Product Manager - HR Systems

Belonging to Air Canada is about belonging to a Canadian icon, Air Canada recently voted best airline in North America. Take your career to new heights by joining our innovative and diverse team at the forefront of passenger air transport.

At Air Canada, we are committed to building products that deliver an exceptional customer experience and help our customers travel all over the world. As we continue our efforts to make the Corporation a global champion, product management and IT play a leading role in all aspects of our customers' journeys. In this pursuit, corporate culture is part of our investments, just like what we build and how we build it.

Air Canada is looking for a highly motivated and detail-oriented Product Manager to join the Air Canada IT team. The ideal person interacts with Air Canada business groups to assess operational requirements and set priorities. They must be customer-centric and have a passion for the travel industry, as well as in-depth knowledge of creating high-level innovative experiences. They must also be comfortable working in a fast-paced, highly dynamic environment that fosters collaboration and relies on a continuous product delivery model. Specifically, Air Canada is looking for an experienced Product Manager for HR systems to lead the strategy, development, and continuous delivery of digital products that support key moments in the employee journey. The person must understand the airline industry and the unique needs of a diverse, operational workforce.

The ideal candidate possesses strong product management expertise, a deep understanding of operations, and a passion for elevating the employee experience through intuitive, reliable, and modern HR systems.

The position can be based in Montreal or Toronto.

Responsibilities:

• Create and manage the program and develop roadmaps aligned with business objectives and key performance indicators.
• Act as a key IT liaison for all functional areas, including business units, IT, and external vendors for airline operations business areas.
• Build successful relationships with businesses and act as a trusted advisor for IT-related questions.
• Lead and mentor a team of Product Owners to create cutting-edge digital experiences.
• Be comfortable leading through influence to achieve results in a multi-matrix team.
• Manage key relationships with business stakeholders and collaborate with business sector leads to define experiences that achieve key business objectives and outcomes.
• Define, prioritize, and manage the feature backlog for their portfolio and communicate this vision to an Agile implementation team.
• Define, refine, and implement the HR systems vision and roadmap throughout the employee lifecycle (from recruitment to retirement).
• Identify opportunities to streamline and enhance the employee journey through digital tools and process improvement.
• Collaborate with the HR, Operations, and IT leadership teams to develop a multi-year strategy for modernizing HR technologies.
• Lead the full product lifecycle management: discovery, requirements definition, prioritization, delivery, launch, and iteration.
• Conduct user research with Operations teams to understand the needs of frontline employees and corporate services.
• Translate business and operational requirements into clear technical specifications for development teams.
• Work closely with technology teams to ensure systems are secure, scalable, and compliant with enterprise architecture standards.
• Act as the primary liaison between HR, Operations, IT, and vendor partners.
• Communicate updates, roadmaps, and product value to senior management stakeholders.
• Promote change adoption and lead rollout strategies for new HR systems and features across a dispersed, multilingual workforce.
• Ensure new solutions support unionized environments and operational constraints.
• Monitor HR system performance and proactively identify potential improvements.
• Use data and employee feedback to guide improvements and ensure system usability.
• Ensure all products meet accessibility, compliance, and employee experience standards.
• Work with Solution Leads, Delivery Train Managers, and Technical Architects to ensure capabilities, technical requirements, and release planning achieve long-term goals.
• Provide technology-specific financial data to a key functional area.
• Propose and promote new ways of collaborating through new processes and tools.
• Prepare presentations and actively participate in meetings with the Corporation's executive leadership team to communicate the roadmap, new features, and data.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in business administration, engineering, computer science, HR, or a related field (Master's degree is an asset).
• At least four years of experience in product analysis or management.
• Ability to motivate employees in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
• Experience leading a team of Product Owners or management systems analysts and product designers.
• Ability to provide clear direction and effective communication on technical and business levels.
• Demonstrated openness and willingness to adapt to new or different working methods.
• Willingness to take ownership of results and actively participate in shaping the company's future direction.
• Team spirit and ability to work closely with diverse groups of people with different working styles.
• Ability to build and maintain effective business relationships.
• Sense of innovation, creativity, and ability to identify and develop business opportunities.
• Excellent management, organizational, and planning skills.
• Solid understanding of at least one type of Agile methodology (Scrum, SAFe, etc.).
• Experience with software development lifecycle tools such as Jira and Confluence.
• Experience participating in product discovery sessions.
• Experience in the travel or airline industry (Commercial business, Loyalty, Operations, Cargo, Call center), an asset.
• Proven experience in the airline sector or with an airline company.
• Excellent understanding of operational environments, frontline personnel needs, and complex employee experience challenges.
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional teams and successfully drive technology-enabled business transformation.
• Strong technical acumen and ability to translate business requirements into technical solutions.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Preferably, experience with HR platforms and HR information systems, such as Workday, SuccessFactors, IT self-service portal, Employment and Social Development Canada, etc.
• Fluency in French; bilingualism (French and English) preferred.
• Experience in designing or optimizing the end-to-end employee lifecycle.
• Demonstrated punctuality and reliability to foster the team's overall success in a fast-paced environment.

Key Skills

• Strategic thinking and long-term planning.
• User-centric design approach.
• Ability to work in complex, fast-paced operational environments.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent change management and communication skills.
• Technical skills and ease in working with engineering teams.

Employment Conditions:

Candidates must be eligible to work in the country concerned at the time an offer of employment is presented and are responsible for obtaining work permits, visas, or other necessary authorizations. Proof of eligibility must be provided before the start date.

Language Requirements

All things being equal, preference will be given to bilingual candidates.

Diversity and Inclusion

Air Canada is strongly committed to diversity and inclusion and aims to create a healthy, accessible, and rewarding workplace that highlights our employees' unique contributions to our company's success.

As an equal opportunity employer, we encourage diverse applications to ensure a varied workforce representative of our customers and the communities where we live and serve.

Air Canada thanks all applicants for their interest, but only those selected for an interview will be contacted.