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Job Summary
The Senior Manager, Operational Excellence leads a team dedicated to enhancing the efficiency, consistency, and impact of HR service delivery. This role is accountable for driving continuous improvement across HR processes, overseeing the successful execution of HR projects, and ensuring strong governance practices across the function. With a focus on operational strategy, the incumbent designs and implements scalable solutions that optimize workflows, reduce complexity, and improve the employee and manager experience. The Senior Manager ensures that HR operations are aligned with organizational priorities and evolving business needs. This role champions a culture of innovation, data-driven decision-making, and accountability across the HR function.
Main Responsibilities
Operational Excellence
· Drive the development of key performance indicators (KPIs) for HR, processes to track SLAs, and reports for tracking overall performance of HR
· Oversee data collection and insights analysis from performance of HR services and guide continuous improvement initiatives
· Stay up to date on market trends and industry best practices and recommend improvements to current HR business processes
· Lead the design, implementation, and continuous improvement of HR processes to enhance efficiency, scalability, and compliance. Monitor and identify ways to streamline and standardize HR workflows and processes and drive the implementation
· Lead development of continuous improvement framework and drive adoption of continuous improvement methodologies (such as Lean, Six Sigma) within HR
· Implement feedback loops and quality assessments with HR teams to improve the service and overall user experience
· Create and manage a governance framework to ensure operational risks are identified and mitigated through strong controls
HR Strategic Enablement
· Act as the strategic enablement partner to the Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer and the HR Leadership Team, leading key HR strategic forums and driving development of material shared with senior leaders
· Define and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) related to HR strategic enablement and governance, and provide regular reports to the HR Leadership Team
· Define and manage the HR governance strategy and framework, and drive monitoring and evaluation of the strategic impact and effectiveness of governance programs
· Manage HR priorities and budget, working closely with the HR Leadership Team to ensure alignment
· Oversee governance of the HR Operating Model through the development and enforcement of guiding principles that ensure consistency and clarity across HR
· Lead HR vendor management activities such as resolving service issues, and negotiating and renewing vendor agreements in collaboration with HR CoEs and P&SM
HR Project Management
· Oversee the planning, execution, and delivery of HR projects, ensuring alignment with HR priorities
· Collaborate with HR leadership to effectively realign resources for large and complex HR projects in accordance with evolving HR priorities
· Develop and maintain the project governance framework and reporting tools, and train HR teams on their effective use to ensure consistent project execution
· Work closely with the Change Management CoE to ensure integration of change management strategies to support successful project execution
· Track and report on project outcomes, benefits realization, and lessons learned to inform future initiatives
Team Management
· Partner with Talent Acquisition to bring new talent to the organization by determining which skills and roles will be required in the future and by making thoughtful hiring decisions
· Provide a positive and welcoming onboarding experience to all new employees by ensuring they have access to the tools and resources needed to fulfill the requirements of their job
· Recognize employee milestones (service awards, retirements, etc.) as well as significant contributions and enhanced responsibilities
· Focus on communications and foster collaboration by regularly providing updates to teams about ongoing initiatives and encouraging teams to work together to accomplish common goals and learning
· Manage employee performance by ensuring employees who are not meeting expectations are identified and supported through the performance improvement process
· Create and enable a positive and engaging work environment by ensuring individual strengths are uncovered and leveraged through frequent and focused conversations - collaborate, coach, and build connections with employees
· Participate in succession planning by contributing to the yearly talent review cycle and identifying employees with the potential to move up the management and expertise paths
· Support employee development by having regular career conversations with all employees (documented and tracked) and supporting them in reaching their career goals
· Ensure knowledge is preserved through cross-training for key skill sets in the team (knowledge transfer)
Working Conditions
The role has standard working conditions in an office environment with a regular workweek from Monday to Friday. Due to the nature of the role, the incumbent must be able to meet tight deadlines, handle pressure and manage stress. The role requires minimal travel (~10%) to various CN properties.
Requirements
Experience
Operational Excellence
· Minimum of 8 + years of progressive experience in HR process improvement, organizational design and operational efficiency across complex, cross-functional environments
· 3-5 years of experience in a HR leadership role
· Experience leading large-scale transformation or process optimization projects
Education/Certification/Designation
· Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration or a related field
· Certified Human Resources Professional (CPHR)*
· Master’s Degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field*
· Project Management Certification*
· Lean Management Certification*
· Six Sigma Certifications*
*Any designation for these above would be considered as an asset
Competencies
· Data Insights
· Customer Centricity
· Critical Thinking
· Solution Oriented
· Change Management
· Continuous Improvement
· Agile Mindset
· Negotiation
· Knowledge of the Network
· Digital Mindset & HR Technology Proficiency
· Process Driven
· Results Oriented
· Project Management
· Effective Communication
· Business Acumen
· Strategic Planning
· Financial Acumen
· Coaching & Influencing
· Operational Risk Management*
*Any knowledge for any of the above would be considered as an asset
Technical Skills/Knowledge
· Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Office and Visio skills
· Advanced Knowledge in interpreting operational data, define KPIs, and use tools such as Excel, Power BI, to drive insights and improvements
· Knowledge of project management best practices and principles
· Advanced knowledge of Lean, Six Sigma, and continuous improvement methodologies to identify inefficiencies and optimize end-to-end business processes
· Fluently bilingual both written and verbal (English, French) *
*Any knowledge for any of the above would be considered as an asset