Human Resources Business Partner

Who we are. At Mercer Mass Timber we are exceptional people making mass timber for a more sustainable world. We are North America’s largest Mass Timber Manufacturer, with facilities in Penticton, British Columbia, Spokane Valley, WA, and Conway, Arkansas with a combined annual production capacity of over 255,000 cubic metres of mass timber. MMT is part of Mercer International, a leading forest products company who is one of the world’s largest market pulp producers and operates the world’s largest sawmill. Mercer has operations in Canada, Germany, and United States.

What we believe. We believe that a culture of diversity and inclusion is critical in making the best decisions for our people and achieving sustainable business success. Together, we encourage, support, and celebrate the diverse voices of our employees. We strive to provide an inclusive culture by fostering an environment of mutual respect, fairness, and by providing opportunities to contribute and grow.

Position Description

Reporting to the Manager, Human Resources, the Human Resources Business Partner will play a critical role in supporting our managers and overseeing labour relations within our unionized environment. The HR Business Partner is responsible for resolving employee relations issues, ensuring compliance with collective agreements, and helping to maintain positive labour relations. They possess a strong understanding of HR best practices and employment law, as well as the interpersonal skills to mentor and guide our management team. They will play a pivotal role in partnering with the local management team to manage and streamline effective people programs including but not limited to onboarding, succession planning, workforce planning, and performance management. This role is a one year contract with the possibility of extension or a permanent offer and will be based out of our Okanagan Falls, BC facility.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with the local management team and Manager, Human Resources to create and promote a positive work environment that aligns with the company’s values and mission.
• Collaborate with the HR team to review, streamline, and implement effective people programs including onboarding, employee engagement, succession planning, and performance management.
• Formulates and recommends Human Resources policies and objectives.
• Provide coaching and guidance to managers in navigating employee relations within a unionized environment.
• Advise on labour laws, collective bargaining agreements, and conflict resolution to prevent issue escalation and support effective team management.
• Act as the primary point of contact for labour relations, handling day-to-day union interactions and resolving grievances proactively.
• Foster positive labour-management relations, reducing the risk of costly arbitration and supporting workplace harmony.
• Oversee the consistent application of HR policies and adherence to collective agreements and labour laws, offering guidance to ensure compliance.
• Implement HR best practices across the organization, reducing the risk of legal issues and upholding organizational standards.
• Collaborate with management to assess staffing needs, streamline onboarding, and optimize workforce scheduling.
• Support workforce planning to minimize overtime costs and align staffing with production demands, contributing to operational efficiency.
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications and Experience

• 3-5 years of experience as an HR Business Partner. Experience in the manufacturing industry is considered an asset.
• A minimum of 2 years experience working in a unionized workforce with knowledge of collective bargaining agreements and conflict resolution is preferred.
• A degree in Business Administration, Psychology, Law, or Human Resources or equivalent experience is considered an asset.
• A CPHR designation or working towards one is preferred.
• Experience in managing performance management, organization development and team work/building initiatives.
• The ability to align HR initiatives with the overall business objectives and values.
• Experience in implementing and maintaining Human Resource Information System (HRIS) is considered an asset.
• Must possess or have the ability to possess a passport for travel. Travel will be required for training and development purposes approximately twice per year.

Salary & Benefits

• The salary for this position is $85,000 - $105,000 CAD. Salary will be commensurate with education and experience.
• Our group benefits package, which has no waiting period, includes extended health and dental benefits, in addition to a Health Care Spending Account and a fitness allowance.
• RRSP - We provide a competitive RRSP contribution plan, with base contributions made by Mercer which can be supplemented with personal contributions matched by the company up to a certain %.