Retail HR Manager: Strategic People Partner

Indigo Books & Music; Calgary; On-site; CAD 90,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Indigo Books & Music is seeking a Manager, Human Resources for Calgary or Edmonton to partner with regional leadership and client groups. You will embed and elevate HR processes, act as the primary HR advisor, and drive talent, performance and total rewards programs in a retail setting.

You will collaborate with Centres of Excellence to deliver scalable people solutions, lead staffing and onboarding, and support succession planning and engagement initiatives across multiple sites in Canada.

Qualifications

• Minimum 5-7 years progressive experience in HR business partner or generalist role, primarily in a multi-site or retail environment
• Post-secondary education in HR, business or a related field
• CHRL or similar HR professional designation an asset
• Proven ability to navigate complex employee and labour relations issues.
• Strong knowledge of Canadian employment legislation
• Strong business acumen and strategic problem-solving
• Trusted advisor with excellent communication, relationship-building and stakeholder engagement skills
• Cultural engagement expert with a focus on operational excellence
• Demonstrated curiosity for surfacing and effectively and efficiently solving problems to assist leaders in resolving organizational, people and change priorities
• Full alignment with Indigo values as reflected in the Guiding Principles statements
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to effectively manage competing priorities
• Previous experience with UKG (HRIS) an asset
• Ability to travel independently up to 25% across assigned regions, including overnight travel within the Canadian market; a valid driver’s license is required
• Occasional travel to Indigo Home Office (located at 620 King St W, Toronto, ON M6K 0C6, Canada)
• Access to a private and consistent home office environment suitable for confidential remote work
• Bilingual (English/French) considered an asset.

Responsibilities

• Build trusted partnerships with business leaders and regional people leaders, providing strategic HR guidance aligned to business objectives, workforce planning, talent strategies, and organizational effectiveness
• Act as the primary HR advisor and advocate for assigned client groups, ensuring effective implementation, communication, and adoption of enterprise and retail people programs including annual HR processes
• Provide expert guidance and coaching on employee relations, performance management, risk mitigation, and complex people matters, ensuring compliance with employment legislation, company policies, and HR best practices
• Translate business strategy, market trends, and operational priorities into people plans and organizational solutions that support growth, performance, and change
• Leverage people analytics, business insights, and workforce trends to identify opportunities and risks, informing proactive talent, engagement, and organizational decisions
• Help to define employee engagement goals and action planning strategies to drive increased engagement and enhance overall team performance
• Conduct sensitive investigations with a high degree of professionalism, discretion, care and expertise
• Partner with leaders to design and implement organizational changes, talent strategies, engagement initiatives, and communication plans that strengthen culture, leadership capability, and team effectiveness
• Partner with leaders on talent acquisition, succession planning, development planning, and retention strategies to build strong leadership pipelines and organizational capability
• Serve as a subject matter expert and liaison between the business, HR teams, and Centres of Excellence to ensure integrated, practical, and impactful people solutions
• Collaborate with HR Centres of Excellence to design, deliver, and embed people programs, policies, processes, and initiatives that meet the needs of assigned client groups
• Support the successful execution of key talent processes, including staffing and onboarding, talent planning, annual performance and potential processes, succession planning and career planning
• Support the successful execution of key total rewards processes including annual merit and bonus cycles, equity assessments, and compensation recommendations
• Drive continuous improvement by identifying opportunities to enhance people practices, processes, systems, and ways of working, with a focus on scalability, efficiency, and long-term organizational effectiveness

Education

Post-secondary education in HR, business or a related field

Tools

UKG HRIS

Job description

Indigo Books & Music is seeking a Manager, Human Resources for Calgary or Edmonton to partner with regional leadership and client groups. You will embed and elevate HR processes, act as the primary HR advisor, and drive talent, performance and total rewards programs in a retail setting.

You will collaborate with Centres of Excellence to deliver scalable people solutions, lead staffing and onboarding, and support succession planning and engagement initiatives across multiple sites in Canada.