People & Culture Business Partner (20-mth Contract)

About MaRS

MaRS Discovery District (@MaRSDD) is a charitable organization and North America’s largest urban innovation hub, dedicated to helping high-growth technology companies succeed. With a focus on climate, health sciences and other emerging technologies, MaRS supports startups tackling some of the world’s most pressing issues. Through its world-class facilities, strategic programs and partnerships, MaRS accelerates the adoption of groundbreaking Canadian technology and bolsters a globally competitive innovation ecosystem. MaRS is the place where you can play a meaningful role in the innovation economy.

About the Position

As a People & Culture Business Partner, you will be a vital member of our four-person People and Culture team. You will serve as the primary liaison between your assigned lines of business and the broader P&C team. Reporting to the Senior Director and head of People & Culture, you seek to understand the business and organizational priorities so you can provide informed, strategic guidance on people related issues. There are three critical components of this role:  advising and supporting managers and employee relations; leading programs and projects; and leading end-to-end recruitment efforts. You play a key role in identifying emerging themes and issues, surfacing thoughtful recommendations, and ensuring your guidance aligns with organizational goals. With a focus on mitigating and managing risk, you help shape a consistent, people-centred approach that enables teams—and the organization—to thrive.

About you

You are passionate about your work and are a curious, lifelong learner. You have a solid background supporting and advising managers and senior leaders on employee relations and other people-related issues. You also bring depth of experience in one or more of the following areas: recruitment, employee experience and engagement, people programs/organizational development, performance enablement, and/or benefits and compensation management. You are highly adaptable, optimistic, and are comfortable with a high degree of ownership and accountability. You are comfortable engaging with stakeholders at all levels and have a collaborative working style. You proactively identify challenges and propose creative, thoughtful solutions.

Key Responsibilities

Advice and partnering

• Take the time to learn and understand the lines of business you support—including their goals and strategies.
• Establish and maintain collaborative relationships with internal clients/managers; get to know employees; be approachable and welcoming.
• Leverage strong listening and observational skills to uncover underlying needs and issues.
• Provide guidance on day-to-day people-related matters, including recruitment, succession planning, employee development, performance management, and employee relations, escalating as required.
• Support termination strategy and execution in a thoughtful, empathetic manner; mitigate organizational risk; liaise with external employment counsel, when needed.
  

Program and Project Management

• Lead a portfolio of People & Culture programs and organizational development initiatives. Some program examples are: employee engagement strategy, measurement and action planning, recognition, employer branding, hybrid work, AI enablement, intern program, benefits review, lunch n’ learns, quarterly all-staff meeting planning.
• For annual programs, manage timelines, communications, meetings, and deliverables, in collaboration with the broader P&C team.
• For new organizational development initiatives, conduct research, propose well-considered options, present recommendations, design solutions, plan and oversee implementation, measure effectiveness; continually refine and improve.

Recruitment

• Consult with managers on hiring needs and develop sourcing strategies and recruitment plans.
• Support managers in creating clear, accurate, and compelling job postings.
• Advise on interview approaches and selection criteria.
• Train managers on effective recruitment practices.
• Lead timely, efficient, and effective recruitment processes, including posting roles, screening resumes, conducting preliminary interviews, scheduling interviews, occasionally participating in later-stage interviews, coordinating work sample assignments, gathering collective feedback, drafting offer letters, and negotiating terms.
• Support onboarding planning to ensure new hires are set up for success.
  

Team Collaboration

• Share your expertise and act as a supportive mentor and guide to others on the team.
• Step in to support colleagues when workload and timing allows.
• Bring a collaborative spirit to all projects, actively seeking and considering input from the P&C team and from across the organization.
• Stay curious and informed about innovative and emerging People & Culture practices and approaches, and share with the team

Qualifications

• University degree or equivalent experience.
• At least 8 years of People & Culture experience, with at least 3 years in a Business Partner role
• Experience designing, delivering and managing people & culture programs
• Experience on a small, agile and progressive People & Culture team
• Demonstrated success working in a fast-paced, team-based environment, partnering effectively with peers, senior leaders, managers, and professionals to deliver on key objectives and enhance engagement, productivity, and teamwork.
• Strong listening and observational skills; ability to use powerful questions to bring about understanding and insight
• Business and organizational acumen, with the ability to use insights to improve talent and business outcomes.

This is a fixed term opportunity to cover a prenatal leave and have some overlap in advance. At this point, it is expected to last approximately 20 months.

What we offer:

• Base Salary Range for this role: $105,000 - $120,000
• Comprehensive extended healthcare benefits
• Generous paid time-off, starting at five weeks per year
  

Applicants must be legally eligible to work in Canada, reside in Ontario and be willing to work out of our Toronto office (101 College Street) a minimum of 3 days per week.

We actively encourage all candidates to apply, including those from equity-deserving communities.
If you're passionate about the role and believe you can make a meaningful impact, we want to hear from you, even if you don't meet every listed qualification. We’re always looking for great talent to join our team.

Please reach out to [email protected] if there’s anything we can do to make your experience more accessible and inclusive, including accommodations. Include 'Accessibility Request' in your subject line.

This posting will close at 5pm EDT on October 25, 2026. However, we may close the posting earlier if we receive a high volume of qualified applications or if the position is filled before the deadline. We encourage interested candidates to apply as soon as possible.

This posting is for an existing vacancy.

Our Applicant Tracking System, BambooHR, does not use Artificial Intelligence (AI). From time to time MaRS may use AI in our screening, assessment, and selection processes.

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