Delivery Lead

DEPT®; Toronto; Hybrid; CAD 100,000 - 115,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible hybrid working policy

Dental and healthcare cover

15 days paid holiday annually

Job summary

DEPT® in Toronto is seeking a Delivery Lead to drive staffing operations and ensure on-time, on-budget project delivery across multi-disciplinary teams. You will partner with the Head of Delivery to scale resources, optimize processes, and apply technology strategically.

The role emphasizes staffing models for new business, staff mobility, and cross-functional collaboration. A hybrid work policy and competitive benefits are offered.

Qualifications

• Excellence in critical thinking and leadership.
• Proven ability to manage multiple complex workflows simultaneously.
• Proven track record of establishing and independently governing operational functions.
• Strong data management skills with ability to create reports as well as provide commentary and analysis.

Responsibilities

• Direct Staffing Operations: oversee all studios staffing activity and maintain clear communication.
• Optimize Staffing Allocation: prioritize requests aligned with Delivery Leadership priorities.
• Facilitate Stakeholder Alignment: chair weekly resourcing and craft meetings for cross-functional alignment.
• Manage Talent Mobility: execute end-to-end account transitions and staff moves with clear stakeholder involvement.
• Strategize Staffing Solutions: develop staffing models for new business and oversee Relay team with Pioneers.
• Capacity Forecasting and Escalation: lead forecasting and resolve escalations with senior leadership.
• Cultivate Staff Experience: ensure transitions support professional growth and engagement.
• Govern Jira Workflow: manage Jira tickets for freelance and new hires, ensure data integrity.
• Administer FTCs: oversee review, approval, and extension of fixed-term staff.

Skills

Leadership

Multiple workflows

Operational governance

Data management & reporting

Communication & stakeholder management

Critical thinking

Tools

Jira

Airtable

Job description

Toronto, hybrid

DEPT® is a Growth Invention company built to help the world’s most ambitious brands grow faster. Operating at the intersection of technology and marketing, our 4,000+ specialists deliver growth invention services across Brand & Media, Experience, Commerce, CRM, and Technology & Data. We’re 50|50 tech and marketing, partner-led, and first to move. Clients include Google, Lufthansa, Meta, eBay, and OpenAI. We have been certified B Corp and Climate Neutral since 2021.

Job Purpose

team. We create emotive yet conversion-focused ideas, products and campaigns at scale and speed. Our specialty is hyper-personalised, digital communications that change perceptions, shape new behaviours, and shift market share for our clients.

The Delivery Lead serves as the operational linchpin for the Global Studio team, spearheading staffing operations and ensuring seamless coordination across multi-disciplinary teams. In this capacity, you will partner with the Head of Delivery and various Craft and Client teams to orchestrate high-quality, on-time, and on-budget project delivery. The role focuses on scaling and flexing Studio resources to meet evolving client needs through process optimization and the strategic application of technology. You are independently accountable for excellent operational delivery and for mentoring the wider delivery team to achieve sustained performance and efficiency.

WHAT YOU’LL DO:

• Direct Staffing Operations: Oversee all Studios staffing activity, ensuring clear, proactive, solutions oriented communication and setting firm boundaries where necessary.
• Optimize Staffing Allocation: Monitor and prioritize staffing requests, ensuring alignment with business priorities defined by Delivery Leadership.
• Facilitate Stakeholder Alignment: Chair weekly resourcing and craft meetings, providing leadership status updates and fostering cross-functional alignment.
• Manage Talent Mobility: Execute end-to-end account transitions and staff moves, prioritizing a seamless employee experience, involving the right stakeholders at the right time and ensuring absolute clarity amongst all stakeholders.
• Strategize Staffing Solutions: Develop and implement comprehensive staffing models for new business (internal, freelance, or recruitment) and oversee the flexible 'Relay' team in coordination with Pioneers.
• Capacity Forecasting and Escalation: Lead capacity forecasting initiatives with the Head of Delivery and resolve complex staffing escalations with actionable, timely solutions, involving senior leadership as required.
• Cultivate Staff Experience: Prioritize the employee experience within all staffing operations, ensuring that transitions and allocations support professional growth and engagement.

Staffing Operations and Management

• Direct Staffing Operations: Oversee all Studios staffing activity, ensuring clear, proactive, solutions oriented communication and setting firm boundaries where necessary.
• Optimize Staffing Allocation: Monitor and prioritize staffing requests, ensuring alignment with business priorities defined by Delivery Leadership.
• Facilitate Stakeholder Alignment: Chair weekly resourcing and craft meetings, providing leadership status updates and fostering cross-functional alignment.
• Manage Talent Mobility: Execute end-to-end account transitions and staff moves, prioritizing a seamless employee experience, involving the right stakeholders at the right time and ensuring absolute clarity amongst all stakeholders.
• Strategize Staffing Solutions: Develop and implement comprehensive staffing models for new business (internal, freelance, or recruitment) and oversee the flexible 'Relay' team in coordination with Pioneers.
• Capacity Forecasting and Escalation: Lead capacity forecasting initiatives with the Head of Delivery and resolve complex staffing escalations with actionable, timely solutions, involving senior leadership as required.
• Cultivate Staff Experience: Prioritize the employee experience within all staffing operations, ensuring that transitions and allocations support professional growth and engagement.

Operational Process and Optimization

• Govern Jira Workflow: Manage the lifecycle of Jira tickets for freelance and new hires, ensuring strict adherence to approval protocols and maintaining data integrity for efficient sign-off.
• Administer Fixed-Term Contracts (FTC): Oversee the review, approval, and extension of FTC staff, ensuring regulatory compliance and alignment with regional operational priorities.
• Operational Optimisation: Conduct bi-weekly process reviews, implementing efficiency gains and driving the adoption of AI and automation within staffing operations.
• Team Leadership: Track workload and oversee priorities for the junior delivery team, providing mentorship and stretch projects to foster professional development.

Data Integrity and Strategic Support

• Maintain Data Accuracy: Ensure 100% accuracy of staffing data within Airtable and oversee the reporting dashboard to provide leadership with actionable insights.
• Analyze Operational Performance: Oversee the production of staffing reports, providing high-level analysis and proposed action plans to optimize Studio performance.
• Drive KPI Benchmarks: Proactively monitor and achieve departmental KPIs, developing strategic corrective measures when performance metrics require realignment.
• Translate Strategy: Ensure business priorities and performance health actions are integrated into staffing operations and delivery initiatives.

WHAT YOU BRING

The successful candidate will demonstrate:

• Excellence in critical thinking and leadership.
• Proven ability to manage multiple complex workflows simultaneously
• Proven track record of establishing and independently governing operational functions.
• Ability to navigate and manage ambiguous situations, supporting leadership in establishing the best way forward
• In-depth expertise in Marketing agency operations and delivery processes
• Superior communication and interpersonal skills to unite diverse teams on complex topics
• Consistent drive to analyse and improve ways of working and processes
• Strong data management skills with ability to create reports as well as provide commentary and analysis and translate this into operational action plans

The anticipated annual salary range for this position is $100k-115k CAD. Salary is based on relevant experience, expertise, and organizational impact.

WE OFFER

• A flexible hybrid working policy to enjoy the best of both worlds.
• Early Finish Fridays, kickstart your weekend early with alternating early-finish Fridays.
• Full dental and healthcare cover
• 15 days paid holiday annually, increasing with length of service (plus Public Holidays).
• Birthday Leave, a paid day-off each year.
• Access to dedicated mental health resources including enhanced sick pay scheme, employee assistance programme and trained Mental Health First Aiders.
• Dept Allowance, a dedicated company contribution to spend on either your professional development or personal wellbeing.
• Refreshments are provided in the office all week.
• Enhanced family friendly policies to support parents.
• Learning and Development, continuous growth opportunities through internal training, and “inspirational talks” guest speakers.
• Buddy Program, you will be paired with a ‘Buddy’ to help you navigate your first weeks’ at DEPT®.
• A Certified BCorp Agency and is multi-award winning “Agency of the Year”.
• Awesome clients. Whether big or small, local or global — at DEPT® you’ll get the opportunity to work with clients of all sizes and across all industries. And we celebrate all of our successes together!
• Global DEPT® Cares Month, an annual initiative where our teams donate their professional skills and time to support local charities and pr-bono projects.

WHY DEPT®?

We are a Growth Invention company built to help the world’s most ambitious brands grow faster. Operating at the intersection of technology and marketing, we create what is next by pioneering ideas, acting fast, and moving further because standing still just is not in our DNA.

We are drawn to people who stay curious, move with intent, and never stop inventing. Our culture runs on three values: better together, relentlessly curious, and get sh*t done. It is how we work, how we grow, and how we make things that matter.

At DEPT®, you will find the freedom to explore, the space to collaborate, and the trust to make a real impact for our clients, for each other, and for the world we are helping to build.

AI Disclosure

At DEPT®, we use AI-assisted technology (Metaview) to capture notes and summarize interview conversations, so our interviewers can stay fully focused. Using the AI is optional, just let us know if you’d prefer it not be used.

DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION

At DEPT®, we take pride in creating an inclusive workplace where everyone has an equal opportunity to thrive. We actively seek to recruit, develop, nurture, and retain talented individuals from diverse backgrounds, with varying skills and perspectives.