BUSINESS ADVISOR, BDC ADVISORY SERVICES (OPS EFFICIENCY & STRATEGY)
BDC
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Benefits offered by this job
Job summary
BDC Advisory Services is seeking an experienced Business Advisor, Operations, to lead end‑to‑end transformation mandates for Canadian SMEs. The role combines deep operations knowledge with technologies enabling modern manufacturing, distribution, logistics, and service operations.
You will drive data‑driven improvements, automation strategies, and practical roadmaps while collaborating with senior executives and cross‑functional teams.
Qualifications
- Strong business analysis and problem‑solving capabilities.
- Excellent facilitation, communication, presentation, and stakeholder management skills.
- Ability to translate complex operational and technical concepts into practical recommendations.
Responsibilities
- Define project scope, objectives, work plans, and deliverables.
- Manage budgets, timelines, risks, stakeholder expectations, and project quality.
- Ensure measurable client impact and achievement of business outcomes.
- Lead client workshops, interviews, assessments, and executive presentations.
Skills
Education
Tools
Job description
Choosing BDC as your employer means working in a healthy, inclusive, and skilled workplace that puts forward the best conditions to bring together unique teams where employees are empowered to act. It also means being at the centre of ambitious economic and financial projects to see further and to do things differently, to fuel the success of Canadian entrepreneurs.
- Flexible and competitive benefits, including an Employee Savings and Investment Plan where BDC matches part of your voluntary contributions, a Defined Benefit Pension Plan, a $750 wellness and health care spending account, to name a few
- In addition to paid vacation each year, five personal days, sick days as necessary, and our offices are closed from December 25 to January 1
- A hybrid work model that truly balances work and personal life
- Opportunities for learning, training and development, and much more...
Explore the BDC Way in our Culture Book
As a Business Advisor, Operations within BDC Advisory Services, you act as a trusted advisor to entrepreneurs and leadership teams seeking to improve operational performance, accelerate growth, and strengthen organizational capabilities.
This position resides within Advisory Services and serves Canadian small and medium-sized businesses through advisory mandates.
The successful candidate combines deep operational expertise with strong knowledge of the technologies that enable modern manufacturing, distribution, logistics, and service operations. They understand how business processes, management systems, operational technologies, data, automation, and artificial intelligence work together to improve productivity, scalability, decision‑making, and business performance.
The Business Advisor delivers both standard and customized consulting mandates, manages end‑to‑end project delivery, acts as a subject matter expert, supports solution development, and contributes to business development activities.
The successful candidate understands the technologies driving modern operational performance, including ERP and operational management systems, industrial automation, robotics, smart manufacturing, Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), advanced analytics, and artificial intelligence. They can help entrepreneurs evaluate where these technologies create business value and develop practical roadmaps for adoption within SME environments.
- Business process optimization
- Operational performance improvement
- Manufacturing, supply chain, logistics, and service operations
- Digital transformation, automation and technology adoption
- Data‑driven decision making
- Process automation and artificial intelligence
- Organizational scalability and operational maturity
- Optimization of operational and management systems (ERP, MES, WMS, CRM, APS, CMMS/EAM, BI platforms)
- Assessment and improvement of operational workflows, information flows, and decision‑making processes
- Identification of high‑value opportunities for automation, analytics, and AI
- Development of operational roadmaps and technology adoption plans
- Support for technology selection, implementation, optimization, and change management initiatives
- Define project scope, objectives, work plans, and deliverables
- Manage budgets, timelines, risks, stakeholder expectations, and project quality
- Ensure measurable client impact and achievement of business outcomes
- Lead client workshops, interviews, assessments, and executive presentations
- Maintain high standards of professionalism and advisory excellence
- Stay current on emerging technologies, management systems, automation, analytics, and AI trends
- Contribute to the development of methodologies, tools, intellectual property, and service offerings
- Support internal capability building and knowledge sharing
- Support client diagnostics and operational assessments
- Assist in solution design and proposal development
- Participate in client discussions focused on operational transformation and technology adoption
- Help position BDC's advisory solutions with entrepreneurs and leadership teams
- Share expertise and best practices across Advisory Services
- Co‑deliver complex mandates
- Contribute to the development of internal capabilities in digital operational excellence
- Develop operational excellence, technology, and AI‑related content
- Present at internal and external events
- Promote BDC's expertise and advisory offerings
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Operations Management, Business Administration, Information Systems, Industrial Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, or a related field
- Minimum 10 years of consulting, advisory, operational leadership, or transformation experience
- Demonstrated success delivering operational improvement and business transformation initiatives
- Proven experience leading consulting or advisory mandates from diagnosis through implementation
- Experience working directly with executive teams, business owners, and senior operational leaders
- Experience managing project scope, budgets, timelines, risks, and stakeholder expectations
The successful candidate must possess strong operational knowledge and practical experience in one or more of the following environments:
- Manufacturing and production operations
- Supply chain, logistics, and distribution operations
- Field service and service operations
- Asset‑intensive operations
- Multi‑site or operationally complex organizations
The candidate must be able to connect operational challenges to measurable business outcomes, including:
- Productivity improvement
- Throughput and capacity optimization
- Inventory and working capital performance
- Quality and process reliability
- Customer experience and service levels
- Cost reduction and profitability
- Management effectiveness and decision quality
The successful candidate must possess strong knowledge of the technologies used to manage and optimize business operations and understand how these technologies support operational performance.
- Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems (Dynamics 365, SAP, Oracle, NetSuite, etc.)
- Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES)
- Warehouse Management Systems (WMS)
- Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems
- Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) tools
- Field Service Management platforms
- Business Intelligence and analytics platforms
- Workflow automation and process orchestration tools
- Data platforms and AI‑enabled business applications
- Experience assessing, selecting, implementing, optimizing, or advising on business technologies
- Experience identifying opportunities to leverage automation, analytics, and artificial intelligence
- Ability to translate business requirements into practical operational and technology recommendations
- Experience working with internal IT teams, software vendors, implementation partners, or digital specialists
- Understanding of change management principles related to technology adoption and organizational transformation
- Strong business analysis and problem‑solving capabilities
- Ability to engage credibly with executives, operational leaders, and technical stakeholders
- Excellent facilitation, communication, presentation, and stakeholder management skills
- Ability to translate complex operational and technical concepts into practical business language
- Strong executive communication and report‑writing skills
- Professional proficiency in English, spoken and written.
- Willingness to travel within a designated region and occasionally across Canada
- MBA, Master's degree, or relevant professional designation
- Professional certifications (Lean, Six Sigma, PMP, or equivalent)
- Experience supporting technology selection, implementation, or optimization projects
- Experience leading business transformation initiatives enabled by data, automation, or AI
- Direct experience in manufacturing, industrial services, supply chain, logistics, distribution, or technology‑enabled service organizations
- Experience working with small and medium‑sized enterprises (SMEs)
- Experience contributing to business development activities, including proposals, diagnostics, solution design, and client presentations
The ideal candidate is not simply knowledgeable about business processes or technology independently. They have demonstrated experience integrating operational practices, management systems, data, automation, and AI to improve business performance within manufacturing, distribution, logistics, or service organizations. They can move comfortably between the executive boardroom, the shop floor, the warehouse, and the operational management team, helping entrepreneurs translate strategy into measurable results.
Proudly one of Canada’s Top 100 Employers and one of Canada’s Best Diversity Employers, we are committed to fostering a diverse, equitable, inclusive and accessible environment where all employees can thrive and feel empowered to bring their whole selves to work. If you require an accommodation to complete your application, please do not hesitate to contact us at accessibility@bdc.ca.
While we appreciate all applications, we advise that only the candidates selected to participate in the recruitment process will be contacted.
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