Summit Search Group has been retained by our local client, the Winnipeg Airports Authority (WAA), on the recruitment of their Vice President, Human Resources. The Vice President, Human Resources will take on a newly created executive role designed to elevate the people function and help drive the cultural and operational evolution of the organization. Reporting directly to the President & CEO, this role reflects the organization’s deepening commitment to creating a people-first, values-aligned culture that supports its strategic goals and ensures long-term sustainability. This position plays a central role in cultivating a safe, inclusive, and high-performing environment where employees are aligned with WAA’s mission: Connecting communities and partnering to build a sustainable future.
As the steward of the Human Resources function, the Vice President will define and bring to life their vision for HR and oversee a capable, engaged team responsible for everything from day-to-day operations to supporting key strategic initiatives. The role will have a strong focus on relationship-building, particularly in cultivating strong labor relations across a unionized employee base. The successful candidate will help lead WAA through change by acting as a trusted advisor to colleagues at all levels of the organization including the Executive team, the Leadership team, union executives, and front-line team members to build systems, processes, and capabilities that support a safe, inclusive, empowered and high performance workplace.
This executive will have the opportunity to make a lasting impact by building on strong momentum in culture transformation, including a recently launched leadership development program and a refreshed set of organizational values. As the organization continues to evolve its digital and operational model, the VP, HR will play a central role in managing change, providing clarity and reassurance to employees, and aligning people strategy with enterprise-wide goals. With the support of a forward-looking executive team, a stable and capable HR team, and a community-focused mission, this is an ideal role for a values-driven, union-savvy HR leader ready to take on strategic influence and long-term impact.
Key Responsibilities:
Strategic HR Leadership:
- Serve as a trusted advisor to the CEO, Executive team, and Leadership team on people-related strategies and demonstrate strong executive presence and serve as a role model for leadership behavior, influencing leaders across all levels to embrace values-based leadership.
- Develop and implement a high-performance HR strategy aligned with the organization’s values and strategic priorities.
- Drive continuous improvement in HR operations, including systems, policies, talent programs, and organizational design.
- Lead organization-wide efforts in leadership development, succession planning, and workforce planning to ensure organizational resilience and capability.
- Embed HR as a strategic business partner by strengthening its presence, credibility, and consultative value across all departments.
- Actively participate in Executive-level decision-making, contributing to corporate strategy, operational planning, change management and enterprise risk mitigation.
- Provide regular updates to the Board of Directors and the Human Resources & Compensation Committee.
Labor Relations & Union Engagement:
- Lead and manage constructive labor relations with a focus on trust, respect, and problem-solving.
- Serve as the lead representative or advisor in collective bargaining, arbitration, and dispute resolution.
- Build strong, respectful relationships with union leadership.
- Mitigate HR-related risk in compliance with employment legislation and collective agreements. Collaborate closely with senior leaders across the organization to ensure alignment on people strategies that support and engage all employee groups.
People & Culture Strategy:
- Champion the organization’s values and cultural transformation Embed our corporate values (Safety, Respect, Teamwork, Inclusion, Excellence) into performance and recognition systems.
- Own and evolve the leadership development program; help guide leadership effectiveness across the organization.
- Own and evolve performance management and talent development at WAA.
- Advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) efforts through actionable policies and programs.
- Lead initiatives that build trust, transparency, and psychological safety across the organization enabling a unified and inclusive workplace.
- Shape a cohesive and inclusive organizational identity in collaboration with internal communications and marketing team.
- Establish and track meaningful KPIs to assess HR performance and organizational health.
- Oversee the optimization of HRIS systems as needed (currently Dayforce).
- Oversee the development and maintenance of WAA’s compensation philosophy and monitor the competitiveness of our total rewards with market to attract and retain talent.
- Oversee the incentive program structure and support the organization with best practices in goal setting.
Organizational Change Management:
- Partner across functional areas at all levels of the organization to support strategic initiatives focused on Safety, Culture, Digital, and Terminal Optimization, with a particular emphasis on ensuring effective change management.
HR Team Leadership:
- Lead a lean but capable HR team, cultivating collaboration, psychological safety and health.
- Coach, mentor an develop HR team members, build capacity, and support succession planning.
Qualifications:
- Post-Secondary Education and proven senior leadership experience in Human Resources – CPHR Designation highly desired.
- Demonstrated success in leading labour relations, including navigating collective bargaining and managing union relationships.
- Experience leading cultural and organizational transformation.
- Strong track record of implementing HR systems, tools, and processes that drive high performance.
- Background in workforce planning, leadership development, and talent strategy.
The ideal candidate is a values-driven HR executive who brings deep experience leading within unionized environments and a proven ability to drive cultural and organizational transformation. They are a confident and inclusive leader who can inspire trust, create psychological safety, and lead others through change with empathy and clarity.
With strong business acumen and a strategic mindset, they understand how to align people strategies with organizational goals and possess the operational know-how to enhance HR systems and practices. This individual is both a trusted advisor and a hands-on leader, capable of coaching others, building strong cross-functional partnerships, and influencing outcomes at the executive level. They are motivated by purpose, grounded in integrity, and energized by the opportunity to build something lasting and impactful.
This is a rare opportunity to step into a legacy-defining role. You will shape the next era of people leadership at a community-centric, purpose-driven organization with national relevance. With support from a values-aligned Executive team, you’ll be positioned to make a measurable, lasting impact.
For more information, or to submit your resume, please reach out to Matt Erhard at Summit Search Group, matt.erhard@summitsearchgroup.com
Summit Search Group has a strong commitment to Diversity, Equality and Inclusion. We strive for continuous development, modeling, inclusive behaviors and proactively managing bias throughout our process.
Matt Erhard
Job ID
City
- Winnipeg, MB
Remuneration
$187K–$253K base, up to 20% bonus, car allowance, premium benefits, and matched pension
Matt Erhard
Job ID
City
- Winnipeg, MB
Remuneration
$187K–$253K base, up to 20% bonus, car allowance, premium benefits, and matched pension 