Partner - Employee Appeals and Development - Rehabilitation Management

Belonging to Air Canada is belonging to a Canadian symbol, Air Canada recently elected 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.

The Partner – Employee Appeals and Development – Rehabilitation Management provides leadership and training to Rehabilitation Management team members on various aspects of employee appeals related to work accidents, namely initial appeals training, process supervision, follow-up, trend identification, monitoring, and continuous improvement activities. This person must actively collaborate with internal partners to evaluate processes, implement improvements, and identify opportunities that meet operational needs, reduce cost exposure, and enhance consistency across all territories.

Responsibilities:

Employee appeals related to work accidents (Quebec – CNESST)

• Oversee and maintain Air Canada's employee appeals process related to work accidents for Quebec, including all levels of dispute resolution through the CNESST's administrative review process (request for review) and appeals to the Administrative Labour Tribunal (TAT).
• Act as Air Canada's primary administrator and subject matter expert for all CNESST appeals investigations, litigation support, and appeals management activities.
• Maintain in-depth knowledge of Quebec's workers' compensation legislation, CNESST policies, Administrative Labour Tribunal procedures, relevant timelines, evidentiary requirements, and appeals documentation, including review requests, challenge forms, written statements, employer submissions, imputation disputes, rehabilitation decisions, and hearing preparation requirements.
• Conduct comprehensive reviews of claims, medical evidence, occupational information, cost mitigation opportunities, and grounds for appeal to determine appropriate challenge and litigation strategies.
• Be responsible for quality assurance and supervision of all written submissions to the CNESST and the Administrative Labour Tribunal, ensuring that arguments are evidence-based, legally sound, operationally accurate, and support favorable cost management outcomes.
• Provide expert guidance and direction to Rehabilitation Management Advisors and Work Accident Advisors in assessing complex claims, medical evidence, work capacity determinations, permanent disability decisions, and rehabilitation issues under CNESST jurisdiction.
• Seek and seize cost reduction opportunities through challenges and appeals regarding claim entitlement, causation, pre-existing conditions, cost transfer or imputation relief, fitness for work determinations, and policy interpretation concerns.
• Be responsible for the integrity and quality of hearing preparation materials, witness preparation, introductory and concluding submissions, rebuttal arguments, and employer representation before the Administrative Labour Tribunal and other decision-making bodies.
• Lead the resolution of contested claims and appeals while ensuring a comprehensive review of decisions, lessons learned, and stakeholder reporting.
• Collaborate with Legal Affairs for high-risk cases, those that could set a precedent or affect reputation, complex medical cases, as well as complex financial cases requiring enhanced legal strategy.
• Lead the monitoring, trend analysis, reporting, and communication of CNESST and Administrative Labour Tribunal decisions, and identify emerging risks, appeals success rates, cost containment opportunities, and systemic issues.
• Raise awareness among management and stakeholders about important decisions, legislative changes, and emerging jurisprudence trends affecting occupational injury and illness management in Quebec.
• Lead continuous improvement initiatives stemming from appeals decisions, ensuring that procedural updates, policy revisions, risk assessments, and implementation plans are communicated and implemented.
• Collaborate with the Rehabilitation Management Process Improvement team, Human Resources, IT, and business stakeholders to enhance appeals tracking systems, automation, reporting capabilities, document management, and workflow efficiency.
• Participate in CNESST and employer forums, as well as legal and industry forums; monitor policy and legislative changes, and communicate operational impacts, risks, and required process adjustments.

Rehabilitation Management Team Development

• Lead the design, modernization, implementation, and ongoing maintenance of Rehabilitation Management training and capacity-building programs, including onboarding, instructor-led training, e-learning, mentoring, refresher programs, and advanced specialized training.
• Establish training standards and programs, learning paths, competency frameworks, and certification requirements to foster consistency of practices within Rehabilitation Management.
• Act as primary learning partner and mentor for new employees throughout their onboarding, training, and initial development period.
• Conduct structured file audits, coaching sessions, and quality reviews for newly trained employees during the first 6 to 12 months after their training approval.
• Identify skill gaps, emerging trends, legislative changes, and operational needs to develop targeted learning solutions and continuous training programs.
• Collaborate with Rehabilitation Management, Legal Affairs, Occupational Health Services, Labour Relations, Human Resources, and operational stakeholders to ensure that training content reflects current legislation, policies, procedures, and best practices.
• Develop and maintain learning and effectiveness metrics, quality indicators, and reporting mechanisms to evaluate training outcomes and operational readiness.
• Ensure that all training programs promote consistency, fairness, procedural compliance, employee experience, and the adoption of best practice principles in rehabilitation management.
• Act as co-custodian of knowledge management systems, SharePoint governance, training records, procedures, templates, and documentation controls for Rehabilitation Management.
• Support the implementation of new programs, policy changes, system enhancements, and transformation initiatives through training, communication, and change management activities.
• Facilitate communities of practice, file reviews, knowledge sharing sessions, and continuous improvement initiatives to build organizational capacity.
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree (paralegal field preferred).
• Five years of experience required in workers' compensation and rehabilitation management.
• Expertise in employee appeals related to work accidents in Quebec.
• Excellent planning and organizational skills, and critical thinking.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Ability to think strategically and prioritize in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to travel for business, as needed.
• Excellent knowledge of Microsoft Office suite (Excel, Word, Project, Visio).
• Experience in designing, executing, and maintaining management process improvements.

Employment Conditions:

Candidates must be eligible to work in the country concerned at the time an employment offer is made and are responsible for obtaining necessary work permits, visas, or other 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 values the unique contribution of our employees to the success of our company.

As an employer that guarantees equal access to employment, we encourage the most diverse applications in order to build a varied workforce representative of our customers and the communities where we live and offer our services.

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