Manager Human Resources – Retail

Indigo Books & Music; Toronto; Hybrid; CAD 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading retail organization in Toronto is seeking a Manager, Human Resources – Retail to partner with regional leadership teams, driving HR excellence and compliance across operations. The role focuses on strategic HR initiatives, employee engagement, and labor relations in a hybrid working environment. Candidates should have experience in multi-site environments, knowledge of Canadian employment law, and be strong communicators. This opportunity offers a dynamic workplace culture and the chance to impact organizational success.

Qualifications

• 5-7 years of experience in HR business partner or generalist role, primarily in retail.
• 3-5 years direct experience in labour relations in a unionized environment.
• Strong knowledge of Canadian employment legislation.

Responsibilities

• Build relationships with business leaders and establish credibility as a strategic partner.
• Provide expertise on collective agreement interpretation and grievance handling.
• Monitor legislative changes to ensure compliance with employment laws.
• Support staffing processes and onboarding for retail leadership roles.

Skills

Business acumen

Strategic problem-solving

Relationship-building

Communication skills

Cultural engagement

Organizational skills

Education

Post-secondary education in HR or business

CHRL designation

Tools

UKG (HRIS)

Job description

Mission

The Manager, Human Resources – Retail partners with regional retail leadership teams and client groups to foster a high-performance culture by embedding and elevating exceptional HR processes and practices consistent with Indigo’s Guiding Principles. This role acts as a strategic business partner providing proactive HR and labour relations practices to support operational success in a primarily retail environment consisting of unionized and non-unionized stores. By collaborating with HR Centres of Excellence, the Manager, Human Resources – Retail ensures the effective delivery of core HR processes - including Staffing, Onboarding, Performance & Potential, Training & Development, Succession and Total Rewards - driving organizational success through people while ensuring compliance with employment legislation and any applicable collective agreements.

This role is hybrid, with field leadership as well as regularly working out of Indigo’s Home Office in Toronto, as it supports one or more Retail and/or Home Office regions. The Manager, Human Resources – Retail reports to the Director, Human Resources – Retail.

Key Accountabilities

Business Partnership

• Build relationships with business leaders and regional people leaders to establish credibility as a trusted advisor and strategic partner
• Provide strategic guidance on workforce planning and talent strategies
• Partner with retail leadership at all levels on change management initiatives and communication strategies
• Understand market trends, business models and business strategy, and translate those requirements to deliver organizational and talent-related insights
• Support organizational design/operational model changes within assigned client groups and impact of changes on talent
• Leverage people analytics to identify risks and trends, driving insight to enhance overall organizational culture, team effectiveness and risk mitigation
• Support various HR initiatives to all assigned client groups.

Employee and Labour Relations/ Engagement

• Help to define employee engagement goals and action planning strategies to drive increased engagement and enhance overall team performance
• Collaborate on the development and implementation of proactive labour relations strategies to maintain positive union-management relationships
• Provide expertise on collective agreement interpretation, grievance handling, and arbitration preparation
• Support labour negotiations and discussions in collaboration with senior HR leadership, business leadership, and legal counsel
• Provide effective coaching, counseling and performance strategies on all employee relations situations in alignment with best practices demonstrating sound understanding of employment law and applicable legislations
• Monitor legislative changes and ensure compliance with provincial and federal employment laws and governance, as applicable to assigned client groups
• Partner with people leaders on high risk/complex written communications across client groups

Talent Management/ Training & Development/ Staffing

• Work with HR Centers of Excellence (COEs) on development and execution of client group-specific people solutions related to talent management, development planning, succession planning, training programs (facilitation and coordination)
• Support the staffing process for assigned client groups and work with leaders to ensure effective hiring decisions, onboarding & orientation
• Directly support recruitment and onboarding of impactful regional and store leadership roles
• Identify talent issues and work with leaders to design and implement plans to address
• Support the administration of foundational HR processes to ensure timely and accurate record keeping in UKG

Liaise between Client Groups and Centres of Excellence (COE)

• Demonstrate a continuous improvement mindset to solve individual issues, and to instill best practices or systems thinking to embed processes and solve for future issues
• Obtain relevant data from HR COEs and act as a liaison for assigned client groups to ensure organizational HR programs land effectively
• Communicate and support assigned regional teams to understand policy changes and embed HR programs – e.g., annual processes, succession planning
• Act as subject matter expert for retail client groups when partnering with HR and business COEs on development of people processes, projects and policies

Qualifications

Work Experience / Education / Certifications

• Minimum 5-7 years progressive experience in HR business partner or generalist role, primarily in a multi-site or retail environment
• Minimum 3-5 years direct labour relations experience in a unionized environment
• Post-secondary education in HR or business; CHRL designation an asset
• Experience supporting leaders and businesses through change
• Strong knowledge of Canadian employment legislation
• Proven ability to navigate complex employee and labour relations issues
• Previous experience with UKG (HRIS) an asset

Competencies / Skills / Attributes

• Strong business acumen and strategic problem-solving to assist leaders in solving organizational, people and change priorities
• Trusted advisor with excellent communication, relationship-building and stakeholder engagement skills
• Cultural engagement expert with a focus on operational excellence
• Experience navigating complex employee relations situations
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to effectively manage competing priorities

Other (travel, Bilingual, etc.)

• This role will require 1-2 days per week at the Indigo Home Office (located at 620 King St W, Toronto, ON M6K 0C6, Canada) and 2-4 days working remotely from a combination of home office and field locations
• Ability to travel independently up to 25% across assigned regions; a valid driver’s license is required

• Bilingual (English/French) considered an asset

Additional Information

At Indigo, all applications submitted are reviewed in detail by our HR team. In certain aspects of the hiring process artificial intelligence (AI) tools may be used, specifically for screening and assessments. These tools support our team and are used to help bring relevant criteria to the foreground and do not replace human judgment. We are committed to using AI responsibly, fairly, and in compliance with applicable employment and anti-discrimination laws. We regularly review these tools to help prevent bias or discrimination.

At Indigo, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility are core to our values. We integrate these principles into our training, policies, and hiring practices and continuously evolve to reflect the needs of the communities we serve. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and lived experiences, including but not limited to individuals who identify as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color), members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, and persons with disabilities. If you require an accommodation during the recruitment process, please contact Human Resources at [e-mail]

This posting is for a current opportunity within Indigo.