Director, People & Culture

Are you Looking for an engaging, rewarding, and supportive work environment? 

Take a Hike has a strong workplace culture that prioritizes kind and open communication. Human Resources Management skills are important, but cultural fit is paramount. The way we speak to each other, to donors and to partners is the same across the board. We are an agile and flexible group of cause driven, passionate, and dynamic individuals driven by supporting youth development, mental health, the outdoors, and education. We embrace humour and work collaboratively to reach success.  

Take a Hike cares about and supports its employees while also challenging them to grow and develop with the company. We trust and respect each other and have a shared commitment to personal, professional and community success. Take a Hike is proud to offer generous benefits that include:   

• Employer paid benefits including extended health and dental. 
• Disability and Life Insurance  
• Employee Assistance Plan  
• Health Spending Account   
• RRSP Matching program  
• Generous vacation and personal time off  
• Flexible work schedule in a hybrid work environment  

Does being part of this type of culture excite you? This just might be the opportunity for you!  

THE ORGANIZATION:  

Take a Hike empowers youth who experience vulnerability to change the trajectory of their lives with a full-time mental health and emotional well-being program embedded in an alternate education classroom. Take a Hike engages youth with intentional, continuous clinical counselling, experiential land-based learning, and community. Our public school district partners provide high quality education, and together, we empower youth with the skills and resilience they need to graduate high school, build healthy relationships, and achieve success – however they define it.    

For more information on the program, please visit www.takeahikefoundation.org.   

THE OPPORTUNITY:  

Reporting to the Senior Director of Finance and Shared Services, with regular direct access to and support from the CEO, the Director, People & Culture plans and implements the organization’s human resources strategies and frameworks that support the direction and goals of Take a Hike. This includes advancing approaches to reconciliation, decolonization, anti-racism, and breaking down barriers faced by equity-seeking groups. Take a Hike is looking for someone who can help us maintain culture and program fidelity. This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced human resource professional with a proven track record of expertise across all facets of human resources grounded in a lens of equity, diversity, and inclusion. 

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Strategic HR & Business Partnering: Be the trusted partner leaders turn to for navigating change and building great teams. 
• Employee Relations: Be the calm, fair voice staff turn to when things get complicated. 
• Employee Engagement & Culture: Steward the culture that keeps our people connected to the mission and to each other. 
• Talent Acquisition & Recruitment: Ensure TAH finds and welcomes the people who will carry our mission forward. 
• Performance Management: Help people grow into their best work, year after year. 
• Learning, Development & Succession: Support TAH in building the leaders and skills Take a Hike will need tomorrow. 
• Total Rewards, Compensation & Benefits: Support the organization in ensuring every team member feels valued, fairly paid, and cared for. 
• IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Accessibility): Help build a workplace where everyone truly belongs. 
• Occupational Health & Safety: Keep our people safe, wherever the work takes them. 
• HRIS & People Analytics: Turn people data into insight that helps the organization make smarter decisions. 
• Volunteer Management: Steward the volunteers who extend our impact into the community. 
• Financial Stewardship & Administration: Ensure the P&C function runs with the same integrity we ask of everyone else. 

QUALIFICATION & REQUIREMENTS:  

• A diploma or degree in a related field. CPHR Designation is considered an asset  
• 5 or more years of progressive experience providing leadership and oversight to the HR operations of a non-for-profit entity  
• Knowledge of HR industry trends, relevant legislation (Human Rights Code, Labour Relations Code, Employment Standards Act, WorkSafeBC, etc.) and compliance requirements  
• Ability to develop, recommend, examine, apply and advise on HR policies and procedures  
• Experience leading, advising, and guiding organizations through operational and organizational change initiatives  
• Excellent interpersonal, communication and presentation skills with the ability to quickly develop trust, collaboration and influence stakeholders internally and externally to Take a Hike     
• High level of integrity and dependability and ability to work with confidential information, data, and materials   
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills with the ability to identify trends, establish benchmarks, and provide credible analyses and business recommendations   
• Excellent organizational, planning, and time management skills with an attention to detail  
• Excellent written communication skills, including strong computer literacy in Microsoft 365 (Word, Excel, SharePoint, Outlook, etc.) and internal communications tools  
• Satisfactory completion of a criminal reference check with vulnerable population 

COMPENSATION AND TERMS:   

This is a full-time position with an immediate start date (January 2027, at the latest). The starting salary for this role is between $88,000 to $103,750, commensurate with experience, based on a 37.5-hour work week. Once hired, and budget dependent, successful employees have the opportunity for their salary to grow up to the maximum of the salary band for this role, currently $119,000. 

This hybrid position is based in our office located in Vancouver, BC with at least two days a week in the office required. 

HOW TO APPLY:

If this position is of interest to you, please submit your cover letter and resume to our online portal, Collage. Applications will be evaluated, and interviews conducted, on a rolling basis and you are encouraged to apply early. 

Take a Hike values the diversity of the people it hires and serves. Diversity at Take a Hike means fostering a workplace in which individual differences are recognized, appreciated, respected, and responded to in ways that fully develop and utilize each person’s talents and strengths. Individuals who identify as LGBTQIA2S+, Indigenous, black or other racialized Canadians, or candidates with lived experience in mental health are encouraged to consider this opportunity.   

Our commitment to reconciliation can be found on our website here.