Director, Partnership & Operations (Contract)

The Hospital for Sick Children; Toronto; On-site; CAD 150,000 - 195,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Benefits

Job summary

The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) invites applications for a senior leadership role overseeing the Edwin S.H. Leong Centre for Healthy Children.

You will translate the Centre's strategic vision into operational priorities, working with researchers, clinicians, donors, and academic partners to advance child health research and policy. Reporting to the Co-Directors, you will drive governance, finance, partnerships, and strategic initiatives, with a focus on collaborative, impactful

Qualifications

• Master's degree in Public Health, Health Administration, Social Sciences, Business, or related field.
• 7+ years of progressive people and project management in healthcare.
• Experience in academic healthcare or research environment.
• Budget forecasting and accounting experience.
• Ability to build strong relationships with diverse stakeholders.
• Excellent written and oral communication; presentation skills.
• PMP designation considered an asset.
• Commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic operational leadership for the Edwin S.H. Leong Centre for Healthy Children.
• Oversee Centre operations, governance, finance, and strategic initiatives.
• Manage budgets, forecasting, and donor-funded activities in collaboration with partners.
• Foster partnerships with hospital, university, and external collaborators.
• Lead communications, reporting, and stakeholder engagement for the Centre.

Skills

People management

Project management

Budget management

Strategic leadership

Stakeholder engagement

Communication skills

EDI experience

Education

Master's degree in Public Health

Master's degree in Health Administration

Master's degree in Business

PMP designation

Job description

Dedicated exclusively to children and their families, The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) is one of the largest and most respected paediatric healthcare centres in the world. As innovators in child health, we lead and partner to improve the health of children through the integration of healthcare, leading-edge research and education. Our reputation would not have been built - nor could it be maintained - without the skills, knowledge and experience of the extraordinary people who come to work here every day. SickKids is committed to ongoing learning and development, and features a caring and supportive work environment that combines exceptionally high standards of practice.

When you join SickKids, you become part of our community. We share a commitment and determination to fulfill our vision of Healthier Children. A Better World.

Don't miss out on the opportunity to work alongside the world's best in paediatric healthcare.

The Edwin S.H. Leong Centre for Healthy Children is a research centre at The Hospital for Sick Children and the University of Toronto with the vision of harnessing interdisciplinary research to promote the flourishing of every child and family. Reporting to the Co-Directors, the Director, Partnership & Operations is a senior leader responsible for translating the Centre's strategic vision into operational priorities. Working closely with researchers, clinicians, university partners, donors and health system leaders, the Director oversees Centre operations, partnerships, governance, finance, communications and strategic initiatives that advance child health research and policy. The successful candidate will position the Centre to achieve its objectives while fostering strong partnerships across the Hospital, University and broader child health community. While the majority of this role will provide strategic operational leadership that enables the Centre, it also includes some dedicated finance management support (1 day/week) for the SickKids Child Health Policy Accelerator (CHPA), Canada's first hospital-based applied child and youth health and social policy initiative and a close collaborator of the Centre.

Program Leadership

Here's What You'll Get to Do

• Support implementation of the Centre's strategic and operational priorities through effective project management, governance and organizational planning.
• Continuously improve operational processes, governance structures and reporting systems to enhance organizational effectiveness.
• Collaborate with the Co-Directors, the management team and staff to develop and implement Centre goals and objectives with accountability for the completion of assigned strategic objectives.
• Develop, plan and implement Centre activities, such as catalyst and training grants, and managing Centre advisories and other committees as part of the governance structure.
• Provide strategic oversight for Centre events, including the 2027 Leong Centre Symposium, ensuring effective planning, cross-functional coordination, stakeholder engagement, and successful delivery in partnership with the Centre team.
• Lead ongoing monitoring and evaluation of Centre activities and engagement to inform future planning.
• Support governance processes by coordinating leadership committees, preparing briefing materials and ensuring timely follow-up on key decisions.

Partnership & Stakeholder Engagement

• Build and sustain strategic partnerships with hospital and university leadership, the SickKids Foundation, researchers, clinicians, funding agencies and external collaborators to advance the Centre's mission and collaborative initiatives.

Operations & People Leadership

• Serve as a strategic advisor to the Co-Directors by identifying operational risks and opportunities, supporting decision-making, and advancing organizational priorities.
• Oversee the day-to-day operations of the Centre, including planning, budgeting, logistics and administrative coordination, to ensure strategic objectives are achieved.
• Provide oversight for a diverse portfolio of strategic initiatives, ensuring effective prioritization, resource allocation and timely execution across competing priorities.
• Ensure projects and operations comply with institutional policies, governance processes and administrative requirements.
• Support and mentor the development of a motivated and cohesive team of professional and support staff to effectively meet Centre milestones.
• Oversee employee relations issues including hiring, onboarding, workload and vacation scheduling, attendance management, and performance appraisals.

Financial Stewardship (Centre And CHPA)

• Lead annual budgeting, forecasting and financial reporting in collaboration with Hospital, Research Institute and University finance teams.
• Ensure responsible stewardship of program resources, aligning expenditures with strategic priorities, grants and donor commitments.
• Negotiate and administer contracts and service agreements with vendors and collaborators.
• Ensure compliance with donor, grant and institutional financial reporting requirements.

Communications & Reporting

• Lead strategic communications and reporting, including donor stewardship materials, annual reports, presentations, website content and stakeholder communications, in collaboration with the Knowledge Mobilization Specialist.
• Develop communication strategies and regular reporting that increase awareness of the Centre and support accountability to donors, institutional partners and other stakeholders.
• Provide strategic oversight of the Centre's internal and external communications to strengthen its profile and support knowledge mobilization activities.
• Ensure on-time delivery of grant reports to all CHPA funding partners.

Here's What You'll Need

• Master's degree in Public Health, Health Administration, Social Sciences, Business, or a related field with at least 7 years of progressively responsible experience with people management & project management in healthcare roles. An equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered.
• Experience working within a complex academic healthcare or research environment, with demonstrated ability to navigate multiple institutional partners, priorities and administrative processes.
• Experience in budget management, forecasting, and accounting.
• Demonstrated experience convening & leading teams, implementing complex projects and evaluating organizational performance.
• Demonstrated ability to build strong and collaborative relationships with many and varied stakeholders internally and externally.
• Demonstrated ability to exercise sound judgment, manage sensitive information and build credibility with senior leaders and external partners.
• Exceptional written and oral communication skills, with demonstrated presentation and negotiation skills.
• Highly organized self-starter with demonstrated ability to manage multiple competing priorities, adapt to changing demands and consistently meet deadlines.
• PMP designation considered an asset.
• Demonstrated commitment to advancing equity, diversity, and inclusion objectives.

Employment Type: 15 month (maternity leave) contract with Benefits

SickKids is committed to championing equity, diversity and inclusion in all that we do, fostering an intentionally inclusive and culturally safe environment that reflects the diversity of the patients, families and communities we serve. Learn more about workplace inclusion.

If you require accommodation during the application process, please reach out to our aSKHR team. SickKids can provide access and inclusion supports to eligible candidates to support their full engagement during the interview and selection process as well as to ensure candidates are able to perform their duties once successfully hired. If you are invited for an interview and require accommodation, please let us know at the time of your invitation to interview. Information received related to access, inclusion or accommodation will be addressed confidentially.