Human Resources Director

Director, Human Resources

Dartmouth, NS

Reference # AM-7520

Meridia Recruitment Solutions has partnered with Bluewater Group, a proudly Canadian, privately held organization headquartered in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, to recruit a Director, Human Resources.

Founded in 1974, Bluewater Group has grown into a diversified national organization with nearly 500 employees and operations spanning marine services, ship supply, lubricants distribution, supply chain management, warehousing, transportation, and integrated logistics. Recognized as Atlantic Canada’s largest ship supplier and Canada’s largest independent distributor of Mobil-branded lubricants, Bluewater has built a strong reputation for its customer-driven, solutions-focused approach. With a longstanding presence in Atlantic Canada and an expanding national footprint, the organization continues to grow through strategic acquisitions, new contracts, and ongoing investment in its people, services, and infrastructure.

Role Description

In this role, you will serve as the organization’s senior HR leader, providing strategic guidance and hands-on support across a diverse, multi-site workforce. Leading a small HR team, the Director will work closely with the executive team, division leaders, and people managers while overseeing the full spectrum of HR activities.

As a trusted advisor to leadership, the successful candidate will help guide people-related decisions, strengthen HR programs and processes, and support the organization through continued growth, acquisitions, and new contracts. With ongoing investment across the business, the Director will have the opportunity to take ownership, improve existing practices, and help build the HR function to support the organization’s evolving needs.

Your Responsibilities

Your responsibilities will include:

· Providing strategic and operational leadership across all aspects of Human Resources, aligning people initiatives with organizational priorities and business objectives;

· Leading, developing, and supporting a small HR team while serving as the primary HR partner to executive leadership, division leaders, and people managers;

· Advising and coaching leaders on employee relations, workplace investigations, conflict resolution, performance management, and complex people matters;

· Overseeing talent acquisition, workforce planning, succession planning, onboarding, and other initiatives that support organizational growth;

· Managing compensation and benefits programs, including market benchmarking and annual review processes;

· Providing oversight of payroll processes to support accuracy, compliance, and effective internal controls;

· Leading employee engagement, recognition, leadership development, training, and organizational culture initiatives;

· Providing guidance on employment legislation, HR policies, risk management, and compliance across applicable provincial and federal jurisdictions;

· Enhancing HR systems, reporting capabilities, policies, and processes to improve organizational effectiveness and support the evolving needs of the business.

Your Qualifications

As the ideal candidate, you are a collaborative and practical HR leader who brings sound judgment, strong business acumen, and the ability to build trusted relationships across an organization. You are comfortable advising senior executives while remaining engaged in day-to-day HR operations, and you approach complex workplace matters with professionalism, discretion, and a balanced perspective. You thrive in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment where priorities can shift and the ability to take initiative is essential.

Your qualifications will include:

· Progressive Human Resources experience, with leadership responsibility across multiple HR disciplines;

· Experience advising senior leaders and supporting people managers on a broad range of HR matters;

· Strong expertise in employee relations, workplace investigations, conflict resolution, and performance management;

· Experience overseeing recruitment, workforce planning, compensation, benefits, and payroll processes;

· Knowledge of Canadian employment legislation, HR policies, and compliance requirements;

· Experience leading or developing an HR team and supporting a geographically dispersed or multi-site workforce;

· An undergraduate degree in Human Resources, Business, Psychology, or a related field;

· CPHR designation or progress toward designation considered an asset;

· Experience in a dynamic, entrepreneurial, multi-site organization undergoing growth or change would be considered an asset.

To express interest in this opportunity, please apply online by clicking “Apply Now” below.

For more information, contact Austin McLennan, Partner, at [email protected] and 902-424-1103 or Lauren MacDonald at [email protected] and 902-407-1427. If you require accommodation to participate in the recruitment process, please let Austin or Lauren know.

Meridia Recruitment Solutions connects leading organizations with top talent by building strong relationships and creating ideal matches with candidates because we are only successful when you are. We appreciate your interest in this opportunity.

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