Human Resource Consultant

About the role

Saskatchewan Polytechnic serves more than 26,000 students through campuses in Moose Jaw, Prince Albert, Regina and Saskatoon, with over 1,600 full-time positions. Human Resource Client Services provides exemplary services to internal clients covering recruitment, onboarding, labour relations, strategic and operational planning, workforce planning, and projects targeted at service improvement.

The Human Resource Consultant supports clients with workforce strategies, provides coaching and strategic HR advice based on their assignment, and helps business leaders understand and address the people implications of business decisions. Guided by the employee life cycle model, consultants work as a team across the province to problem-solve and ensure consistency in service to assigned clients.

There are eight Human Resource Consultant positions located across the province, assigned to clients based on the school/division model, allowing the position to be located in any of the four geographic centres (Prince Albert, Saskatoon, Regina, or Moose Jaw). HR Consultants are part of the broader HR Advisory Services team, which includes three managers (HR Systems and Reporting, and two Managers HR Advisory Services), six HR Coordinators, three HR Assistants, and three HR Analysts reporting to the Director, HR Advisory Services.

The Consultant is assigned to a specific academic or administrative client portfolio spanning the provincial model, works in cross-campus teams to support the institution as a whole, and participates in projects aligned to HR division strategic priorities. The HR Consultant reports directly to one of the Managers, HR Advisory Services.

Responsibilities

• Develop a thorough understanding of client business and operational needs for all elements of the employee life cycle (recruitment, onboarding, integration, performance/succession, separation).
• Effectively work through problems and issues in support of clients on investigations, leaves/accommodations, non-appointment disputes or grievance resolution, and other labour relations matters; responsible for the entire file up to remediation or arbitration, with specialists (including external legal counsel) partnering where required.
• Provide coaching, training/orientation, and strategic human resource advice to business leaders.
• Manage the provincial portfolio of assigned school/division by acting as conduit between business leaders and local HR consultants at various locations on related HR issues.
• Lead coordination of HR services in support of portfolio, ensuring strategies and business plans are communicated to team members, appropriately supported, and client needs met.
• Provide HR Leadership Team with client feedback regarding HR practices and processes, or where opportunities for improvement exist.
• Actively participate in assigned projects and serve as HR representative on Sask Polytech committees.
• Partner with business leaders in assigned areas to develop plans identifying staffing needs for current and future years, addressing recruitment, retention, and reduction requirements.
• Broker appropriate HR services to support client business units (organizational effectiveness consultants; health, safety, and security managers; respectful workplace consultant).
• Assist clients in determining employee training and development needs and identify appropriate training programs, including leadership development.
• Analyze HR analytics and metrics (sick leave usage, turnover rate, employee engagement statistics, exit interviews, employee surveys, and other statistical information) to inform client HR strategies.
• Partner with business leaders and HR partners to create strategic workforce plans based on empirical evidence from analytics and metrics.
• Ensure people implications of client strategies are integrated and addressed; incorporate organizational change management techniques in client and HR strategies.
• Keep up-to-date with HR best practices and drive continuous improvement within internal HR practices.
• Ensure consistency across the organization in application and interpretation of processes, practices, and operational standards in support of client workforce requirements, including coordination with other HR service areas.
• Work collaboratively with HR consultants and business leaders on large-scale employee/labour relation issues including organizational restructuring and staff reductions.
• Ensure compliance with applicable collective agreements and employment legislation when developing workforce strategies and plans.
• Create strong, proactive relationships with business leaders within Saskatchewan Polytechnic.
• Build and maintain relationships with other Saskatchewan Polytechnic HR partners to ensure consistency and appropriate knowledge transfer, learning, and shared resources.
• Establish and maintain effective interaction ensuring inquiries and issues are responded to in a timely manner.
• Build relationships with and respond to requests from external agencies, government, and other educational institutions.

Qualifications

• A post-secondary degree or diploma in human resources, or related discipline with additional post-secondary HR education.
• A minimum of three years of progressive human resources generalist experience.
• A professional human resources designation is desired.
• Experience working in a unionized setting is desired.

Competencies

• Builds Leadership & Culture: Brings authenticity, emotional intelligence and accountability to develop leadership effectiveness in individuals, teams and culture.
• Cultivates Strong Relationships: Builds strong and trusting internal and external relationships and brings a stakeholder and learner-centric mindset and focus to all elements of the organization.
• Drives Operational Excellence: Leverages business insight, financial acumen, and operational rigor to maximize productivity and build long-term, sustainable success.
• Inspires Courage & Innovation: Models and enables creative thinking, curiosity, and calculated risk-taking to create new solutions and enable transformative change.
• Leads Transformation: Anticipates emerging trends and creates opportunities that shape and transform the organization and the polytechnic sector in Canada.