Business Relationship and Technology Solutions Manager

City of Welland; Welland; On-site; CAD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

City of Welland, reporting to the CIO, seeks a Business Relationship and Technology Solutions Manager to lead digital projects aligned with IT strategic priorities. You will build trusted partnerships with City departments, translate needs into tech solutions, and drive governance, budgeting, and security compliance.

The role oversees the full lifecycle of initiatives, from intake and business case development to adoption and continuous improvement, ensuring on‑time delivery and value

Qualifications

• University degree required in CS/IT/Business Admin or equivalent
• 3+ years of project management experience in IT
• PMI/PRINCE2 or related certifications are assets
• Experience building relationships with stakeholders and leading cross‑functional teams
• Ability to translate business needs into technology solutions
• Knowledge of governance, security, privacy and architecture principles

Responsibilities

• Act as the primary relationship manager between Information Services and City departments
• Translate strategic priorities into technology initiatives and business cases
• Develop and maintain project plans with milestones, budgets and resources
• Oversee full project lifecycle including design, development, testing and implementation
• Coordinate change management, communications and user readiness activities
• Monitor performance, risks and opportunities for continuous improvement

Skills

Project management

Vendor management

Stakeholder management

Risk management

Change management

Education

University Degree in Computer Science / IT / Business Administration

Job description

Reporting to the Chief Information Officer, the Business Relationship and Technology Solutions Manager plans and delivers complex and strategically important digital projects including IT Strategic Plan priorities. This role requires a skilled relationship-builder who excels at working with cross-functional teams, managing consultants and external service providers, and translating business needs into effective technology solutions. The position serves as a strategic advisor and trusted business partner to City departments, helping to identify service improvement opportunities, evaluate technology needs, develop business cases, and align technology investments with corporate objectives, security requirements, and available resources.

The Business Relationship and Technology Solutions Manager oversees the full project lifecycle, including design, development, testing, implementation, updates, and ongoing maintenance, while ensuring strict accountability to timelines, budgets, and project scope. The role also supports the intake, assessment, prioritization, governance, adoption, and continuous improvement of technology initiatives

The duties listed are not meant to provide a description of each and every job performed but only those which represent the core functions of the job.

• Serve as the primary relationship manager between Information Services and City departments, fostering collaborative partnerships and alignment between business objectives and technology solutions.
• Engage with departmental leaders and stakeholders to understand strategic priorities, operational challenges, emerging needs, and opportunities to improve municipal service delivery through technology.
• Provide strategic advice regarding technology capabilities, digital transformation, automation, data, cybersecurity considerations, solution options, and relevant industry practices.
• Create and maintain project plans that communicate goals, scope, tasks, milestone dates, status, critical path tasks, and resource allocation.
• Manage the intake and preliminary assessment of technology initiatives, ensuring business needs, expected outcomes, dependencies, risks, resource requirements, and success measures are clearly documented.
• Facilitate requirements gathering, business process reviews, readiness assessments, and technical feasibility assessments in collaboration with business units and Information Services staff.
• Assist departments with business cases, project charters, cost estimates, procurement requirements, and capital or operating budget submissions for technology investments.
• Support IT governance and prioritization processes by evaluating strategic alignment, business value, organizational readiness, resource capacity, security, technical compatibility, and financial implications.
• Develop and maintain departmental technology roadmaps in collaboration with business stakeholders and Information Services leadership.
• Support technology procurement activities, including requirements development, market research, solicitation documents, vendor evaluation, contract coordination, and implementation planning.
• Lead or coordinate organizational change management activities, including stakeholder engagement, communications, training, user readiness, and adoption planning.
• Monitor solution adoption, stakeholder satisfaction, anticipated benefits, and lessons learned following implementation, and recommend opportunities for continuous improvement.
• Ensure proposed and implemented technology solutions comply with corporate policies, information security requirements, privacy obligations, technical standards, and approved architecture.
• Track and measure project performance, adjusting plan and resources as appropriate to meet changing needs and requirements.
• Work with project teams to assign individual responsibilities.
• Maintain documentation on both current-state and future-state business processes.
• Coordinate day-to-day operational aspects of projects and liaise between internal and cross-functional teams to ensure project success.
• Collaborate with subject matter experts and vendors, both internally and externally, to identify specific interactions, interfaces, or processes that should take place in the implementation of a recommended solution.
• Investigate, research, document and assess business process restructuring opportunities and other hardware/ software technologies that will most efficiently achieve the defined project outcomes, which involve consultation with other comparable municipalities, internet research, conferring with supervisors, managers, and tenders.
• Facilitate project meetings, preparing agendas, presentations, and minutes; provide regular updates to team members and project leaders.
• Develop project strategies to ensure alignment of team members, and priorities based on a vision to execute on time, within the scope, and on budget. Effectively elevate early warning signs and deviations from the plan.
• Collaborate with project team members and vendors to proactively identify and score risks, and to determine the impact and likelihood of occurrence to minimize the City’s exposure to risk.
• Assist in the development of a mitigation strategy or response strategy for identified risks and document project information related to risks.
• Where needed, assist in creating test plans and with testing efforts.
• Indirect supervision – The position may provide functional leadership to project teams, consultants, and cross-departmental working groups without having permanent, direct reports.
• All other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

• University Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Business Administration or approved equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Three (3) years of project management experience and progressive experience in Information Technology.
• Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification and experience is considered an asset.
• Business Relationship Management Professional (BRMP), Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP), change management, ITIL, or related certification is considered an asset.
• Exceptional organizational skills and attention to detail while managing multiple projects simultaneously.
• Proven analytical, conflict resolution, and problem-solving skills; able to reconcile the competing interests and priorities of stakeholders.
• Ability to identify and manage risks by thoroughly assessing implications of proposed solutions.
• Excellent time management skills, with results-oriented record of meeting deadlines.
• Ability to interact and connect with multiple stakeholders, internally and externally.
• Highly developed communication skills, especially the ability to clearly communicate technical/complex information both verbally and in writing using lay terminology.
• Demonstrated experience building effective relationships with departmental stakeholders, senior leaders, technical teams, vendors, and external partners.
• Experience with business needs assessment, requirements gathering, business process review, business case development, solution evaluation, and initiative intake.
• Knowledge of business relationship management, technology governance, organizational change management, benefits realization, and continuous improvement principles.
• Experience supporting technology procurement, vendor selection, contract coordination, and budget development is considered an asset.
• Ability to evaluate and communicate the strategic, operational, financial, privacy, security, and organizational impacts of proposed technology solutions.