Vice President, HR Business Partners – Corporate Functions

Original job posting

The Vice President will lead the people strategy across corporate functions, aligning talent initiatives with business objectives to drive performance and engagement. They will serve as a trusted advisor to senior executives, overseeing leadership development, organizational effectiveness, and workforce planning.

Job details

Embark on a rewarding career with Sobeys Inc., celebrated among Canada’s Top 100 employers where your unique contributions drive success. Overview We are seeking a strategic, influential, and forward-thinking Vice President, HR Business Partners – Corporate Functions to lead the people agenda across our corporate functions (CCO, CDO & Pharmacy, CTTO, Finance). This executive will play a critical role in strengthening organizational capability, enhancing leadership effectiveness, and aligning talent strategies with business priorities. In this role, you will lead a team of HR Business Partners, serve as a trusted advisor to senior leaders, and champion enterprise-wide HR initiatives. Here’s Where You’ll Be Focusing Lead Enterprise People Strategy Across Corporate Functions Develop and execute people strategies that enable achievement of business objectives across Corporate Functions and Pharmacy. Align enterprise HR priorities with functional goals and operating plans. Ensure HR Business Partners are embedded within leadership teams and drive performance, consistency, engagement, and talent outcomes. Enterprise Talent, Leadership & Organizational Effectiveness Lead the development and execution of people strategies that strengthen organizational capability and support enterprise objectives. Advance talent management, succession planning, leadership development, and workforce planning across the corporate portfolio. Ensure leadership depth and critical capabilities are in place to support current and future business needs. Strategic Partnership & Business Alignment Serve as the lead HR Business Partner and trusted advisor to senior executives across Corporate Functions and Pharmacy. Partner with business leaders to translate strategic priorities into actionable people plans and workforce strategies. Lead HR support for growth, transformation, organizational change, and evolving business priorities. HR Leadership Lead and develop a high-performing HR Business Partner organization supporting corporate functions across the enterprise. Foster strong integration between HR Business Partners, Centres of Expertise, and HR Operations to ensure seamless delivery of people solutions. Contribute as a senior member of the HR leadership team, helping to shape the evolution of the function and the broader people agenda. Leadership Capabilities Trusted advisor with strong influencing skills and the ability to drive change. Financial acumen and understanding of business models and core functional processes. Ability to assess leadership challenges, identify root causes, and recommend strategic solutions. Commitment to transparency, enterprise priorities, and direct engagement between Business Units and HR. Success in This Role Looks Like Corporate Functions have clear, measurable workforce and talent strategies aligned to business objectives. High satisfaction from Business Unit leaders regarding HRBP support. Strong employee engagement and reduced functional attrition. High‑performing talent in critical functional roles. Achievement of objectives and KPI’s What You Have to Offer Your Experience and Resume Will Show Us: Experience & Education 10–15+ years of progressive HR leadership experience, with a track record of shaping enterprise‑level people strategies. Undergraduate degree or equivalent executive‑level experience, with continued commitment to professional growth. Proven success operating within large, matrixed organizations, navigating complexity with clarity and influence. Fluency in French and English is an asset, enabling strong partnership across national functions and regions. Extensive experience leading HR strategy in multi‑functional, high‑performance environments, with the ability to align people priorities to business outcomes. Deep expertise in provincial labour regulations, human rights legislation, and employment practices, ensuring sound judgment and risk mitigation. Advanced capability in project management, organizational design, change leadership, conflict resolution, and transformation Previous experience operating at the executive level and/or supporting at the Board of Directors level for large publicly traded companies an asset Who we are Sobeys is one of Canada’s leading grocery retailers, with more than 1,600 stores across all 10 provinces and banners including Sobeys, Safeway, IGA, Foodland, FreshCo, Thrifty Foods, and Lawtons Drug Stores. Our 128,000 teammates and franchise affiliates are passionate about delivering great food and exceptional experiences to our customers and communities. Learn more about our story and culture: Who We Are | Why Work With Us Total Rewards We offer a Total Rewards package designed to support teammates at work and in life. Depending on role and eligibility, teammates may receive health and dental benefits, retirement and savings programs including an Employee Share Ownership Plan, a 10% in-store discount at participating banners, virtual healthcare and an Employee and Family Assistance Program, learning and development opportunities, parental leave top-up, and paid vacation. Sobeys is committed to providing a compensation structure that is flexible, equitable and competitive in the market to enable performance and growth. To learn more about this opportunity including the expected range of compensation in accordance with Pay Transparency Legislation where required please click the “I’m interested” or "Apply" button above. Individual compensation is determined based on qualifications, experience, and internal equity within the range provided. Additional Information External websites may share our organization's job postings which includes compensation information based on similar roles and market benchmarks. These figures are provided for general comparison purposes only and are not issued or verified by our organization. We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to support efficiencies in the candidate screening, assessment, and recruitment processes. These AI tools do not make hiring decisions on behalf of the Company. Hiring decisions are made by our Hiring Teams. Sobeys is committed to creating accessible and inclusive hiring processes. We will work with applicants requesting accommodation at any stage of the recruitment process. Please note: Successful candidates will be required to provide documentation to prove their legal ability to work in the position during the onboarding process. Documentation will be assessed by the employer prior to commencement of work.

What you’ll do

The Vice President will lead the people strategy across corporate functions, aligning talent initiatives with business objectives to drive performance and engagement. They will serve as a trusted advisor to senior executives, overseeing leadership development, organizational effectiveness, and workforce planning.

Requirements

Candidates must possess 10-15+ years of progressive HR leadership experience, ideally within large, matrixed organizations. An undergraduate degree is required, along with deep expertise in labour regulations, organizational design, and change leadership.

Benefits

• Health insurance
• Dental benefits
• Retirement and savings programs
• Employee share ownership plan
• In-store discount
• Virtual healthcare
• Employee and family assistance program
• Learning and development opportunities
• Parental leave top-up
• Paid vacation

Listed skills

• Change Management · Preferred
• Conflict Resolution · Preferred
• Project management · Preferred
• Stakeholder Management · Preferred

Other relevant skills

Identified from the job description. Confirm important requirements above.

• Strategic planning
• Leadership development
• Talent management
• Succession planning
• Workforce planning
• Organizational design
• Change management
• Conflict resolution
• Financial acumen
• Project management
• Human rights legislation
• Employment practices
• Stakeholder management
• Influencing skills
• Business transformation
• Change Leadership
• Influencing Skills
• Financial Acumen
• Organizational Change Management
• Leadership Effectiveness
• Virtual Health
• HR Operations
• Talent Management
• Organizational Design
• Business Objectives
• Human Resource Strategy
• Organizational Leadership
• Bilingual (French/English)
• Strategic Prioritization
• Risk Mitigation
• Talent Strategy
• Conflict Resolution
• Employee Engagement
• Finance
• Leadership
• Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
• Leadership Development
• Legislation
• Project Management
• Organizational Effectiveness
• Strategic Partnership
• Workforce Planning
• Succession Planning
• Business Alignment
• Business Priorities

Job areas

• Human Resources
• Management & Leadership
• Retail
• Human Resources Business Partner
• Vice President of Human Resources
• Human Resource Managers
• Human Resources Managers