Director, Labour Relations

destinationone Consulting Direct Placement

Director, Labour Relations Vancouver (NW Shaughnessy / East Kitsilano / Quilchena), Canada Posted on 08/20/2026

• Country Canada

Job Description Director, Labour Relations 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 xməθkəy̓əm (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
• human rights matters
• legislative compliance
• labour-management relationships
• 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.
• 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:

• 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.
. click apply for full job details

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Ul

• Country Canada

B

Vancouver School Board

Li

collective bargaining

Work Hours

Full Time