Careers at Canaveral Port Authority

The Position

Reporting to the CEO, the Vice President of Human Resources is responsible for HR management, benefits, and HR administration. This individual will be part of the senior management team and will partner with line management to improve their leadership and management in their organizations. A key component of this role is to engage senior management in modernizing the organization while simultaneously supporting collaborative culture within the CPA.

Key Responsibilities 

The Vice President, Human Resources will provide strategic and operational leadership across the full range of human resources functions, serving as a trusted advisor to the CEO, senior leadership team, managers, and employees. Key responsibilities include: 

• Serve as a strategic partner to the CEO and senior leadership team, helping align the Port’s people strategy with organizational priorities, operational needs, and long-term growth objectives. 
• Lead, modernize, and strengthen HR policies, practices, systems, and processes to ensure they are clear, consistent, compliant, business-oriented, and supportive of a high-performing culture. 
• Partner closely with Operations and other departments on workforce planning, safety culture, training, staffing, employee relations, performance expectations, and disciplinary matters. 
• Provide practical, sound counsel to managers and supervisors to strengthen leadership capability, support accountability, and improve communication, engagement, and team effectiveness. 
• Develop and implement contemporary approaches to talent attraction, recruitment, onboarding, retention, succession planning, career development, and internal mobility. 
• Advance performance management practices, including modernized performance evaluation tools, clear goals and expectations, constructive feedback practices, and appropriate job grade and salary band structures. 
• Help foster a modern, agile, collaborative, and accountable management culture by challenging unnecessary bureaucracy, encouraging thoughtful change, and supporting continuous improvement. 
• Build a strong employee experience across the workforce by promoting respect, trust, communication, engagement, morale, and a shared sense of purpose. 
• Oversee benefits, compensation, HR administration, compliance, employee records, and related reporting with accuracy, discretion, and attention to continuous process improvement. 
• Support labor relations, employee relations, investigations, workplace policy interpretation, and conflict resolution in a fair, consistent, and legally compliant manner. 
• Strengthen technical training, leadership development, and workforce pipeline initiatives, including relationships with technical schools, educational institutions, and other talent partners. 
• Lead and develop the HR team, establishing clear priorities, service standards, accountability, and a responsive, solutions-oriented approach to supporting the organization.

The Candidate

Port Canaveral is seeking a strategic, dynamic, and collaborative Human Resources leader who can serve as a trusted business partner to the CEO, senior leadership team, and broader organization. The ideal candidate will bring a business-oriented view of HR as a driver of organizational performance, employee engagement, leadership effectiveness, and culture. 

This leader will be energized by the opportunity to help shape a progressive, business-oriented people strategy within a complex public sector operating port. Success will require someone who is both strategic and hands-on, comfortable building credibility across a hybrid workforce, and committed to fostering respectful collaboration, accountability, and a strong employee experience. 

Competencies & Areas of Expertise

Candidates considered for the VP, HR role will demonstrate a strong combination of the following leadership competencies and areas of expertise:

• Strategic HR leadership with the ability to align people strategy with organizational priorities, operational needs, and long-term business goals.
  
• Contemporary talent management expertise, including innovative approaches to talent attraction, performance management, succession planning, career development, and workforce engagement.
  
• Business-oriented judgment and the ability to build sound business cases, make practical recommendations, and support thoughtful organizational change.
• Collaborative leadership style marked by credibility, emotional intelligence, transparency, active listening, and the ability to build trust across all levels of the organization.
• Strong communication skills, including the ability to clearly convey expectations, maintain an open flow of information, and handle sensitive matters with discretion and sound judgment.
• Change leadership capability, with a willingness to challenge outdated practices, reduce unnecessary bureaucracy, and help foster a more agile, accountable, and performance-oriented culture.
• Solutions-focused understanding of HR compliance, employee relations, labor relations, and workplace policy within a complex operating environment.
• Relationship-driven approach to leadership, with a collegial, accessible style and a genuine enthusiasm for supporting people, teams, and organizational success.
• Comfort operating in a lean, relatively flat environment that values collaboration, adaptability, initiative, and hands-on engagement.
• Unquestioned ethics and integrity, demonstrated through consistent, fair, and principled leadership practice.

Essential Qualifications

• At least ten years of progressively responsible human resources leadership experience.
  
• Experience as a strategic, business-oriented HR executive; private sector experience is preferred.
• Sound understanding of labor relations and experience supporting organizations with both white collar and blue-collar workforces.
• Ability to build respectful collaboration and credibility across a hybrid workforce environment.
• Undergraduate degree required; master’s degree in a relevant field preferred.
• PHR or SHRM certification preferred.
• Ability to understand and thrive within the unique environment of a business-oriented public sector operating port.
• Attuned to the evolving expectations, engagement drivers, and job satisfaction needs of a multigenerational workforce.

Location & Remuneration

• Office-based opportunity located at Canaveral Port Authority headquarters.
• Port Canaveral offers a competitive executive compensation and benefits package commensurate with the selected candidate’s experience, qualifications, and the strategic importance of the role.

Please review the full Position Brief for this opportunity, which can be downloaded here: Download Full Position Brief

To Apply

Please submit a comprehensive CV along with a cover letter which sets out your interest in the role and encapsulates the aspects of your experience relevant to the required criteria. 

The Canaveral Port Authority is committed to providing preferential consideration in the employment process to veterans. If claiming Veteran’s preference, please provide a DD214 form along with other application materials. 

The preferred method of application is by email to:  portcanaveral.vphr@odgers.com

Contact Details

For more information, please contact Linda Kearschner at  linda.kearschner@odgers.com.