Manager, People and Culture

Description : At House of Friendship we believe in what we are doing. We get out of bed each day to make a difference in our community;

to walk with and to serve. We are not happy with the status quo. We get energy from ongoing learning and growth. We lead with passion and believe without a doubt that everyone deserves to belong and thrive.

We live and breathe our values of Compassion, Inclusion, Justice, Dignity and Hope. And we have fun!

Sounds pretty great doesn't it? It is!

Our men's shelter program follows the ShelterCare model of providing a place to stay, with staff support, 24 / 7. ShelterCare creates opportunities where individuals experiencing homelessness have access to on-site, integrated housing and health supports so they can become healthier and housed - exiting the cycle of homelessness for good.

The Manager, People and Culture, will utilize their passion for coaching and developing people and teams. They will provide leadership for the program and the team by supporting the supervisory and direct service team members.

This position will provide management support to leaders, coaching on all aspects of employee relations and supporting performance development for leaders and direct service team members to meet job competencies and development needs.

This position works closely alongside the Manager of Operations to ensure strategic leadership and support for ShelterCare.

This is a contract, full-time position (37.5 hours per week) from September 3, 2024 - April 18, 2025. Successful completion of Police Records Check (Vulnerable Sector) is required.

Key Responsibilities :

• Lead, develop, support and provide strategic leadership to the supervisory team, frontline shelter team, students and volunteers supporting the program;
• Responsible for the healthy and safe operation of the programs; ensuring a physically and psychologically healthy work environment for all team members.
• Responsible for the allocation of staff, students and volunteers based on the needs of each program and / or site.
• Apply deep knowledge of the inherent risk involved in working alongside the people we serve to coach team members in mitigating risks, and supporting an environment that is physically and psychologically healthy;
• Lead the team on implementation and accountability to program policies and procedures, including and not limited to : incident reporting, harm reduction, fire prevention, privacy / confidentiality, safe substance use onsite, restrictions and restorative practices, storage of personal belongings, etc.;
• Coach management team members on planning and communications related to change processes and work through organizational design to drive role clarity at the individual and team level;
• Champion organizational and program change initiatives, helping team members and people we support to understand the change and inviting feedback through appropriate channels;
• Develop and support people leaders to effectively and proactively manage employee performance through feedback, documentation, annual performance development planning and competency framework assessment;
• liaise with HR and supervisors regarding performance pieces as needed;
• Champion and execute new and existing people & culture programs, including onboarding, recognition programs, training and development, employee relations and performance;
• Map potential successors for critical roles and leadership positions and create resources / tools to attract, retain, and develop staff;
• Facilitate engagement surveys, start, stop, continue exercises and analyzing quarterly results with the department groups on the development of action plans, communication and execution to drive engagement, champions and supports department needs;
• Analyze and report on trends and metrics to support data-driven decision-making;
• Develop and implement work procedures to improve our service excellence and organizational culture;
• Support the Program Director with administration, creating reports and proposals to support and secure diverse funding opportunities;
• Collaboration and teamwork across many functions to achieve success including : housing, health, finance, development, police, city / regional officials, finance, and other service providers and partners within Waterloo Region;
• Responsible for the 24 / 7 program operation including day to day operations and crisis / emergency response and participation in the on-call rotation
• Strategic project management and implementation of training, development, and organization wide projects;
• Engage in ongoing training and leadership development, including daily on-the-job learning, required courses and learning opportunities provided at an organizational level;
• Schedule and consistently co-lead management meetings and program meetings, participant in cross-program meetings and organizational town halls;
• Contribute to the organizational strategic planning process and provider leadership for annual planning processes within the program;
• Support, coach and guide supervisors in navigating complex situations as they arise for our teams and people we serve with a focus on team wide debriefs when possible;
• Oversee and support supervisors with staffing, scheduling, onboarding and training pieces for new-hires as needed
• Coaching working groups, committees and initiatives that ground the team practice in harm reduction, trauma informed practice, and relationship-centred narratives of accountability for the team and people we serve.

Critical Skills :

• Commitment to understand and uphold the mission and values of House of Friendship is expected;
• Exemplary emotional intelligence, resilience, communication, conflict management and problem solving skills required;
• Ability to work professionally as a team member with staff, participants and community members;
• Build solid and fruitful relationships with community partners and agencies to increase opportunities for innovation and positively impact outcomes.
• Demonstrated ability to create and maintain a positive work environment including the ability to navigate change in a positive and productive manner;
• Experience or strong interest in working with diverse populations including people from various cultural background, income levels, and sensitivity to their needs;
• Strong intercultural competency, with the ability to recognize and respect cultural diversity, able to be diplomatic and sensitive to the dynamics of a culturally diverse workplace;
• Experience with and commitment to using an anti-racism, anti-oppressive and trauma informed approach in consultation, program design, evaluation processes and service delivery;
• Must be dependable, professional, flexible, a team player, and have a positive attitude;
• Respectful, supportive and engaging approach to persons with physical and / or cognitive disabilities, addictions, mental health and other life challenges;
• Excellent project, timeline and deadline management skills including skills in logistics and planning and detailed record keeping;
• Able to model effective problem solving by recognizing the human, interpersonal and technical sides of a problem, show flexibility and explore possible solutions in an innovative and creative way.
• Act as a change agent; contributing to continuous improvement and the successful implementation of change initiatives.

Education / Experience :

• University degree Social Sciences, Social Work, Leadership, Organizational Behaviour, Healthcare, Human Resources or other related fields is required
• At least 5 years' experience leading a large team in a healthcare or social services environment
• Very strong leadership, team building and decision-making skills required including demonstrated strength in coaching and developing people and teams.
• Expertise in organizational behaviour, leadership, training and learning solutions
• Demonstrated skill in building and maintaining productive relationships (staff, community partners, funders)
• Ability to adjust to understanding complex fast paced work environment

Job Specific Knowledge / Skills :

• Grounded in the value of relationship-centred coaching for teams and relationship-centred healing for the people we serve and community
• Maintain connection to your personal reasons for doing this work and how your purpose connects to the mission, vision and values of the organization and program
• Commitment to consistently upholding the policies and procedures for the program and organization, even when circumstances make it difficult to do so
• Ability to build effective teams and creating an atmosphere of belonging and collaboration that values diversity and individual strengths
• Ability to foster relationships with key partners, effectively build formal and informal relationship networks inside and outside the organization to increase opportunities for innovation and positively impact outcomes
• Ability to provide clear direction and expectations for performance, which can involve being firm, assertive, stepping up to difficult decisions and openness to inviting / receiving feedback
• Strengths in coaching resiliency and solution-focused thinking with individuals and the team
• Supporting the team through ongoing and low impact debriefing that grounds people in why we do what we do, at times challenging personal perceptions
• Navigating team discussion and disagreement in high crisis situations and able to make decisions with confidence when there are disagreements on best next steps;

while balancing a trauma informed lens with the safety of the program in mind at the same time

• Ability to seek additional information, developing and weighing alternatives, and choosing the more appropriate course of action given the circumstances
• Passion and skill to support leaders and teams providing exceptional services to people experiencing trauma, mental health, addiction, poor health, poverty and / or homelessness
• Demonstrated coaching, conflict resolution and negotiation skills with dedication to performance management, coaching and support for direct reports
• Demonstrated collaborative approach that values open and honest communication, integrity, respect, consistency and fairness
• Understand behavioral complexity through a lens of curiosity and an invitation to learn and develop relationship through conflict
• Comprehensive knowledge of applicable employment legislation including Employment Standards Act; Human Rights Code, Occupational Health and Safety Act;

Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, etc.

• Demonstrated exceptional leadership in program oversight, implementation, assessment and reporting
• Stellar problem solving to navigate change and implement evidence-based practice
• Experience using online communication platforms, such as Microsoft Teams, is an asset
• Knowledge of local community agencies and resources is an asset
• Experience in keeping financial records is an asset
• Familiar with healthcare and housing systems is an asset

Compensation :

At House of Friendship, we know that our team members are the key to the success of our organization and our ability to provide essential services to the community.

In support of our mission and in alignment with our values, House of Friendship is committed to ensuring fair, market competitive, and rewarding compensation practices for all of our team members.

We aspire to support our team members to create a great work environment where our team is able to thrive, succeed, and have a positive work experience.

House of Friendship compensation practices including our pay grid, have been developed using documented leading pay practices in the not-for-profit sector including Pathways to Decent Work (Ontario Nonprofit Network) and Ontario Living Wage Network.

We value the experience that new team members bring to the organization and have a process in place to review previous related experience for placement on our pay grid.

Rate of Pay :

At House of Friendship all compensation ranges are categorized under a series of "grades" and we base our payment structure on internal equity.

When determining rate of pay, a candidate's past related experience will be taken into consideration.

Grade : 6 Manager I

Min : $33.60

Mid : $38.20

Max : $42.80

Working Conditions :

• 37.5 hours per week; generally daytime hours with pre-planned evening and weekend work to support the 24 / 7 program operation
• Occasional On-call rotation to support 24 / 7 operation of the program
• Occasional travel throughout the Region of Waterloo for required meetings and community engagement
• On-site work
• Encountering participants at program sites who may be under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and / or experiencing symptoms of mental illness can be expected

House of Friendship is open and inviting to qualified candidates with lived experience.

If you are as passionate as we are about serving the community, let's talk.