Vice-President, People and Culture

SickKids Foundation; Toronto; Hybrid; CAD 209,000 - 249,000; Full time

Job summary

A prominent charitable organization in Toronto is looking for a Vice President, People and Culture to drive innovative people strategies, enhance culture, and promote equity and inclusion. This role demands extensive HR leadership experience, a strategic vision, and a commitment to fostering workplace excellence. With a competitive compensation package and flexible work options, this is a pivotal opportunity to impact child health philanthropy significantly.

Benefits

Flexible work arrangements

Comprehensive benefits package

Tuition reimbursement

Pension plan

Qualifications

• Minimum of 10 years in HR leadership roles.
• Experience in developing People and Culture strategies.
• Strong knowledge of equity, diversity, and inclusion initiatives.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership for People and Culture.
• Drive equity, diversity, and inclusion initiatives.
• Shape workforce strategies in response to trends.

Skills

Progressive leadership in HR

Thought leadership

Strategic vision

Culture driver

Data and analytics proficiency

Knowledge of Canadian employment legislation

Education

HR or related degree

Tools

HRIS systems

Job description

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About the Job

About Us

SickKids Foundation, with over 50 years of philanthropic impact, is Canada's largest charitable funder of child health research, learning and care, raising over $200 million last year. As a national charity, SickKids Foundation invests in national and international initiatives to benefit children in Canada and around the world. As the fundraising partner to The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), we are aligned in supporting Precision Child Health (PCH), the future of tailoring medicine to each child's unique traits so SickKids can diagnose faster, treat smarter, and predict better.

We are driven by our core values of integrity, collaboration, excellence, innovation, and inclusion, with goals of delivering a superior donor experience, investing in our people and culture, driving innovative and sustainable fundraising, and disrupting the market through data and technology.

SickKids Foundation is committed to an inclusive culture by embedding equity, diversity and inclusion in our policies, practices, and behaviours. We aim to build awareness and skills in this area, both internally and with our partners. Our commitment extends to creating a safe, positive work environment. For details on our Equity, Diversity & Inclusion commitment, please click here.

As we evolve to meet the future, SickKids Foundation is reimagining its operations model. The newly created Vice President, People and Culture will be instrumental in enabling a stronger, more resilient organization—one that prioritizes people as a core driver of strategic success.

Description Of The Position

We’re seeking an experienced, visionary leader to become our first Vice President, People and Culture—an executive role created to elevate our people strategy and better prepare the Foundation for the future through strategic talent, culture, and workforce planning.

As a key member of the senior leadership team, the VP will be a strategic advisor and integrator, ensuring people are at the heart of our mission and work. The role is designed to create space for forward looking planning, enabling the Foundation to consider existing and potential strategies to make smart, deliberate decisions about people, capabilities, and culture today to be ready for tomorrow.

In addition, working in close partnership with the Director, People and Culture, the VP will set the vision, alignment, and systems that empower a high-performing, values-driven People & Culture team.

You Will

Strategic Leadership

• Drive future-focused, people-first leadership across the Foundation.
• Advance the mission, vision and values of the Foundation in partnership with the Foundation’s President and CEO and senior management colleagues.
• Build cross-functional relationships and influence at all levels to align people priorities with Foundation strategy to drive execution of the Foundation's strategic plan.
• Serve as a trusted advisor and coach to the CEO, COO, and senior management team, championing a bold people vision that anchors our strategy and unlocks future potential.
• Ignite our aspirational culture that sets the standard for excellence in our sector, modelling behaviour and driving work to continue to nurture our values.
• Support and champion equity, diversity and inclusion to further embed this into our culture.
• Co-lead enterprise-wide initiatives, ensuring people and culture are not just aligned with our strategy, but driving it forward.
• Act as an advocate for all our staff, integrating fairness and equity in driving the business forward.
• Anticipate what’s next—from generational shifts and emerging skills to the transformative role of AI and technology—and shape the workforce strategies that prepare us with the right talent, tools, and structures.
• Deliver timely insight to the Board and Committees on key People and Culture (P&C) and EDI programs, performance indicators and emerging risks.
• Participate in short-term and long-term planning with the Chief of Staff and Chief Operating Officer and senior management colleagues.

Functional Leadership of the People & Culture Portfolio

• Advance and integrate the full People & Culture function to deliver strategic value, insight, and impact.
• Set the strategic direction for the People & Culture portfolio—shaping how we attract, grow, recognize, and engage our people across every touchpoint.
• Develop, lead, attract, inspire, manage a diverse, talented and high performing team to ensure the mission and core values of SickKids Foundations are put into practice by holding everyone accountable for supporting our goal of providing the ultimate donor and employee experience.
• Demonstrate ongoing commitment to both personal and team professional development.
• Partner closely with the Director, People and Culture, supporting the delivery of key programs and fostering an integrated, strategic P&C function.
• Steward enterprise-wide talent, total rewards and EDI strategies, in partnership with the Director, People and Culture—supporting the delivery of forward-looking programs in talent acquisition, succession, leadership development, total rewards and career growth, ensuring EDI is integrated in all aspects of our business.
• Champion employee experience, fostering clarity, trust, and connection throughout the employee lifecycle.
• Advance our digital evolution, leading the design and adoption of an integrated HRIS and people analytics capability that uses data to fuel insight and action.
• Elevate People Operations, ensuring the seamless, efficient delivery of employee services in line with best practices that enable great experiences and strengthen trust across the Foundation.
• Model inclusive leadership and partner with the EDI Committee to bring equity, belonging, and well-being to life in tangible ways.
• Guide organizational change by building resilience and adaptability in how we work, lead, and grow—equipping teams to thrive through transformation.
• Ensure strong people governance and risk oversight, aligning policy, practice, and reporting.

Qualifications

While we know that for any job posting no one candidate will possess the qualifications being sought in equal measure, below is an outline of the qualifications we believe are important for a candidate to bring to the position or for the successful candidate to develop while in the role:

• Progressive leadership in senior Human Resources roles with proven experience developing and executing innovative People and Culture strategies within a complex environment.
• Thought leadership – ability to combine business trends (social, technological, economic, political, environmental and demographic) and subject matter expertise to provide recommendations that are forward-looking and drive cutting edge people practices.
• Strategic vision – continually assess the changing needs of the business and design long-term solutions to ensure innovative and engaging people practices that advance, elevate and differentiate People & Culture.
• Culture driver – foster a strong team member culture and create an extraordinary place to work, grow and develop.
• Demonstrated ability to use data and analytics to inform people strategy, assess organizational health, and guide leadership decisions.
• Practical understanding of near and mid-term impact of workforce trends including the impacts of AI, automation, generational change, and skills of the future.
• Experience with HRIS implementations and/or HRIS optimization, as well as digital transformation in an HR context.
• Strong working knowledge of Canadian employment legislation, governance, and HR risk management.
• Skilled in governance, compliance, and risk management, with experience preparing materials for Board and executive-level reporting.
• Track record of enabling broad transformational and cross-functional change, managing multiple stakeholders and building culture within purpose-driven or complex organizations.
• A systems thinker and natural collaborator.
• Able to lead through influence, working with senior leaders to maintain and uphold organizational priorities/objectives.
• Demonstrated success in building a retaining “best in class” and high performing team to achieve goals by inspiring, developing and mentoring staff and building future leaders.
• High emotional intelligence enabling the best conditions for strong relationships and trust within the Foundation.
• Excellent oral, written and interpersonal communication skills with the ability to inspire diverse audiences and encourage greater engagement.
• Possess well-developed cultural competencies that contribute to your understanding and appreciation of diverse cultures.
• Demonstrated leadership in EDI, lived experience or significant knowledge and awareness of EDI.

This is a great opportunity to shape the future of work—and the future of philanthropy. We are an environment that looks to attract hardworking and committed people; people who want to challenge themselves and grow with a globally recognized brand that continues to change the world. If you are a strategic, inclusive people leader ready to create transformational impact, we invite you to apply.

• Position Status: Permanent Full-Time
• Date Posted: October 6, 2025
• Deadline: October 20, 2025
• Available: Internal and External Candidates
• Work Environment: Hybrid (2 days/week in office). Flexible work options are available.

Total Compensation Package

Hiring Salary Range: $209,131 – $248,086; with the ability to progress to a maximum of $284,992. To ensure fair and equitable pay at SickKids Foundation, placement on the salary range will be based on your years of experience, skills, and qualifications relevant to the Vice President, People & Culture.

To help you lead in the fight for kids’ health and to support your health, wellness, and career growth, in addition to competitive compensation, we offer a comprehensive benefit package (includes a flex benefit plan), tuition reimbursement, flexible work arrangements, pension plan and birth parent/parental top up – to name a few!

Please apply online by visiting our website: www.sickkidsfoundation.com

SickKids Foundation is committed to its people and the talents, capabilities, and perspectives they bring to our mission. We live that commitment by being open and accessible to all, by valuing and respecting every individual, and by equally supporting every employee. As an organization proud to have joined the BlackNorth Initiative’s CEO pledge, we uphold our commitment by inviting and encouraging individuals from diverse lived experiences from Black, Indigenous, communities of colour, people with disabilities, 2SLGBTQIA+ community and all candidates who may contribute to the further diversification of the Foundation’s community.

Candidates who require accommodation during the recruitment process should contact the People & Culture team at: [e-mail].

Location: Canada (Hybrid)