouver is seeking a Director of HR to build the HR function and implement a compensation framework. As the first dedicated HR leader, you'll play a crucial role in shaping the people infrastructure for both ThoughtFarmer and OXD, enabling organizational growth and enhancing company culture.

With responsibilities including developing HR strategies and coaching management, the position offers a hybrid work model and a salary range of $120,000–$140,000. Ideal candidates have 8+ years in HR, including leadership experience.

Qualifications

• Experience in designing compensation frameworks.
• Background in performance management and feedback systems.
• Ability to influence senior leaders effectively.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement compensation framework.
• Develop career ladders and performance systems.
• Coach and develop managers across organizations.
• Lead talent acquisition and workforce planning.
• Ensure HR compliance and improve workplace culture.

Skills

Design compensation frameworks

Performance management systems

Effective feedback delivery

Influencing without authority

Education

8+ years in HR with senior leadership experience

Job description

Ready to build the people function for two great organizations?

ThoughtFarmer is a software company that helps organizations share knowledge and build culture, and OXD is a design and technology consultancy. While we’re two separate companies based in Vancouver, we have a shared history and we operate as sister companies, sharing leadership, culture, and a long common history.

We’re at an inflection point and we’re looking for a Director of HR who wants to shape what comes next. As our first dedicated HR leader at this level, you’ll have a rare opportunity to help define our “people infrastructure”: designing compensation frameworks, creating career pathways, and establishing the performance culture that will carry ThoughtFarmer and OXD through our next stage of growth. But this isn’t just a builder role, you’ll also be a steady coach to managers and leaders across both organizations, helping them navigate the hard conversations and grow into the leaders our people deserve. Reporting directly to the President and working alongside leadership teams across both organizations, your work will have an immediate, visible impact on how we grow, and how we take care of our people while we do it.

If you’re energized by the idea of leaving your mark on an organization, rather than inheriting someone else’s playbook, this is that role.

What we’re looking for from our Director of HR

You’re a pragmatic builder. You know the difference between a process that creates clarity and one that creates paperwork, and you design accordingly. You’re comfortable walking into ambiguity, assessing what’s actually broken, and making decisions that stick. You don’t need a mandate to act; you earn trust with leaders and then move.

You’ll be embedded across the leadership teams for ThoughtFarmer and OXD, developing relationships across two organizations while maintaining consistency in how people processes work. You have one direct report, our People Operations Manager, and you’ll be their coach and advocate from day one.

• Design, implement and maintain a company-wide compensation and total rewards framework, including salary bands, benefits, review cycles, and clear criteria that employees and managers understand and trust
• Develop career ladders and progression frameworks that give employees a clear picture of how they grow
• Build a consistent performance and feedback system that raises the frequency and quality of feedback across both organizations
• Lead talent acquisition and workforce planning, ensuring we’re hiring ahead of need and building pipelines that reflect our growth trajectory
• Coach and develop managers in feedback delivery, compensation conversations, and conflict resolution
• Own HR compliance across both organizations: employment legislation, policy handbooks, and the processes that keep us audit-ready
• Develop programs that strengthen employee engagement, recognition, and culture across both organizations
• Establish clear HR ownership of core people processes, reducing ambiguity across both organizations
• Partner with the President and team leads to align on people priorities and drive cross-functional adoption

Is this the right fit for you?

• You know what it takes to design a compensation framework or performance process from scratch and get people to actually use it
• You can tell when a process is too heavy and you’ll cut it before it creates friction
• You take ownership of outcomes and hold yourself accountable to them
• You’re comfortable with difficult conversations such as compensation fairness, performance accountability, and manager gaps.
• You’re effective with senior leaders. You can influence without authority and challenge without alienating.

Must-have requirements

• You have 8+ years of progressive HR experience, with at least 3 years in a senior or leadership role
• You’ve designed and implemented compensation frameworks, including salary banding and review processes
• You have direct experience building or significantly improving performance management systems
• You’ve coached managers to be more effective in feedback, compensation conversations, and conflict resolution
• You’ve worked cross-functionally with senior leadership to drive alignment on people programs
• You’re based in the Metro Vancouver area and able to work hybrid (primarily WFH with regular in-office days)

Things that will give you an edge

• Experience working across multiple business units or organizations simultaneously
• You’ve built career ladder frameworks in a knowledge work or tech-adjacent environment

Impact!

This is a new role for our organizations. While we have many of these practices in place at some level, you will have the opportunity to streamline and refine how we work. The systems you build will define how people experience growth, fairness, and recognition at ThoughtFarmer and OXD. You’ll be able to design and implement in an environment that values your skills and is committed to doing people operations right.

Both ThoughtFarmer and OXD have been recognized as one of Canada's Best Workplaces, and we take that seriously. You’ll be joining a team that genuinely cares about the quality of the work environment and looks to you to help us keep earning that designation.

Flexibility

We trust our team to do great work from wherever they’re most productive. Remote-first by design, with flexibility built in, not bolted on.

Hybrid work environment

ThoughtFarmer and OXD embrace a hybrid work model, allowing our team members to balance the flexibility of working from home with the benefits of in-person collaboration. All staff — remote or local — enjoy a quarterly home office allowance that they can use to buy whatever they need to be productive outside the office.

You’ll join the team in our Vancouver office two days a week, with the flexibility to work remotely the rest of the time.

Compensation and benefits

• The salary range for this role is $120,000–$140,000 which is dependent on level of experience
• Comprehensive extended health benefits plan
• Paid and banked overtime pay
• Home office allowance
• Learning and development allowance
• Monthly staff events (in-person and online)
• Celebrating differences and equal access to opportunity