Open to opportunities

Melisa Kaitlyn

@melikaitly

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Certified HR Leader specializing in organizational development, people operations, culture and talent.

Canada

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What I'm looking for

I am seeking HR leadership or senior HR consulting roles where I can build people programs, lead organizational development, coach teams, and support growth-oriented, impact-driven companies with collaborative cultures.

I am a Canadian Certified HR Leader (CHRL) with progressive experience across full-cycle HR functions, with deep subject-matter expertise in organizational development, talent acquisition, change management and people operations. I have built HR functions from scratch, supported large-scale change and acquisitions, and partnered with leadership to design and implement engagement, compensation and development initiatives that measurably improved retention and performance.

As a consultant and contractor I founded a small HR & operational support business, contributed to revenue growth and operational improvements at boutique HR firms, and led People & Culture builds for high-growth companies. I bring strong analytical, creative and problem-solving skills, practical employment law knowledge, and a collaborative coaching approach that has developed junior colleagues and driven promotions.

Experience

Work history, roles, and key accomplishments

Country HR Business Partner

Cytiva

Aug 2021 - Nov 2025 (4 years 3 months)

Led regional HR for Canada (380+ employees), driving compliance, M&A integration, change management and DEI initiatives that reduced turnover to <5% in key technical departments and improved performance review completion to 90%.

HR Business Partnering HR M&A Integration Change Management DEI Employee Relations ServiceNow Talent Development HRIS

HR Manager

Vanrx Pharmasystems

Apr 2020 - Sep 2021 (1 year 5 months)

Transformed HR during rapid growth, managing recruitment (headcount +190%) and supporting ~$80M revenue growth, led acquisition integration with Cytiva and launched leadership development and onboarding programs.

Recruitment Leadership Development Onboarding Employee Relations HR strategy

Freelance HR Consultant

Freelance

Dec 2018 - Apr 2020 (1 year 4 months)

Delivered HR projects for clients across Canada and the USA including talent acquisition, HR ops and people strategy for startups and agencies between 2018–2020.

Talent Acquisition HR Operations HRIS Employee Engagement Policy Development Contractor Management Onboarding

HR Manager, People Operations Lead

Checkout 51

Mar 2018 - Dec 2018 (9 months)

Led people operations and served as integration liaison following acquisition by News America Marketing, supporting HR integration and ongoing operational HR needs.

HR Operations Employee Relations Onboarding HRIS Stakeholder Management

HR Generalist / Business Partner

Mindshare

Jul 2015 - Mar 2018 (2 years 8 months)

Served as HR lead for 185 employees across Ontario and Quebec, delivering workforce planning, manager coaching, onboarding and complex employee relations during global initiatives and acquisitions.

Workforce Planning Recruitment Employee Relations Onboarding Benefits

HR Generalist

GroupM

Jan 2015 - Jul 2015 (6 months)

Supported ~120 employees with full-cycle recruitment, onboarding/offboarding, disability and leave management, audits and HRIS/payroll/benefits coordination.

Recruitment Onboarding Leave Management HRIS Employee Relations Audit

Organizational Development Coordinator

CPP Investment Board

Aug 2013 - Dec 2014 (1 year 4 months)

Supported OD programs for 1000+ employees, leading manager training, campus recruitment, succession planning, engagement surveys and HR tech testing for global offices.

Organizational Development Training Delivery Campus Recruitment Succession Planning HR Technology Process Mapping