Director, Talent Acquisition

Hiring Salary Range : $ 170,000.00 - 210,000.00

This range represents the hiring range. Salaries are determined individually depending on skills and experience. You will also be eligible to an annual bonus, employee share investment program (ESIP), Pension, Benefits, Railroad Retirement Benefits (RRB) and other perks.
At CN, everyday brings new and exciting challenges. You can expect an interesting environment where you're part of making sure our business is running optimally and safely-helping keep the economy on track. We provide the kind of paid training and opportunities that long-term careers are built on and we recognize hard workers who strive to make a difference. You will be able to thrive in our close-knit, safety-focused culture working together as ONE TEAM. The careers we offer are meaningful because the work we do matters. Join us!

• Redesign the Talent Acquisition (TA) process to support the delivery of the talent strategy and lead a high-performing talent acquisition function that's proactive, efficient, and aligned with business objectives

• Perform strategic workforce planning and segmentation

• Develop role-based segmentation strategies, considering critical skill needs, markets, and geographic regions including creating tailored recruitment approaches based on the type of role (e.g., high-volume roles, specialized skills, or geographically dispersed positions)

• Analyze business needs and talent pools to prioritize roles that require different sourcing strategies (e.g., technical vs. generalist, high skill vs. entry-level)

• Use labor market data to assess talent availability, competition, and compensation benchmarks in different regions to guide sourcing tactics and compensation strategy adjustments

• Collaborate with the Talent, Performance and Compensation teams and the regional Human Resources (HR) teams to maintain an up-to-date understanding of market trends and regulatory impacts in each location

• Review the entire TA lifecycle-from candidate sourcing, application, and selection to offer management and onboarding-to ensure efficiency, compliance, and an exceptional candidate experience

• Implement process mapping and data analysis to identify bottlenecks and inefficiencies, using continuous improvement methodologies (e.g., Lean, Six Sigma) to streamline processes

• Leverage ATS, AI-based recruitment tools, and other technology platforms to optimize sourcing, enhance candidate screening, and reduce time-to-hire

• Review and update the ATS to ensure it meets the company's evolving needs, exploring Artificial Intelligence (AI) for resume screening, talent pools, and communication automation

• Develop and execute a strong employer branding strategy that resonates with potential candidates and reflects the company's values, culture, and growth opportunities

• Collaborate with internal communications and marketing teams to craft messaging that showcases the company's competitive differentiators and utilize employee testimonials, workplace awards, and brand advocates to attract talent

• Optimize the candidate experience continuously by ensuring a seamless, responsive, and engaging recruitment process, from application to onboarding and solicit feedback and make improvements based on candidate satisfaction surveys

• Create a transparent, candidate-first process, with a focus on communication at every touchpoint

• Implement candidate Net Promoter Score (NPS) type of system surveys to monitor satisfaction and identify areas for improvement

• Leverage digital and social media marketing, events, and targeted advertising to attract talent and build a strong online presence on platforms such as LinkedIn, Glassdoor, and Indeed to engage potential candidates and increase application rates

• Run targeted marketing campaigns for high-priority or difficult-to-fill roles and create tailored content, such as blog posts, videos, and success stories, to engage potential candidates

• Engage with external partners to build relationships with universities, technical schools, industry organizations, and recruiting agencies to access new talent pools

• Develop partnerships with educational institutions to create pipelines for entry-level talent and collaborate with agencies for temporary staffing or specialized skillsets

• Shift from reactive recruiting to proactive talent pipeline management, ensuring a steady flow of high-quality candidates by building and maintaining relationships with passive talent

• Develop and deploy sourcing strategies for hard-to-fill roles or those with talent shortages and establish a talent pool of pre-qualified candidates, focusing on future needs and company growth areas

• Prioritize building diverse talent pipelines by adopting inclusive sourcing techniques and partnerships with underrepresented communities, educational institutions, and professional networks

• Use diversity-focused job boards, and network with organizations that promote inclusion in hiring as well as track and analyze diversity metrics within the hiring pipeline

• Implement advanced recruiting analytics to measure KPIs, such as time-to-hire, quality of hire, cost per hire, and candidate experience to drive continuous improvement

• Establish a reporting framework for the leadership team that outlines key TA metrics and regularly analyze and optimize recruitment strategies based on the performance data

• Utilize predictive analytics to anticipate future talent needs and prepare for hiring spikes or workforce shortages in key areas

• Collaborate with workforce planning and HR analytics teams to develop predictive models that anticipate hiring needs by role, function, and geography

• Audit the TA processes regularly to identify opportunities for efficiency gains, such as reducing the time-to-fill for roles, automating repetitive tasks, and simplifying the candidate experience

• Adopt a continuous improvement mindset, using employee and hiring manager feedback to refine processes and ensure the recruitment function can scale effectively as the organization grows

• Ensure that TA strategies are scalable across geographies, adapting to local market conditions while maintaining alignment with global processes and standards

• Establish a global framework that allows for regional customization of the recruitment process without compromising consistency and efficiency

• Minimum 10 years of experience leading a TA function

• Experience defining and implementing a TA strategy by leveraging progressive recruitment technology, social media, networks and RPO.

• Demonstrated track record of building high performing teams

• Effective at partnering with multiple stakeholders including Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) groups

• Experience with and knowledge of unionized environments or recruiting experience in heavy asset-based industry with significant demand fluctuation

• Bachelor's Degree

• Member of a Professional Order (i.e., Chartered Human Resources Professional (CHRP))

• Knows the business and stays current with industry needs

• Develops self and others

• Collaborates with others and shares information

• Creates a sense of belonging and inclusion

• Sets direction and inspires others

• Communicates with impact

• Delegates and empowers others to create accountability

• Demonstrates agility and drives change

• Understanding of metrics-driven environments and methods used to set KPIs

• Proficient with technology including Microsoft Office, ATS, and AI

• Understanding of key operational and financial metrics

• In-depth understanding of the TA space including aggregators

• Knowledge of assessment tools

• Working knowledge of CN's network and key roles

• Knowledge of SuccessFactors TA modules

• Fluently bilingual both written and verbal (English, French*)