Vice President, People & Culture

Job description

Location:

Ottawa (primarily in office with hybrid opportunity). Travel required.

With a range of full-service real estate offerings including property management, development, investment and asset management, and leasing, Colonnade Bridge Port has built a reputation of excellence in the real estate industry. We service a portfolio of state of the art commercial, residential, and mixed-use properties in Ottawa, the GTA and Southwestern Ontario, Gatineau, and Atlantic Canada.

Reporting to the CEO, the VP, People and Culture (P&C) is the senior-most leader responsible for defining, promoting, and executing Colonnade Bridge Port’s people strategy across all regions. This role leads the full P&C function, encompassing talent acquisition, talent management, organizational development, culture, total rewards, and workforce planning, while acting as a trusted advisor to the CEO and Executive Committee.

The ideal candidate blends strategic leadership with pragmatic, hands‑on execution. They bring mature judgement, strong executive presence, and the ability to influence across a high‑growth, entrepreneurial environment.

• Serve as a core member of the Executive Committee, contributing to strategic decision-making and organizational alignment.
• Act as a key advisor and thought partner to the CEO on people, culture, talent, and organizational effectiveness.
• Strengthen Executive Committee cohesion, governance, communication, and operating discipline.

• Refine and implement a 3-year people strategy aligned with organizational growth and cultural priorities.
• Lead talent management, organizational design, workforce planning, and change management initiatives across regions.
• Implement leadership development programs to strengthen capability at all levels.
• Establish an enterprise‑wide succession planning framework and talent pipeline strategy.

• Oversee recruitment, ensuring timeliness, quality, and a positive candidate experience.
• Build talent acquisition capacity, including leveraging alternative recruitment resources where needed.
• Upgrade recruitment processes including talent attraction practices to ensure competitiveness in all regions.
• Partner with business leaders to anticipate workforce needs and build future capability.

• Evaluate the current performance management framework to ensure the process aligns with growth and goals of Colonnade Bridge Port. Implement changes as necessary.
• Champion an inclusive, high‑performance culture that reflects the organization’s values and entrepreneurial spirit.
• Lead employee engagement initiatives that foster trust, alignment, and cultural strength across all regions.

• Ensure a comprehensive compensation benchmarking analysis is conducted as necessary to ensure market competitiveness in all regions.
• Review and enhance the variable compensation program to ensure fairness and clarity.
• Ensure compliance with evolving pay transparency and regulatory requirements.

• Strengthen foundational P&C processes, quality assurance, documentation accuracy, and urgency awareness.
• Monitor changes to legislative requirements in all regions, develop plans including appropriate change management activities and implement to ensure compliance.
• Build regional P&C presence to support employees and leaders in key markets (e.g., Ontario, Quebec, Atlantic Canada).
• Maintain and uplift the positive, people‑first culture within the P&C team.
• Mentor and support team members in their professional aspirations.

• 10–15+ years of progressive experience in People and Culture / Human Resources leadership, including executive-level accountability.
• Demonstrated experience in high‑growth, multi‑region, or scaling environments.
• Proven ability to influence executive teams, coach senior leaders, and manage complex organizational dynamics.
• Experience leading organizational design, workforce planning, and change management initiatives.
• St…