Director, People Operations - Technology & Ventures

Our employees are at the heart of what we do best: helping people, businesses and society prosper in good times and be resilient in bad times. When you join our team, you’re bringing this purpose to life alongside a passionate community of experts.
Feel empowered to learn and grow while being valued for who you are– here, diversity is a strength. You have our commitment to support you in reaching your goals with tools, opportunities, and flexibility. It’s our employee promise.
Our hybrid work model preserves the balance between working from home and enjoying meaningful in-person interaction. The needs for every role are different but on average, you will be together with your colleagues at least once per week, with our leadership team in office three to four days weekly to be present for their teams.
Read on to see how you can shape the future, win as a team, and grow with us.
About The Role
We are looking for a Director, People Operations to support our rapidly growing technology, and venture groups in Canada!
As Director, People Operations, you will be a strategic partner to our rapidly growing IT organization and strategic corporate venture arm.
Our diverse and expert teams span across Canada and cover the full technology value-chain from infrastructure to software engineering. We have aspiration to be one of the leading technology & venture teams supporting a world-class, values driven Canadian company. We are looking for a human resources leader to help us on this exciting journey.
In this role you will think strategically, developing plans and implementing programs that will be integral to our technology transformation and success of a growing organization. A significant part of your role will be supporting our technology and venture leaders as they look to attract, develop, engage, and improve the agility and delivery of their teams.
As a proven HR leader, you will support over 3,000 IT professionals, a small venture team and lead a dynamic and experienced team of HR professionals. You will serve as strategic, actioned oriented advisor to our recently appointed Canadian CIO and his dynamic leadership team. You will also work in partnership with a newly appointed VP of HR and Director, People Operations - Labs to transform and build a leading people operation. Sound up for the challenge?
Hiring Manager: Chris Reid, Vice-President – Human Resources; Technology, Data Science & Ventures
Workplace: Toronto (700 University) – Hybrid
Who We Are
Intact Financial is one of Canada’s largest and fastest growing financial services firms, we’re not only leading our industry, but we’re redefining what it means to work in it. Our business is insuring people’s homes, cars, and businesses – where we account for insuring close to 1 in 4 Canadians. As a continually recognized top employer, we’re committed to living our values and supporting our dedicated people who bring their best to work each day because they know their work matters.
Our people are at the heart of what we promise – getting people back on track and helping them prosper in good times and be resilient in bad times. We have over 20,000 employees who live our values every day and strive to deliver second to none service to our millions of customers across Canada, US, UK & Europe.
We have many brands that are a part of the Intact family that operate around the globe. In Canada, Intact Insurance and BrokerLink distribute insurance through a wide network of brokers, while belairdirect and Johnson Insurance delivers products directly to consumers.
Intact Ventures is the corporate venture capital arm of Intact Financial. Founded in 2015, Intact Ventures has quickly established itself as one of Canada’s leading venture investors. The team is actively deploying over $400M in early-stage start-ups around the world that are innovating and disrupting across the insurance, mobility, AI and data landscapes.
What You’ll Do Here

• Be the lead for talent management, cross-training and upskilling, internal talent rotation, succession, career mobility, etc. Lead organizational culture change related to talent management – leveraging your change management expertise
• Be a catalyst for Intact’s values, culture, and employee engagement. Be a tireless ambassador in supporting and promoting Intact’s diversity, equity and inclusion vision and initiatives
• Developing a learning and development and culture – focusing on upskilling and cross-skilling both technical and leadership skills
• Oversee all day-to-day HR operations ensuring compliance with provincial legal requirements, including employment standards, pay equity, privacy, records management, occupational health and safety, pension, and human rights code compliance
• Proactively identify blockers and facilitate solutions to improve our performance, collaboration, and engagement. Support continuous improvement and introduce modern best practices to our people strategies to better engage and enable our people and teams
• Lead various working and action committees, acting as a strategic advisor to leaders and business unit managers – providing alignments to guide strategic decisions
• Lead a team of experienced HR professionals in establishing HR as valued partner by supporting their development via coaching, modeling key behaviors/strategies, encouraging collaboration, providing guidance to facilitate resolutions to work challenges
• Some travel to Montreal will be required (<15%)
  
• Own the recruitment and workforce strategy and partner closely with Talent Acquisition and executive group; proactively identifying strategies to attract talent and identify talent gaps before they affect the business
• Partner with key executive leadership in people planning and organizational design efforts, ensuring the right people are in the right jobs for talent development, succession planning, and for current and future business needs

What You Bring To The Table

• Bilingual (English/French) is a strong asset
• Post-secondary degree or equivalent experience
• High energy, self-starting professional with strong strategic thinking and exceptional ethics and integrity
• Strong understanding and interest in information technology and its value to business – prior experience as an HR leader in technology company or team is a strong asset
• Demonstrated experience in talent management with a focus on working with executives and leaders to identify, engage, develop, and retain top talent in the organization
• Proven experience in managing cross-functional projects. Flexibility in adapting to a rapidly changing environment to work with others in a professional and effective way
• Teamwork and collaboration - an inclusive, influential, and inspiring leadership style that allows to rally people around common goals.
• CHRP designation or post-graduate degree in organizational behaviour or development is a strong asset
• Solid business acumen, curiosity and an impressive track record of delivering results
• Experience in leading large change management programs, to drive culture change and employee engagement. Advanced interpersonal, consulting, and coaching skills
• Excellent strategic communication skills; comfort in presenting to senior management
• Minimum 8+ years of progressive experience in human resources or operational leadership with proven experience in team leadership and relationship management including the executive level
• Deep experience in reading both the internal and external environment. Extensive experience in aligning and prioritizing human resources strategies with the organizational business plan

Here are a few reasons why others have joined our team:

• An organization that is committed to living our values everyday
• Stimulating, challenging projects and development opportunities to help you grow your skills and career
• An award-winning, inspiring workplace that supports its people and recognizes great work (Canada’s Top 100 Employers, Aon Platinum Best Employers, LinkedIn Top Company, Glassdoor Best Place to Work & Top CEO, Indeed Top-Rated Workplaces)

What We Offer
Working here means you'll be empowered to be and do your best every day. Here is some of what you can expect as a permanent member of our team:

• An industry leading Employee Share Purchase Plan; we match 50% of net shares purchased
• Possibility to purchase up to 5 extra days off per year
• Access to tools and resources to support physical and mental health, embracing change and connecting with colleagues
• A dynamic workplace learning ecosystem complete with learning journeys, interactive online content, and inspiring programs
• A Community Impact program, because what you care about is a part of what makes you different. And how you contribute to your community should be just as unique.
• Inclusive employee-led networks to educate, inspire, amplify voices, build relationships and provide development opportunities
• Inspiring leaders and colleagues who will lift you up and help you grow
• An extensive flex pension and benefits package, with access to virtual healthcare
• An annual wellness account that promotes an active and healthy lifestyle
• Flexible work arrangements
• A financial rewards program that recognizes your success

We are an equal opportunity employer
At Intact, we value diversity and strive to create an inclusive, accessible workplace where all individuals feel valued, respected, and heard.
If we can provide a specific adjustment to make the recruitment process more accessible for you, please let us know when we reach out about a job opportunity. We’ll work with you to meet your needs.
Click here to review other important information about the hiring process, including background checks, internal candidates, and eligibility to work in Canada.
If you are an employee of Intact, belairdirect, or Johnson Insurance, please apply for this role on Contact People.