Description

IMMEDIATE INTERIM OPPORTUNITY

Interim Director, Labour Relations

Duration: 8-12 weeks

Reports: CHRO

Location: Greater Toronto Area (Hybrid)

Our client, a large, complex, publicly funded organization, is seeking an experienced Director of Labour Relations to lead the organization through a high-stakes and multi-faceted bargaining cycle involving CUPE and OPSEU aligned bargaining units.

This is not a maintenance mandate. It is a critical, enterprise-impacting assignment requiring a leader who can balance firm negotiating discipline with relationship stewardship, while ensuring operational continuity, reputational protection, and risk mitigation.

The assignment is being driven by:

  • Upcoming collective agreement renewals across key unions
  • A history of challenging labour relations dynamics
  • Heightened external scrutiny and internal stakeholder sensitivity
  • The need for a clear, executable bargaining strategy aligned to organizational sustainability

Scope and Mandate

Reporting to the CHRO, the Interim Director will act as the lead labour relations authority and chief negotiator/advisor through this bargaining period.

1. Bargaining Strategy & Execution

  • Develop and refine enterprise-wide bargaining strategy aligned to fiscal realities and service delivery priorities
  • Lead preparation of mandates, proposals, costing models, and scenario plans
  • Serve as chief spokesperson or senior advisor at bargaining tables with CUPE and OPSEU
  • Navigate complex negotiations, including interest-based and positional bargaining environments
  • Provide real-time guidance to executive leadership on negotiation posture, risks, and trade-offs

2. Stakeholder & Union Relationship Management

  • Rebuild and/or stabilize relationships with union leadership
  • Establish a credible, disciplined, and consistent management voice at the table
  • Support executives and operational leaders in maintaining constructive labour dialogue during negotiations
  • Anticipate and manage escalation scenarios, including potential job action or mediation

3. Risk Management & Advisory

  • Identify and mitigate key risks across:
  • Financial exposure
  • Service disruption
  • Employee relations climate
  • Public/Board perception
  • Provide strategic counsel to the Executive Team and Board-level stakeholders on labour relations implications
  • Partner with legal counsel on arbitrations, essential services, and contingency planning

4. Internal Alignment & Readiness

  • Ensure internal stakeholders are aligned on bargaining priorities and messaging
  • Lead management readiness planning, including:
  • Communication frameworks
  • Contingency/work disruption plans
  • Scenario modelling
  • Provide coaching to senior leaders on labour relations messaging and engagement approach

5. Labour Relations Leadership

  • Provide oversight of the labour relations function, including:
  • Collective agreement interpretation and administration
  • Grievance and arbitration management
  • Policy alignment to negotiated outcomes
  • Support or lead a team of LR professionals, ensuring consistency and rigor across all interactions

Key Deliverables

Over the course of the mandate, the successful candidate will be expected to:

  • Deliver a clear, executable bargaining strategy across all applicable unions
  • Successfully lead negotiations to ratified agreements or well-managed outcomes
  • Stabilize labour relations and improve union-management climate
  • Mitigate organizational risk during bargaining, including service disruption exposure
  • Leave behind:
  • Strengthened internal capability
  • Clear documentation of bargaining decisions and rationale
  • A more disciplined and aligned labour relations function

Candidate Profile

Experience & Expertise

  • 10+ years of progressive leadership in labour relations within complex, unionized environments
  • Demonstrated success leading collective bargaining negotiations, ideally as chief spokesperson
  • Direct experience working with public sector unions
  • Strong background in multi-union environments with competing priorities and dynamics
  • Proven track record in grievance resolution, arbitration, and dispute management

Capabilities

  • Strategic yet pragmatic—able to move seamlessly from boardroom strategy to bargaining table execution
  • Highly credible with both executive leadership and union stakeholders
  • Exceptional negotiation, mediation, and conflict resolution skills
  • Calm under pressure, with strong judgment in high-stakes, time-sensitive situations
  • Skilled in navigating political, regulatory, and public-sector sensitivities

PLEASE SEND YOUR CV (AS A WORD DOC) TO: (Subject: Job Title)

LHH Knightsbridge Interim Management is a service to help our clients address a wide range of scenarios including leadership support due to sudden departures, driving key change initiatives or leading transformation projects. Our interim executives step in with minimal downtime to meet specific objectives and deliver results. All have held senior positions in the past and have now chosen to offer their unique depth and breadth of experience to organizations on a limited engagement basis.

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Lee Hecht Harrison Knightsbridge Corp. is committed to providing equitable treatment and accommodation to ensure a barrier-free recruitment process. In accordance with the Ontario Human Rights Code, Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act and our AODA policy, a request for accommodation will be accepted as part of the hiring process. If you require accommodation to apply or if selected to participate in an assessment process, please provide your accommodation needs in advance to the Recruitment Lead for this opportunity.

We thank all interested candidates in advance; however, only individuals selected for interviews will be contacted.

June 2026