Manager, Human Resources & Payroll

Position Title: Manager Human Resources and Payroll

Evaluation Category: 10

Reports to Position: Executive Minister

Direct Reports 5: HRMS Administrator, 2 HR

Coordinators, Policy Coordinator and Payroll and Client Services Team Lead

Unit/Regional Council: Shared Services

Date Last Reviewed: January 2026

Context

The United Church of Canada seeks to be a bold, connected, evolving church of diverse, courageous, hopefilled communities united in deep spirituality, inspiring worship, and daring justice.

Within the United Church the General Council Office supports the mission and ministry of the communities of faith and regional councils. It is the denominational expression of The United Church of Canada, working ecumenically and in global partnership.

The Shared Services Unit brings together all of the shared services offered and includes Human Resources, Payroll Services, GCO Administration, Employment Legal Services and Information Technology Operations. They ensure that policies and processes established by the General Council are upheld, and that federal/provincial employment standards are met.

Position Purpose

The Manager Human Resources (HR) and Payroll provides operational leadership for Human Resources and Payroll across the General Council and Regional Council offices. They ensure HR programs and policies support organizational goals, foster a culture of equity and inclusion, and promote the well-being and effectiveness of all staff. They provide leadership to the GCO Payroll Client Services Team and the provision of services to pastoral charges across Canada (approx. 2,000 pastoral charges) on payroll related matters. They also serve as trusted advisor to the Executive Minister Shared Services, a mentor to the HR and Payroll Team, and a steward of fair employment practices.

Primary Areas of Responsibility

1. Human Resources Operations and Programs (40%)

• Recruitment: Oversee end-to-end recruitment, ensuring compliance with church policies, employment legislation, and market trends; supports executive recruitment searches and monitors the applicant tracking system;
• Performance Management: Oversee the performance management program, training and supporting managers and supervisors; in collaboration with the Learning and Development Lead assess effectiveness and recommend improvements;
• Rewards and Recognition: Oversee the recognition program and recommend initiatives, including bonuses, milestone acknowledgements, and engagement strategies that align with organizational goals;
• Succession Planning: Develop and oversee succession planning strategies to identify, prepare, and retain future leaders across the organization;
• Health and Safety: Oversee the health and safety program, ensuring compliance, training (OHS/WHMIS), reporting, and active participation in the Occupational Health & Safety Committee; and
• Oversee HR and employment-related policies, ensuring clarity, accessibility, and alignment with organizational and legislative requirements;

2. Relationship and People Management (30%)

• Responsible and accountable for oversight and management of the strategic and day-to-day functioning of HR and Payroll.
• Supervise and mentor HR and Payroll staff, fostering collaboration, high performance, and continuous learning;
• Manage direct reports, providing skilled leadership, coaching, mentorship, oversight and direction to staff by modeling collaboration, problem-solving, and by facilitating relationships of trust, cooperation and confidence;
• Work within established policies to recruit, hire, discipline, terminate and/or manage performance.
• Conduct work reviews, manage performance and ensure that staff have the necessary training, tools and resources in order to fulfill and excel in their roles; If applicable, establish course correction to manage performance establishing a performance improvement plan.
• Ensure regular performance feedback and coaching occurs with goal-based productivity and learning opportunities to assist in employee/career development;
• Partner with leads/management to align HR strategies with organizational/departmental priorities;
• Provide guidance on workforce planning, talent management, and organizational development;
• Build HR and Payroll team capacity through training and professional development opportunities;
• Champion equity, diversity, and inclusion across all HR policies, programs, and practices;
• Ensure compliance with employment legislation, human rights codes, privacy/data protection and risk mitigation strategies;
• Support organizational changes, restructuring or new initiatives;
• Build a healthy workplace culture, conflict resolution, grievance handling and fostering positive labor/management relationships;
• Partner with Learning and Development Lead to identify gaps and create target learning programs or professional development opportunities; and
• Coach and guide managers on effective employee relations practices, discipline and termination of employees, responding to complaints and coordinating investigations in accordance with policies and procedures.

3. Compensation and Payroll (15%)

• Oversee salary structures, job evaluation, pay equity and associated benefit entitlements for both GCO and Pastoral Relations System;
• Review and analyze the General Council Office and Regional Councils’ salary schedule, using market surveys and other resources, ensuring we provide fair and equitable compensation to all employees by ensuring that salaries are internally equitable and externally competitive with the market;
• Validate and authorize exceptional circumstances requiring manual payments, and exercises judgment in complex situations;
• Ensure that changes to staff compensation are processed accurate and timely for staff in the General Council Office, Regional Councils, KAIROS, TUCC, United Church of Canada Foundation and Broadview;
• Review, approve and provide signatory approval for all disbursements, journal entries, labour distribution cost entries, EFT requests, payroll transfer requests, ad-hoc payments, invoices, etc.;
• Manage the relationships between ADP, the Payroll and Client Services Team and the Pastoral Charges on the ADP Payroll Service (approx. 2,000 pastoral charges across Canada);
• Play a key role in the implementation and roll-out of new ADP systems/platforms/updates or procedures; and
• Prepare and coordinate the distribution of all communications to pastoral charges/Treasurers on the ADP payroll service (i.e. webpage updates/mass emails). Provide input and content for webinars.

4. Systems and Reporting (15%)

• Collaborate with HRIS System Administrator to ensure effectiveness of data collection and data integrity;
• Prepare reports and analytics on turnover, engagement, DEI metrics to support longer term forecasting and planning; and
• Ensure reputational risk through proactive monitoring and audits of data collection.

Your job title does not define or limit your duties and you may be required to carry out other work within your abilities from time to time at our request. We reserve the right to introduce changes in line with technological developments, which may impact upon your job duties or methods of working.

Position Qualifications

Education

• University degree in Human Resources Management, Business Administration and/or related field,
• CHRP/CHRL designation, or equivalent education and experience.

Experience

• 5-7 years of related work experience in Human Resources and payroll;
• 3+ years of experience in a managerial role, supervising staff;
• Experience in a not-for-profit, faith based, or mission driven organization is an asset.
• Strong knowledge of Canadian labour laws, employment standards, human rights legislation, health and safety act, AODA and human resources practices;

Skills and Abilities

• Expertise in recruitment processes, HRMS and applicant tracking systems;
• Solid computer skills in the use of various software applications - Office 365, Dynamics, SharePoint, One Drive, Teams, Zoom, with the knowledge of and ability to use various forms of digital communications and social media platforms;
• Excellent inter-personal, verbal and written communication skills with the ability to inform in a clear, concise and impartial manner;
• Ability to build strong working relationships, to instill trust, and not only be confidential, objective and neutral, proven to be confidential, objective and neutral and able to deal with highly emotional situations and remain impartial;
• Strong attention to detail, analytical acumen, intellectual curiosity, creativity, and a proven work ethic;
• Initiative, good judgment, tact, discretion, resourcefulness, and creativity in problem solving;
• Well-developed organizational, time management, planning and problem-solving skills with the ability to effectively prioritize and manage multiple competing priorities with the flexibility to effectively and positively deal with changing situations or priorities;
• Knowledge of the life and work of The United Church of Canada would be considered an asset.

Personal Characteristics

• Alignment with the vision and values of The United Church of Canada – respect, integrity, passion and diversity;
• Strong team player and self-motivated towards moving processes forward with the ability to motivate, coach, mentor and train staff; and
• An innovative problem solver who anticipates obstacles and contingencies; and has a critical thinking approach with exceptional analytical and problem-solving skills and attention to detail including implementation and execution of resolutions.

Working Conditions

The United Church of Canada has adopted a hybrid workplace model, providing flexibility for this position, working both offsite and in the General Council Office, located in Toronto, ON. The incumbent will be provided, for work purposes, use of secure devices and must be available by email, phone, teams or zoom during regular office hours Monday to Friday. Sitting and viewing a computer screen for long periods, keyboarding/using voice recognition software, intermittent physical activity including sitting, standing and being on the phone for long periods of time will be required. Occasional additional hours may be required.

As part of our ongoing commitment to the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act and the Human Rights Code, The United Church of Canada will provide reasonable accommodations to employees with human-rights related needs.