Senior Manager, Employee and Labour Relations

Senior Manager, Employee & Labour Relations

Date September 23, 2025

Location Toronto or Mississauga, ON – Hybrid

Requisition ID  20600

Status Regular

Business Unit Human Resources

Why join us?

The IESO is committed to ensuring Ontario’s electricity system meets the province’s needs today and into the future. We are charged with purpose, delivering reliable, affordable, and sustainable electricity for homes, businesses, and communities across the province. We are energized to grow, embracing opportunities to shape the future of a dynamic and evolving energy sector while advancing our careers. We are powered by teamwork, supported by diverse and passionate colleagues who foster respect, celebrate successes, and thrive on shared achievements. At the IESO, it’s not just what we do—it’s who we are! 

Who we are

Our central role includes managing the provincial power grid in real-time, overseeing and evolving Ontario’s electricity market, engaging with government, municipalities and Indigenous communities, and planning for Ontario’s future electricity needs. Our employees play a key role in driving grid innovation, protecting the system from threats, advancing the province’s energy conservation programs, and forecasting and procuring the electricity resources we’ll need in the decades to come. 

This strategic leadership role in our Human Resources Business Unit ensures alignment between employee and labour relations practices and business goals, enabling a resilient, high-performing organization.

We understand that in the decades to come we will see an unprecedented transformation of the system and that the IESO must, and will, play a critical role in driving and guiding this energy transition.  Given the significant role, the IESO is focusing on driving business transformation to enable and support our talented workforce.  This includes evolving our processes, technologies and tools, identifying and building next-generation skills and competencies, while defining and enhancing the IESO’s culture and employee experience.  

What makes this role exciting

The energy sector is rapidly evolving, offering exciting new opportunities for those who want to make a difference.

If you are a high-achieving, experienced, motivated Labour Relations and HR leader who thrives in complex environments, has the confidence to challenge the status quo, and builds partnerships to become a trusted partner to leaders at all levels, then this position may be the one you have been waiting for!

We are seeking a Senior Manager, Employee & Labour Relations to join our HR leadership team.  In this role, you’re more than an expert in the employee and labour relations field. You bring a broad perspective of human resource management and business processes, and understand how they integrate to achieve organizational success. You will provide strategic advice, leveraging strong knowledge of key employee and labour relations challenges facing complex, multi-unionized organizations, while also shaping the future of our function by building and leading a team. Your insight, together with the ability to creatively problem solve, will make you a valued member of our IESO and HR leadership teams.  

What you’ll do

In this role, you’ll make a meaningful impact by contributing to the IESO team and supporting the electricity needs of the province through:

• Design and deliver an employee and labour relations roadmap that aligns with the organization's broader business strategy and workforce priorities to stay ahead of emerging trends in labour relations to ensure business continuity and drive effective business outcomes
• Oversee all collective bargaining processes serving as the lead strategist and negotiator to shape negotiation mandates, guide bargaining communications, and work closely with legal, finance, and operational leaders to ensure alignment across the organization
• Lead the provision of strategic labour relations advice and guidance to executive clients, leaders, and HR partners to provide interpretations, options, risk assessments, recommendations and mitigation measures to a variety of employee and corporate level matters
• Represent the organization externally in labour and legal matters, including grievance resolution, arbitration strategy, and complex case management
• Define and track key metrics to uncover trends, identify risks, and support long-term workforce planning that enable leadership to make proactive, informed decisions
• Operate with both strategic vision and hands-on practicality to shape, modernize and elevate the employee & labour relations function
• Build and nurture relationships with unions, external legal counsel, other sector and public/broader public sector partners and stakeholders 

Role Requirements

Our team consists of experts from diverse backgrounds, each bringing their unique perspectives and skills. 
To succeed in this role, you’ll need: 

Broad Employee & Labour Relations/Human Resources Experience 

• You are known for blending your business acumen with the HR/LR landscape to develop tailored advice and solutions through creativity and flexibility to drive corporate outcomes
• You have extensive experience leading collective bargaining processes, negotiating settlements, and leading all aspects of grievance, mediation and arbitration procedures
• You are thoroughly familiar with employment and related legislation, contractual obligations and sound labour relations practices
• You have a proven track record of leading and implementing progressive and proactive employee and labour relations policies and programs that drive transformational and innovative change  

Strategic Leadership Experience

• You have demonstrated experience in building high performing teams, developing team members and promoting a strong organizational culture of continuous improvement & excellence
• You are an inclusive leader who fosters and creates a culture of diversity, inclusion, anti-racism, and equity in the workplace
• You have leadership experience in a fast-paced environment with a demonstrated ability to set priorities, manage and motivate a diverse group of professionals to achieve high quality and timely results, especially during times of change
• You have a proven track record of strategic thinking and challenging the status quo, driving innovation while ensuring effective performance and risk management
• You bring a digital and data mindset to your work, and embed it within your teams

Relationship Management, Communication and Problem-Solving Skills

• You have a collaborative leadership style and recognize the value of working horizontally with internal and external partners with diverse perspectives
• You have a strong track record of building trust, credibility and collaborative relationships with teams, executive level clients, and union partners
• You are an effective facilitator and negotiator who is able to work collaboratively with colleagues and partners to advance shared priorities and manage complex issues
• You are a skilled communicator with proven experience providing succinct briefings, advice, and effective presentations on complex issues in a clear and understandable manner to all levels of leadership
• You exercise sound judgement and take a systems-wide view when developing solutions to complex issues to optimize outcomes for all stakeholders

Qualifications

• University or postgraduate degree pertinent to the job function – Labour & Industrial Relations, Human Resources, Business Administration, or related field is required
• Certified Human Resources Leader (CHRL) designation considered an asset
• Certification or equivalent experience in change and project management considered an asset  
• 8+ years of experience in labour and employee relations/human resources, with experience in the public sector and heavily unionized environments including grievance management, collective agreement interpretation and advice, management of hearings and leading collective agreement negotiation processes

How We Support You

From a comprehensive total rewards program to dynamic learning and development opportunities—including job rotations to broaden your expertise—we empower you to define and shape your own success. When you join the IESO, here’s what you can expect:

• Best-in-class benefits and long-term support in the form of a defined benefit pension plan. 
• A commitment to flexibility as we currently support a hybrid model where applicable, that supports a blend of remote and in-office work based on business needs. Participating employees typically work in-office a minimum of four days and work remotely up to six days over a two-week period with a goal of maximizing in-office time through the use of established team days. 
• Work in a dynamic and evolving sector that offers exciting opportunities and the chance to explore new career paths.
• Leadership that values meaningful discussions, welcomes feedback, and prioritizes career development. 
• A strong, inclusive culture and a collaborative team environment with a shared passion for impactful work.
• Compensation packages that are regularly reviewed to remain competitive and to best accommodate the diverse needs of our employees. 

Deadline

October 15, 2025. For future reference, please save a copy of the job posting as it will no longer be available once the posting closes.

Thank you for your interest in a career at the IESO. Only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted. Please note that the successful candidate must be legally eligible to work in Canada and will be subject to applicable background checks. 

IESO will not conduct interviews or offer positions via online, text, chat or social media platforms. We will not gather personal information directly from candidates or potential candidates. Selected candidates will work with our Talent Acquisition team to ensure their application is processed.  

We believe in opportunities for everyone.  At the IESO, we know that achieving great results depends on embracing diversity by attracting, developing, and retaining people from a wide variety of backgrounds. We do this by ensuring our recruitment and advancement policies are fair and equitable, and by creating an accessible and inclusive environment—one that values every team member’s unique skills and experiences and ensures they have the support they need to 
achieve their potential. If you require accommodation during the recruitment process, please let us know.  

We’re proud to say we’ve been recognized as a supportive, inclusive employer.