University Pension Plan

Managing Director, People Experience

We respectfully acknowledge that we live and work on the traditional territories of many nations, including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat Peoples. These lands fall within the territory protected by the “Dish With One Spoon” wampum treaty agreement. That wampum uses the symbolism of a dish to represent the territory and one spoon to represent that the people are to share the resources of the land and take only what they need. It is home to many past, present, and future First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples. Our acknowledgment of the land is our declaration of our collective responsibility to this place and its peoples’ histories, rights, and presence. We are grateful to be able to live, learn, and meet on these lands.

University Pension Plan Ontario (UPP) is the first pension plan of its kind in Ontario’s university sector, proudly serving over 41,000 members across five universities and fourteen sector organizations. Established by and for the sector, UPP’s mission is to provide greater retirement peace of mind by investing with integrity and delivering member-focused service. As a sector-wide plan designed for growth, UPP is open to all Ontario universities—the organization operates with a strong foundation of joint sponsorship, sustainability, and service excellence. Its team is comprised of progressive thinkers and agile doers, working in a fast-paced environment that is grounded in collaboration, respect, and continuous learning, and its culture is intentionally welcoming and purposefully rooted in equity, diversity, inclusion, and reconciliation (EDI&R). It is within this context that UPP invites nominations and applications for the role of Managing Director, People Experience (MD)—a position that will play a central role in shaping the future of the organization.

Reporting to the Chief People Officer (CPO) and serving as a member of the Senior Leadership Team, the Managing Director will provide visionary and hands-on leadership in designing, developing, and executing UPP’s People Experience (PX) strategies and programs. The MD will guide and empower a diverse team of PX professionals, fostering a high-performance, inclusive environment rooted in UPP’s values. With enterprise-wide accountability, the MD will lead efforts in a variety of areas including onboarding and talent development, employee relations and employee engagement, workforce and succession planning, EDI&R, and health, safety, and wellness—ensuring that PX operations are not only compliant and effective, but also agile, human-centred, and future-ready. The role will also be instrumental in building scalable frameworks, refining policies and practices, and championing initiatives that support growth, equity, and employee well-being at every level of the organization.

Qualifications

Among the qualifications being sought in candidates, the incoming leader must have a deep and abiding commitment to advancing EDI&R in all its forms and must believe, intrinsically, in the importance of leading with curiosity and welcoming ideas that can later be synthesized and turned into possibility. While all candidates are encouraged to apply and, in so doing, share how they see themselves adding value to the UPP environment, the following credentials and/or experiences are seen as possible markers of the candidates most likely to realize success in the role: A) several years of experience in progressive HR leadership roles, including leading diverse and multi-functional teams in complex, multi-stakeholder environments; B) demonstrated expertise across the full PX spectrum, including EDI&R, talent management, succession planning, employee engagement, labour relations, and wellness; C) proven success acting as a strategic advisor to executive leadership, including experience presenting to boards and committees; D) a leadership style that balances structure with agility and nimbleness, paired with a coaching approach that is entrepreneurial and results-oriented; E) a collaborative disposition grounded in transparency, curiosity, and commitment to continuous learning and dialogue, and; F) a relevant undergraduate or graduate degree, CHRL/CHRE designation (or equivalent) as well as a working knowledge of Ontario employment law and the broader regulatory landscape.

This role is based in downtown Toronto under a hybrid work policy (approximately two days per week in-office).

How to Apply

UPP enthusiastically welcomes applications from all qualified applicants and especially invites people with lived experience as an Indigenous person, a person with a disability or as a member of another Human Rights Code protected group that faces barriers to employment to apply. Their goal is to create a barrier-free experience for every candidate throughout the recruitment process.

UPP is partnering with BIPOC Executive Search to help further increase the diversity/plurality of the candidate pool. All interested applicants are encouraged to apply by clicking HERE.

If you require accommodation at any point during the process, please let us know so we can make the appropriate arrangements—it would be our honour to work with you to adapt our processes to ensure that you can meaningfully participate. Should accommodations be required, please make Jason Murray aware by emailing jmurray@bipocsearch.com.

Wethank everyone for their expression of interest—and are truly appreciative of the time individuals put into applying—but with the limitations of time only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

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Managing Director, People Experience