Director, Business Technology and AI

The North West Company; Winnipeg; On-site; CAD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Career development opportunities

Inclusive culture

Job summary

The North West Company in Winnipeg MB seeks a Director, Business Technology and AI to lead the enterprise technology demand lifecycle, govern AI strategy and SaaS portfolios, and partner with senior leaders to realize measurable business value. You will shape initiatives, drive governance, and foster cross‑functional collaboration for enterprise-scale outcomes.

Join a dynamic organization with a commitment to diversity, development, and delivering impactful technology investments aligned to

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Information Technology, Computer Science, or related field.
• 10+ years in technology, business relationship management, portfolio management, or governance.
• 3–5 years leading enterprise portfolio management and governance in a complex organization.
• Experience developing enterprise AI strategies and responsible AI practices.
• Knowledge of SaaS portfolios, vendor evaluation, and lifecycle management.

Responsibilities

• Act as the primary BRM for all business units and manage the technology demand lifecycle.
• Translate strategic priorities into technology initiatives with measurable value.
• Lead enterprise demand shaping, prioritization, and governance to optimize value and resources.
• Govern enterprise AI strategy, governance, and responsible AI practices.
• Oversee SaaS investments, renewal decisions, and integration considerations.
• Monitor adoption and realized value, providing governance and improvement recommendations.
• Build network of business partners and technology champions across the enterprise.

Skills

Business relationship management

Portfolio governance

Demand management

AI strategy development

Executive stakeholder influence

Organizational change leadership

Strategic thinking & analytics

Negotiation & conflict resolution

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business/IT/CS

Master's degree (asset)

Job description

In your role as Director, Business Technology and AI at The North West Company (TNWC); you will be responsible for ensuring technology investments across the organization are prioritized effectively, governed appropriately, and deliver measurable business value.

This role serves as the single enterprise interface between business and IT and owns the end-to-end technology demand lifecycle—from idea intake through prioritization, governance, delivery alignment, and value realization.

Joining TNWC gives you the opportunity for development throughout the company, a competitive salary and benefits package, and to be part of a dynamic and diverse culture.

TNWC is a leading retailer to under‑served rural communities and urban neighborhood markets in the following regions: Northern Canada, Western Canada, rural Alaska, the South Pacific islands, and the Caribbean. Our stores offer a broad range of products and services with an emphasis on food. Our value offer is to be the best local shopping choice for everyday household and local lifestyle needs. Check out northwest.ca for more information.

Your Role:

• Act as the primary Business Relationship Manager (BRM) for all business units, building trusted relationships with executive leaders and serving as the single point of intake for all technology demand.
• Partner with business leaders to translate strategic priorities into technology initiatives with defined outcomes, quantified value, clear ownership, and alignment to enterprise objectives.
• Lead enterprise demand shaping and prioritization, challenging requests and facilitating trade‑off discussions to optimize enterprise value, resource utilization, and strategic alignment.
• Own and continuously enhance the enterprise demand management and portfolio governance framework, ensuring transparent and consistent investment decision‑making across the organization.
• Evaluate and prioritize technology investments across AI and non‑AI initiatives, SaaS solutions, enterprise platforms, and custom development opportunities, considering value, risk, complexity, readiness, and capacity.
• Maintain a cohesive enterprise technology portfolio by identifying and reducing duplication, fragmentation, shadow IT, and uncoordinated technology investments.
• Define, maintain, and evolve the enterprise AI strategy and roadmap, identifying high‑value opportunities that support business objectives and competitive advantage.
• Establish and oversee AI governance processes to ensure responsible AI adoption and compliance with privacy, security, legal, regulatory, ethical, and risk management requirements.
• Lead the governance of enterprise SaaS investments, including demand intake, business case evaluation, prioritization, rationalization, lifecycle oversight, and renewal decision support.
• Ensure SaaS solutions have accountable business ownership, measurable value, alignment with enterprise architecture, and appropriate consideration of integration, data, security, and change impacts.
• Continuously monitor emerging AI technologies, market trends, vendor capabilities, industry use cases, and regulatory developments, translating insights into actionable recommendations and innovation opportunities.
• Partner with architecture, delivery, data, security, procurement, and business teams to ensure technology initiatives are executed in alignment with approved business outcomes and enterprise standards.
• Monitor adoption, performance, and realized value of technology investments, providing recommendations to accelerate, redirect, continue, or discontinue initiatives based on business results.
• Serve as the primary escalation point for cross‑functional technology investment conflicts, facilitating alignment and enterprise‑wide decision‑making.
• Drive organizational maturity in technology demand management, portfolio governance, AI adoption, and value realization through stakeholder engagement, change leadership, and capability development.
• Build and foster a network of business partners, technology champions, and AI advocates to support innovation, adoption, and continuous improvement across the enterprise.

Desired Skills & Experience:

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Information Technology, Computer Science, or a related field; Master's degree considered an asset.
• 10+ years of progressive experience in technology, business relationship management, portfolio management, digital transformation, or technology governance roles.
• 3-5 years of experience leading enterprise portfolio management, demand management, investment prioritization, and governance processes within a complex organization.
• Demonstrated experience developing and executing enterprise AI strategies, governance frameworks, and responsible AI practices.
• Strong understanding of technology investment management, business case development, benefits realization, and value measurement.
• Experience governing enterprise SaaS portfolios, including demand intake, rationalization, vendor evaluation, and lifecycle management.
• Proven ability to build trusted relationships with senior leaders and influence decision‑making across business and technology functions.
• Strong knowledge of enterprise technology delivery, architecture, data strategy, cybersecurity, privacy, risk, and regulatory considerations.
• Exceptional strategic thinking, analytical, facilitation, negotiation, and conflict resolution skills.
• Demonstrated success leading organizational change, driving technology adoption, and delivering measurable business outcomes in a matrixed environment.
• Professional certifications such as BRMP, CBRM, ITIL, COBIT, TOGAF, PMP, Prosci, or AI Governance/Responsible AI certifications are considered assets.

Location: Gibraltar House, 77 Main Street, Winnipeg MB

Reports To: Vice President, IT Business Applications

We create a collaborative and constructive culture by:

• Being Enterprising
• Committing to our Customer
• Working with Passion
• Leading and Developing Others
• Demonstrating Respect and Inclusivity
• Building Trust

The North West Company is committed to inclusion and diversity and encourages applications from all candidates including but not limited to: all religions and ethnicities, LGBTQ2s+, BIPOC, and persons with disabilities.

A competitive salary is being offered along with opportunities to learn, develop and advance throughout the organization. We thank all applicants for their interest; however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

This is an active job opening for a position that is currently available and we are actively seeking to fill.

This position adheres to the Corporate Application Process Guidelines.