Director, Labour Relations

Job Description
Director, Labour Relations

Vancouver School Board | School District 39
Vancouver, British Columbia
Leadership Opportunity

KIRAH Executive Search & Leadership Advisory has been retained by the Vancouver School Board to lead the search for its next Director, Labour Relations.

This is a senior leadership appointment within VSB’s Employee Services Division and an opportunity to provide strategic labour relations leadership across one of British Columbia’s largest and most complex public education environments.

Reporting to the Executive Director, Employee Services, the Director, Labour Relations will serve as VSB’s senior labour relations leader and a trusted advisor to District leadership and key internal and external stakeholders.

The successful candidate will bring deep technical labour relations expertise together with executive judgement, political awareness, leadership presence, and the ability to build trust in a highly unionized and publicly accountable environment.

This mandate will appeal to a labour relations leader who can move confidently between strategy and execution, lead through complexity, strengthen team capability, and help shape the longer-term direction of VSB’s Labour Relations function.

About the Vancouver School Board

The Vancouver School Board is one of Canada’s largest and most diverse public school systems.

VSB serves more than 50,000 students across approximately 110 schools and programs and is supported by more than 7,700 employees.

The District serves a highly diverse urban community and is committed to equity, inclusion, accountability, continuous improvement, and creating learning environments where every student can succeed and experience a strong sense of belonging.

Its work recognizes the importance of Indigenous ways of knowing and learning and takes place on the ancestral and unceded lands of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwxwú7mesh Úxwimxw (Squamish Nation), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh Nation).

As a large public-sector employer operating within a highly unionized and publicly accountable environment, VSB requires sophisticated labour relations leadership capable of balancing organizational responsibilities, employee and union relationships, legislative obligations, operational realities, and broader public-sector considerations.

The Leadership Opportunity

Reporting to the Executive Director, Employee Services, the Director, Labour Relations will provide strategic leadership and expert advice across VSB’s labour relations portfolio.

The role spans:

• collective bargaining
  
• collective agreement administration and interpretation
  
• grievances
  
• mediation and arbitration
  
• workplace investigations
  
• employee discipline
  
• human rights matters
  
• legislative compliance
  
• labour-management relationships
  
• leadership development
  
• labour relations strategy
  

VSB operates within a particularly complex labour relations environment involving 14 collective agreements.

The incoming Director will be expected to develop a strong understanding of the major terms, operating implications, and recurring issues across these agreements while ensuring that labour relations advice remains consistent, credible, practical, and aligned with the broader needs of the District.

This is both a strategic and hands-on leadership role.

The Director will be expected to shape the direction of the portfolio while remaining sufficiently connected to significant matters to exercise judgement, provide confident advice, and support the team through complex files.

The Leadership Mandate

Strategic Labour Relations Leadership

The Director will:

• Establish and advance the strategic direction of VSB’s Labour Relations function.
  
• Provide trusted advice to the Executive Director, Employee Services and senior District leadership.
  
• Bring an enterprise perspective to significant labour relations matters.
  
• Assess legal, operational, organizational, reputational, and stakeholder implications when advising on complex issues.
  
• Strengthen consistency and quality across labour relations practices.
  
• Develop longer-term priorities and operating plans for the function.
  

Collective Bargaining and Agreement Administration

The Director will:

• Provide leadership across collective bargaining strategy and negotiations.
  
• Support effective administration and interpretation of VSB’s collective agreements.
  
• Guide the organization through complex bargaining, grievance, mediation, and arbitration matters.
  
• Maintain credible and constructive working relationships with union partners.
  
• Ensure the employer position is represented confidently, professionally, and consistently.
  

Executive Advice and Judgement

The successful candidate will be expected to:

• Translate complex labour relations issues into concise and decision-ready executive advice.
  
• Provide clear recommendations where legal, labour, operational, and reputational considerations intersect.
  
• Anticipate emerging risks and identify appropriate courses of action.
  
• Exercise sound judgement in highly sensitive and visible matters.
  
• Keep senior leadership appropriately informed without over-escalating routine issues.
  

Team Leadership and Capability Building

A significant part of the mandate is strengthening the capability of the Labour Relations team.

The Director will:

• Coach and mentor labour relations professionals.
  
• Create meaningful developmental opportunities.
  
• Expose team members to increasingly complex files, bargaining, mediation, and arbitration.
  
• Strengthen succession capability within the function.
  
• Promote accountability, professional standards, and sound judgement.
  
• Build confidence and capacity throughout the team.
  

Labour-Management Relationships

VSB places significant importance on respectful and constructive relationships with its union partners.

The successful candidate will:

• Represent the employer with confidence and credibility.
  
• Maintain professionalism through disagreement and high-pressure situations.
  
• Build trusted relationships while maintaining clear employer accountability.
  
• Navigate grievances, bargaining, investigations, and other difficult matters constructively.
  
• Recognize the broader organizational impact of labour relations decisions.
  

Continuous Improvement and Accountability

The incoming Director will be expected to:

• Examine existing practices, processes, and metrics.
  
• Identify opportunities to improve consistency and responsiveness.
  
• Strengthen documentation, advice, communication, and execution standards.
  
• Develop a longer-term vision for the Labour Relations portfolio.
  
• Support a culture of continuous improvement and professional accountability.
  

What Success Will Look Like

In the First 90 Days

The successful candidate will:

• Build a strong working relationship with the Executive Director, Employee Services.
  
• Develop credibility with VSB’s senior leadership team.
  
• Establish productive relationships with union partners and key stakeholders.
  
• Gain a strong understanding of the District’s collective agreements and major labour relations issues.
  
• Assess the capability, workload, practices, and priorities of the Labour Relations function.
  
• Identify immediate risks, recurring issues, and opportunities for improvement.
  
• Demonstrate calm judgement and credibility in complex matters.
  

Within the First Year

The Director will:

• Be recognized as a trusted senior labour relations advisor.
  
• Strengthen consistency and quality across the Labour Relations function.
  
• Improve team capability and succession readiness.
  
• Build constructive and credible labour-management relationships.
  
• Establish clear priorities and a longer-term strategic direction for the portfolio.
  
• Strengthen labour relations processes, documentation, and accountability.
  
• Provide confident leadership through bargaining, grievances, investigations, and other complex matters.
  
• Increase organizational confidence in the Labour Relations function.
  

The Leader VSB Is Seeking

VSB is seeking more than a technically accomplished labour relations practitioner.

The organization requires a leader with the judgement and credibility to operate effectively within a complex, highly visible, and highly unionized public-sector environment.

The successful candidate will demonstrate:

• deep labour relations expertise
  
• strong collective bargaining leadership
  
• executive judgement
  
• political and organizational awareness
  
• credibility with unions and senior leaders
  
• confidence without ego
  
• strong relationship-building capability
  
• calm and constructive conflict management
  
• excellent communication and briefing skills
  
• resilience and optimism
  
• strategic perspective
  
• coaching and developmental leadership
  
• precision and professional standards
  
• accountability and follow-through
  

The successful candidate will understand that technically correct advice is only one part of effective labour relations leadership.

Context, trust, timing, communication, judgement, and organizational awareness will be equally important.

Requirements

Experience & Qualifications

The successful candidate is expected to bring:

• Seven to ten or more years of progressive labour relations experience.
  
• Significant experience leading collective bargaining and grievance arbitration processes.
  
• Demonstrated experience within complex, multi-union and highly regulated environments.
  
• Strong expertise in collective agreement administration and interpretation.
  
• Experience with grievances, mediation, arbitration, workplace investigations, employee discipline, and human rights matters.
  
• Strong relationship-building, conflict-resolution, communication, and leadership capability.
  
• A degree in Human Resources, Labour Relations, Law, or a related field.
  
• CPHR designation.
  
• A graduate degree is considered an asset.
  
• Experience within public education, broader public sector, healthcare, municipal government, post-secondary education, or another sophisticated unionized environment will be highly relevant.
  

Location and Working Environment

The Director, Labour Relations is based at the VSB Education Centre, 1580 West Broadway, Vancouver, British Columbia.

The role is fundamentally an in-person leadership appointment where accessibility, visibility, and connection with colleagues, the Labour Relations team, and organizational stakeholders are important.

VSB has indicated that there may be reasonable situational flexibility at the Director level where operationally appropriate. Candidates should nevertheless approach the opportunity with the expectation that this is primarily an onsite leadership role.

KIRAH is open to engaging qualified candidates nationally where relocation to Vancouver is realistic.

Compensation and Benefits

The anticipated salary range for the Director, Labour Relations is:

$177,959 to $197,732 annually

The position also includes competitive benefits and paid time off.

Final compensation will reflect the successful candidate’s experience, qualifications, and overall alignment with the mandate.

Why Consider This Opportunity?

For an accomplished labour relations executive, this opportunity offers the chance to:

• Lead labour relations within one of Canada’s largest public school systems.
  
• Advise senior executive leadership on high-impact labour matters.
  
• Shape employer strategy across a complex multi-union environment.
  
• Lead significant collective bargaining and grievance matters.
  
• Strengthen the capability and succession readiness of an established Labour Relations team.
  
• Build trusted relationships with union and organizational stakeholders.
  
• Help improve consistency, accountability, and professional standards across the function.
  
• Influence the longer-term direction of labour relations within an organization serving more than 50,000 students and supported by more than 7,700 employees.
  

This is an opportunity for a leader who wants both meaningful strategic influence and continued connection to the substance of labour relations work.

KIRAH’s Perspective

KIRAH believes this opportunity will be particularly compelling for a senior labour relations leader who combines technical depth with sound executive judgement.

VSB requires someone capable of leading from both the strategic and practical levels.

The successful candidate must be comfortable advising executives, guiding bargaining strategy, managing complex files, building constructive union relationships, and developing the capability of others.

The strongest candidate will not simply know labour relations. They will understand how labour decisions affect people, operations, organizational reputation, leadership confidence, and the broader public-sector environment.

For a leader who values complexity, accountability, relationships, and meaningful organizational impact, this is a significant opportunity.

Equity and Inclusion

The Vancouver School Board and KIRAH Executive Search & Leadership Advisory are committed to an inclusive search process.

Qualified candidates from diverse backgrounds and experiences are encouraged to apply.

Accommodations are available throughout the recruitment and selection process upon request.

Application Process

KIRAH welcomes applications and confidential expressions of interest from qualified leaders.

Candidates may apply directly or may be approached confidentially by KIRAH as part of the executive search process.

All applications and inquiries will be treated with discretion.

Candidate information will not be presented to the Vancouver School Board without the candidate’s knowledge and appropriate consent.

Download Candidate Brief

Review the approved KIRAH Candidate Brief for comprehensive information regarding the mandate, leadership context, organization, compensation, search process, and candidate considerations.

Select the application button to proceed to the secure application page for this mandate. Applications are currently processed through destinationone Consulting’s recruitment platform.