Chief Human Resources Officer

Introduction
The City of Ottawa is one of Canada’s largest and most diverse municipal organizations, serving a population of over one million residents through more than 150 services. As the fourth largest city in the country, Ottawa is a complex, service-driven organization where the delivery of public services depends on a skilled, engaged, and supported workforce.

Recognized as one of the National Capital Region’s Top Employers and one of Canada’s Best Diversity Employers for five consecutive years, the City of Ottawa is committed to fostering an inclusive, respectful, and people-centred workplace. The Chief Human Resources Officer plays a critical role in supporting this commitment by shaping how employees are supported, developed, and led across the organization.

Influence
You will play a central role in shaping how the City of Ottawa attracts, develops, supports, and retains its workforce.

People Leadership
As a people-centred leader, you will strengthen trust, consistency, and credibility across the organization.

Impact
You will directly influence how essential public services are delivered to over one million residents, shaping the employee experience and supporting the City’s long-term success.

Summary of the Role
The Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) provides strategic and operational leadership for the City of Ottawa’s people function, accountable for guiding, coordinating, and overseeing the delivery of HR services across the organization.

Reporting to the General Manager of Finance and Corporate Services & CFO, the CHRO leads a city-wide HR function that supports a large, diverse, and predominantly operational workforce delivering essential services to residents every day. This is a highly engaged leadership role, shaping how the City attracts, develops, supports, and retains its talent, and is accountable for the overall stewardship of the City’s human resources function, including its people, programs, systems, and financial resources.

As a senior leader within the organization, you will play a central role in aligning people strategies with the City’s service-delivery priorities. This includes ensuring that human resources programs, policies, and practices are applied consistently and effectively across departments, while remaining grounded in the realities of a complex, unionized, and highly decentralized operating environment. You will bring together strategic planning and operational execution, ensuring that workforce planning, organizational design, and people-related initiatives are closely connected to day-to-day service delivery needs.

You will act as a trusted advisor to the General Manager and participate as a key member of the Departmental Leadership Team, providing counsel on workforce-related risks, priorities, and decisions that impact the broader organization. You will be responsible for strengthening the credibility and effectiveness of the HR team and ensuring they function as a unified and integrated group, supporting senior leaders in addressing complex people matters, and reinforcing a people-focused approach.

You will exercise sound judgment to ensure that human resources practices support organizational performance within a complex public-sector environment.

Introduction
La Ville d’Ottawa, l’une des administrations municipal es les plus grandes et les plus diversifiées du Canada, sert une population de plus d’un million de résidents en offrant plus de 150 services. En tant que quatrième plus grande ville du pays, la Ville d’Ottawa est une organisation complexe et axée sur le service, où la prestation de services publics dépend d’un effectif spécialisé, mobilisé et soutenu.

Reconnue comme l’un des meilleurs employeurs de la région de la capitale nationale et l’un des meilleurs employeurs pour la diversité au Canada pendant cinq années consécutives, la Ville d’Ottawa est déterminée à favoriser un milieu de travail inclusif, respectueux et axé sur les personnes. Le chef ou la cheffe des Res sources humaines joue un rôle crucial dans l’appui à cet engagement en définissant la façon dont les employés sont soutenus, perfectionnés et dirigés à l’échelle de l’organisation.

In…