About this role
The CHRO will be responsible for leading all aspects of human capital strategy, including talent acquisition, leadership development, organizational design, performance management, compensation, benefits, employee relations, compliance, workforce planning, and culture. This executive will play a central role in building a high-performance organization capable of supporting growth, operational improvement, acquisition integration, and EBITDA expansion. The ideal candidate has experience in a private equity-backed, sponsor-owned, founder-led, or fast-scaling mid-market company and understands how to align people strategy with business strategy. This is a hands on, operational HR leader who is just as comfortable in a plant as they are in a corporate environment.
Human Capital Strategy
- Develop and execute a people strategy aligned with growth plans and value creation initiatives
- Serve as a strategic advisor to the CEO, executive team, board, and sponsor
- Translate business strategy into workforce plans, org structure, and HR initiatives
- Build scalable HR processes without adding unnecessary bureaucracy
- Design best in class onboarding program that we can drive employee engagement from day 1
- Ensure alignment of talent, structure and incentives, with company goals
- Evaluate and build a culture of action, collaboration and accountability to drive business results
Private Equity Value Creation
- Partner with leadership to execute the companys value creation plan
- Identify and address organizational barriers to growth and profitability driving fast changes (as needed) to update talent to achieve 5-year plan across all functions
- Develop HR KPIs and dashboards for leadership and board reporting
- Drive productivity, retention, leadership effectiveness, and workforce efficiency
- Participate in board discussions on talent, succession, and organizational risk
Talent Acquisition and Workforce Planning
- Lead recruiting strategy across executive, leadership, and operational roles
- Improve quality of hire, speed to hire, and candidate experience
- Partner with leadership on workforce planning aligned to growth through annual budgeting process
- Develop scalable headcount and labor planning processes
- Strengthen employer branding and talent pipelines
Leadership Development and Succession Planning
- Assess leadership capabilities and identify gaps
- Develop succession plans for key roles
- Build leadership development programs to enhance performance
- Coach senior leaders on effectiveness and team dynamics
- Partner with CEO on talent strategy
Organizational Design and Performance
- Evaluate and optimize organizational structure for scalability
- Lead performance management systems and processes
- Align individual and team goals with business objectives
- Improve accountability, role clarity, and workforce productivity
- Support change management initiatives (growth, transformation, M&A)
Compensation, Benefits, and Incentives
- Lead compensation and benefits strategy aligned with business goals including incentive plans tied to budget and EBITDA targets
- Partner on executive compensation, incentives, and retention programs
- Develop performance-driven compensation frameworks
- Manage benefits programs, vendors, and compliance
- Ensure alignment with market benchmarks and financial objectives
Employee Relations, Culture, and Compliance
- Oversee employee relations, investigations, and HR compliance
- Ensure compliance with all employment laws and regulations
- Build a high-performance, accountable, and engaged culture
- Develop engagement initiatives to improve retention and productivity
- Advise leadership on employee-related risks and decisions
HR Systems, Processes, and Analytics
- Evaluate and improve HR systems (HRIS, ATS, performance tools)
- Build scalable HR infrastructure and reporting capabilities
- Develop dashboards for turnover, retention, productivity, and cost
- Use data to identify trends and drive decision- making
- Ensure systems support multi-entity and growth environments
M&A and Integration
- Support due diligence from a human capital perspective
- Assess workforce risks, retention needs, and cultural alignment
- Lead HR integration for acquired businesses
- Ensure smooth onboarding, alignment, and retention of key talent
- Partner cross-functionally on integration execution
Qualifications
- 10+ years of progressive HR leadership experience, including roles such as CHRO, Chief People Officer, VP HR, or senior HR executive
- Experience in private equity-backed or mid-market companies preferred but not required
- Experience supporting companies with $10M–$1B revenue and $5M–$50M EBITDA preferred
- Proven success building HR functions and supporting growth
- Experience with executive compensation, succession planning, and organizational design
- Integration experience preferred through M&A transactions
- Strong knowledge of Canadian and US employment law, HR systems, and talent strategy
- Ability to operate strategically while remaining hands- on
- Strong leadership, communication, and change-management skills
EDUCATION + CREDENTIALS
- Bachelors degree in Human Resources, Business, or related field required
- Masters degree and/or certifications such as SHRM-SCP or SPHR preferred