General Manager, Operations

Ontario Society of Professional Engineers; Northwestern Ontario; On-site; CAD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

The City of Kenora is seeking a General Manager, Operations to balance today’s operational priorities with long-term plans for the community’s infrastructure and services. You will oversee roads, bridges, water and wastewater systems, municipal property and fleet, ensuring safe, reliable operations.

You will develop practical maintenance programs, support managers, and connect field activities with asset management, financial planning, contracts and capital investment to deliver results for

Qualifications

• Progressively responsible experience leading infrastructure construction, operations or maintenance, including responsibility for managers or supervisors, multiple service areas, budgets, contracts and work programs.
• Ability to coach managers, lead in a unionised environment, collaborate across departments and explain complex operational matters to senior leadership, Council and the community.
• A professional engineering or technologist designation would be an asset, but demonstrated leadership, operational credibility and transferable experience are equally valued.
• Ontario Class G driver’s licence and access to a reliable vehicle are required.

Responsibilities

• Lead services residents rely on: roads, bridges, culverts, drainage and stormwater systems; water distribution and wastewater collection assets and lift stations; municipal property; and the municipal fleet and related equipment.
• Develop practical maintenance programs and support leadership at the manager and supervisor levels; strengthen the use of operational information; connect field operations with asset management, financial and resource planning, contract decisions and capital investment.
• Foster clear priorities, plans and accountabilities; build sustainable annual and multi-year maintenance programs; ensure safe, compliant and resilient operations.
• Collaborate across departments, communicate with senior leadership, Council and the community to align operational needs with long-term investment.

Skills

Leadership

Operations management

Budget management

Contract management

Communication

Stakeholder engagement

Education

Professional engineering designation (asset)

Job description

Kenora is entering an important period of growth and investment, bringing new opportunities to strengthen the municipal services and infrastructure that support the community.

The City of Kenora is looking for a General Manager, Operations who can balance today’s operational priorities with the people, plans and systems needed for long-term success.

Reporting to the Director, Infrastructure and Operations, you will lead services that residents, businesses and visitors rely on every day: roads, bridges, culverts, drainage and stormwater systems; water distribution and wastewater collection assets and lift stations; municipal property; and the municipal fleet and related equipment.

Building on the knowledge and experience already present across the organization, you will help advance a coordinated, forward‑looking approach to service delivery. This includes developing practical maintenance programs, supporting leadership at the manager and supervisor levels, strengthening the use of operational information and connecting what happens in the field with asset management, financial and resource planning, contract decisions, and capital investment.

Your impact will be seen in:

• Clear priorities, plans and accountabilities.
• Sustainable annual and multi‑year maintenance programs.
• Capable and confident managers and supervisors.
• Meaningful operational and asset information.
• Consistent, reliable and responsive services.
• Strong alignment between operational needs and long‑term investment.
• Safe, compliant and resilient operations, supported by strong emergency readiness and risk management.

You bring progressively responsible experience leading infrastructure construction, operations or maintenance, including responsibility for managers or supervisors, multiple service areas, budgets, contracts and work programs. Just as importantly, you know how to bring people together around shared priorities.

You are comfortable listening to employees in the field, coaching managers, leading in a unionised environment, collaborating across departments and explaining complex operational matters to senior leadership, Council and the community. You bring practical judgment, political awareness and the confidence to make thoughtful decisions in a highly visible and publicly accountable environment.

Your career may have been built in a municipality…but it does not have to be. We welcome experienced leaders from construction, utilities, transportation, public works and other complex infrastructure or regulated environments. A professional engineering or technologist designation would be an asset, but demonstrated leadership, operational credibility and relevant experience are equally valued. The City is looking for the right combination of leadership, judgment, operational credibility and transferable experience and potential…not one prescribed career path.

A valid Ontario Class G driver’s licence and access to a reliable vehicle are required.

Why Kenora?

Because meaningful work and an exceptional life do not have to be competing priorities.

Located on the shores of Lake of the Woods, Kenora offers boating, fishing, paddling and hiking in the warmer months and snowmobiling, skiing and other winter pursuits when the seasons change. Winnipeg is approximately two hours away, while the space, community connection and quality of life of northwestern Ontario begin just beyond your doorstep.

Here, your leadership will be visible. So will the difference you make.

The City of Kenora is an equal opportunity employer committed to building a workforce that reflects the rich diversity of the community it serves. Applications are encouraged from all qualified individuals, including Indigenous Peoples, members of racialized communities or visible minorities, persons with visible or invisible disabilities, persons of diverse sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions, and others who may contribute to the further diversification of ideas.

The City of Kenora is committed to providing accommodation in all aspects of the recruitment and selection process in accordance with the Ontario Human Rights Code and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act. If you require accommodation, please advise LSI so that arrangements can be made to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process.

Personal information submitted through this recruitment process will be used by Leadership Source Inc. and the City of Kenora to assess eligibility and suitability for employment and will be managed in accordance with applicable privacy legislation, including the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.