Senior Human Resources Business Partner

IWK Health; Halifax; On-site; CAD 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading health organization in Halifax is seeking a Senior Human Resources Business Partner to provide expert consultation on employee and labor relations. The ideal candidate has at least five years of HR consulting experience in a unionized environment, with a strong focus on collective agreements and arbitration processes. This full-time role offers competitive compensation and a hybrid work model.

Qualifications

• Minimum five years of HR consulting experience in a highly unionized environment.
• Strong knowledge of collective agreements and employment legislation.
• Excellent communication skills and experience in customer service.

Responsibilities

• Provide coaching to HR Business Partners (HRBPs) on employee and labor relations.
• Represent IWK at arbitration hearings and maintain labor relations.
• Develop policy references and provide education to HRBPs.

Skills

HR consulting experience

Collective bargaining

Grievance handling

Interpersonal skills

Analytical skills

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources

Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP)

Job description

Job Overview

Company: IWK Health

Req ID: 211487

Location: Halifax

Type of Employment: Permanent, Full-Time (100% FTE)

Start Date: ASAP

Union Status: Non-union, Management/Non Union Bargaining Unit

Compensation: $43.7957 - $54.7447 /hour

Closing Date: 22 October 2025 (Applications accepted until 23:59 Atlantic Time)

Company Profile

IWK Health is a respected academic health sciences centre located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, providing tertiary and primary care for two million children, youth, adults, and families each year across the Atlantic region. With approximately 4,000 employees, physicians, volunteers, and learners across Nova Scotia, we foster a culture of training, mentorship, and collaboration, offering modern facilities and flexible virtual options. Our anti-racist commitment is integral to our care and employment practices. We acknowledge the unceded territory of Mi’kma’ki and actively work to eliminate discrimination, strengthen equity, and support diverse communities, especially Indigenous, Black, persons with disabilities, and 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals.

The Opportunity

Reporting to the Manager, Labour Relations and HR Partnerships, the Senior Human Resources Business Partner (Sr HRBP) is a subject matter expert in Employee and Labour Relations, providing day‑to‑day coaching and supporting HR Business Partners (HRBPs) while driving strategic partnership. Key consulting, coaching, and advisory responsibilities include collective agreement interpretation, grievance and arbitration case management, classification appeal and compensation work, human rights legislation, employment legislation, and unionized severance processes. The Sr HRBP maintains effective labour/management relationships, acts as step 3 grievance designer, supports the collective bargaining negotiation process, and serves as Employer Chair on Joint Labour Management Committee meetings.

Accountabilities

• Ensure HRBPs function in a strategic partnership role regarding collective agreement interpretation and alternative solutions for employee and labour relations issues.
• Act as step 3 grievance designer for all individual grievances, preparing IWK responses while balancing management rights and fair employee treatment.
• Collaborate with legal counsel and HRBPs to develop the Employer’s case for arbitration hearings.
• Represent IWK at hearings with external agencies such as the Human Rights Commission.
• Conduct operational impact assessments for medical and workplace accommodation decisions.
• Serve as Employer Chair for all four Joint Labour Management Committee meetings, responding promptly to discussed issues.
• Participate in collective bargaining by gathering and supporting proposal data.
• Develop policy references and provide education to HRBPs and other teams as needed.
• Provide negotiation expertise for unionized and non-union severances.
• Support planning for staffing redundancies, reorganizations, or layoffs that minimize patient care disruption.
• Contribute employee and labour relations expertise at departmental and organizational meetings.
• Maintain positive relationships with unions to ensure effective labour relations.
• Identify opportunities to enhance HRBP knowledge and skill development in labour and employee relations.
• Advance leadership development in employee and labour relations, facilitating education sessions.

Hours of Work

7.5‑hour shifts; Monday to Friday, 8:30 am – 4:30 pm. Hybrid position with on‑site flexibility required.

Your Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree (Human Resources concentration or equivalent) or a certificate in Human Resources Management.
• Minimum five (5) years of HR consulting experience in a highly unionized environment with multiple collective agreements; health care or government experience preferred.
• Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP) preferred or willingness to pursue.
• Proven experience interpreting collective agreements, managing arbitrations, and working collaboratively with unions.
• Strong knowledge of collective agreements, employment guides, and applicable legislation (e.g., privacy, Labour Standards Code).
• Demonstrated experience in collective bargaining, grievance handling, and arbitration processes.
• Excellent customer service, interpersonal, and communication skills.
• Consultative, influencing, and coaching proficiency.
• Accountability, dependability, flexibility, perseverance, and results orientation.
• Effective research, analytical, facilitation, and presentation skills.
• Knowledge of health care labour trends.
• Strong planning, organizational, prioritization, and time‑management capabilities.
• Problem‑solving, decision‑making, and confidentiality management skills.
• Ability to work in a busy environment with changing priorities.

Additional Information

An offer of employment is conditional upon the completion of satisfactory background checks and confirmation of credentials. Preference is given to bargaining unit employees; applicants changing unions should clarify seniority and benefits. Please note that we only contact applicants selected for interview/testing. If invited to an assessment process, you have the right to request accommodation. If you are an employee of IWK Health, apply through the internal careers page to ensure you are flagged as an internal applicant.

Key Attributes

• Seniority level: Mid‑Senior
• Employment type: Full‑time
• Job function: Human Resources
• Industries: Hospitals and Health Care

Location

Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada

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