Senior Specialist, Work Organization

University of Ottawa; Ottawa; On-site; CAD 97,000 - 121,000; Full time

Job description

Posting Reason

New Position

Job Type

Employee

Anticipated Duration in Months (for contracts and temporary assignments)

12

Job Family

Leadership, Learning, and Organizational Development

# of Open Positions

1

Faculty/Service - Department

Work Organization

Campus

Main Campus

Union Affiliation

N/A

Date Posted (YYYY/MM/DD)

2026/11/10

Applications must be received BEFORE (YYYY/MM/DD)

2026/12/01

Hours per week

35

Salary Grade

Non-Union Grade NC8 - 35 hrs

Salary Range

$96,570.00 - $120,712.00

About Human Resources

Our Human Resources team is recognized for its collaboration and service excellence. Through the development of strategic partnerships, our dynamic team supports uOttawa’s vision and strategic plan by creating and delivering high-quality, innovative, and client-centered HR programs and services. Our focus is to attract, develop, retain, and inspire a talented, diverse, healthy, and engaged workforce. If you want to be part of an impactful team, work in a rewarding and enriching environment and have an innovative mindset, our HR team is the place where you belong!

Position purpose

As a key member of the Work Organization Centre of Expertise, the Senior Specialist drives the development of effective organizational structures and ensures roles are clearly defined, aligned, and evaluated with consistency and fairness. The incumbent provides expert advice on organizational design and job design to support strategic decision‑making and operational efficiency. By partnering with leaders and HR teams, the incumbent enhances organizational clarity, shapes clear career pathways, and strengthens internal equity. The incumbent enables scalable, transparent, and future‑ready organization through equitable design and rigorous evaluation practices.

In this job, your responsibilities will include

• Classification and Job Design: Leads job evaluation activities using the established framework for each employee group, including chairing or co-chairing job evaluation committees to ensure equity and alignment across the university. Offers advanced guidance on job design and classification issues.
• Organizational Design: Works with stakeholders to design and optimize organizational structures that align with the university’s strategic goals with an optic of cost-effectiveness.
• Tools and Training: Assesses management and community needs, and develops tools, resources, and training sessions to build the knowledge base on topics related to job descriptions, job design principles, and organizational design best practices across the university.
• Continuous Improvement: Identifies and implements improvements to workflows associated with job evaluation and organizational design and supports business processes to strengthen consistency, transparency, and operational effectiveness for the Work Organization team. Contributes to institution‑wide continuous improvement projects by applying specialized expertise aligned with the mandate of the Centre of Expertise.

What you will bring

• Bachelor’s Degree in Human Resources or in Business, or an equivalent combination of education and experience
• A minimum of seven (7) years of experience in classification and organizational design, preferably in a multi-union environment
• Expert knowledge of at least one job evaluation method, preferably the Korn Ferry Hay method
• Deep knowledge of the principles of organizational design, classification, job design, and job architecture
• Knowledge of the principles of project management, and experience contributing collaboratively on projects of institutional importance
• Demonstrated ability to influence managers and decision‑makers on matters of organizational design and classification, to uphold equity and consistency
• Strong problem solving and analytical skills
• Proficiency with MS Office and ERP systems, preferably Workday
• Ability to build consensus and resolve conflicts
• Excellent ability to communicate complex concepts clearly, both verbally and in writing
• Ability to successfully manage multiple competing priorities
• Bilingualism – French and English (spoken and written)

Key Competencies at uOttawa

Here are the required competencies for all or our employees at uOttawa:

• Planning: Organize in time a series of actions or events in order to realize an objective or a project. Plan and organize own work and priorities in regular daily activities.
• Initiative: Demonstrate creativity and initiative to suggest improvements and encourage positive results. Is proactive and self-starting. Show availability and willingness to go above and beyond whenever it is possible.
• Client Service Orientation: Help or serve others to meet their needs. This implies anticipating and identifying the needs of internal and external clients and finding solutions on how to meet them.
• Teamwork and Cooperation: Cooperate and work well with other members of the team to reach common goal(s). Accept and give constructive feedback. Able to adjust own behaviour to reach the goals of the team.

The University of Ottawa embraces diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We are passionate about our people and committed to employment equity. We foster a culture of respect, teamwork and inclusion, where collaboration, innovation, and creativity fuel our quest for research and teaching excellence. While all qualified persons are invited to apply, we welcome applications from qualified Indigenous persons, racialized persons, persons with disabilities, women and LGBTQIA2S+ persons. The University is committed to creating and maintaining an accessible, barrier-free work environment. The University is also committed to working with applicants with disabilities requesting accommodation during the recruitment, assessment and selection processes. Applicants with disabilities may contact [e-mail] to communicate the accommodation need. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.

Note: if this is a union position

The hiring process will be governed by the current collective agreement related to the union affiliation noted above; you can click here to find out more.

If this is a front‑line position with responsibilities to interact with students, selected candidates must be rated at the Low Advanced proficiency level or higher for both oral comprehension and reading comprehension in their second official language. The rating is determined by a proficiency test designed by the Official Languages and Bilingualism Institute.

Prior to May 1, 2022, the University required all students, faculty, staff, and visitors (including contractors) to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 as defined in Policy 129 – Covid-19 Vaccination. This policy was suspended effective May 1, 2022 but may be reinstated at any point in the future depending on public health guidelines and the recommendations of experts.