Innovation & Continuous Improvement Manager

City of Saskatoon; Saskatoon; On-site; CAD 127,000 - 149,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Accommodation available

Inclusive workplace

Job summary

City of Saskatoon is seeking an Innovation & Continuous Improvement Manager to lead the ICI Section within the Business Transformation department. The role focuses on fostering a culture of continuous improvement through new methodologies, governance for AI, and measurable service enhancements across the city.

You will guide staff, manage budgets, and partner with Digital Technology, Privacy, Legal and business stakeholders to deliver strategic innovations aligned with the City’s goals.

Qualifications

• Ten years’ progressively responsible experience leading continuous improvement initiatives.
• Five years’ experience in a senior supervisory role.
• Experience in a centralized customer service environment would be an asset.
• Knowledge of Lean, Six Sigma, Business Process Management, Value Stream Mapping or equivalent approaches.
• Experience evaluating and implementing digital transformation, automation, AI or emerging technology initiatives.
• Certification in continuous improvement, quality management or AI would be asset.
• Possession of an equivalent combination of education, training and experience may be considered.
• Thorough knowledge of customer service issues, standards and policies.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development, implementation & continual improvement of the ICI Section including standards, processes, tools, methodologies, training, & communication protocols.
• Leads the enterprise innovation & continuous improvement intake process, ensuring opportunities are documented & prioritized.
• Establishes & maintains continuous improvement methodologies, tools & practices to optimize service delivery.
• Develops & maintains the City's AI strategy, governance framework, standards & adoption roadmap.
• Collaborates with City Clerks to oversee responsible & ethical use of AI technologies.
• Lead & support assigned staff including hiring, work assignments & schedules.
• Coordinates with business leaders to identify innovations & improvement initiatives & prioritize them.
• Collaborates with Enterprise Architecture to evaluate automation & AI opportunities into roadmaps.

Skills

Continuous Improvement

Lean

Six Sigma

Project Management

Change Management

Stakeholder Management

Communication

Education

Degree in quality, business, process engineering, computational science, public administration or related discipline

Tools

Automation

Artificial Intelligence

Digital Transformation

Governance

Policy & Privacy

Job description

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Division:Strategy and Transformation

Department:Business Transformation

Term:1TemporaryFull Time position available for approximately 24 months.

Closing Date: 10/19/2026

Labour Group: ESA

Posting: 5764

Join Our Team!

The Business Transformation department is looking for a Innovation & Continuous Improvement Manager.

This position leads the Innovation and Continuous Improvement (ICI) Section within Business Transformation. This role champions a culture of continuous improvement across the City and provides leadership to the ICI function by identifying, prioritizing, and enables the achievement of the City’s High Performing Organizational (HPO) goals by delivering measurable improvements to services, processes, and customer experience through a quality management approach and the adoption of innovative solutions including artificial intelligence.

The Work You Will Be Involved In:

• Lead the development, implementation & continual improvement of the ICI Section including standards, processes, tools, methodologies, training, & communication protocols that reinforce a culture of innovation & continuous improvement & aligning with the City’s corporate goals, guiding principles, & management commitments.
• Leads the enterprise innovation & continuous improvement intake process, ensuring opportunities are documented, prioritized, governed, & aligned with corporate objectives & capacity constraints.
• Establishes & maintains continuous improvement methodologies, tools & practices to optimize service delivery.
• Develops, maintains & promotes the City's Artificial Intelligence strategy, governance framework, standards, & adoption roadmap in collaboration with Digital Technology, Enterprise Architecture, Privacy, Legal & business stakeholders.
• Collaborates with City Clerks to provide oversight of responsible & ethical use of artificial intelligence technologies, ensuring alignment with corporate policies, regulatory requirements, privacy obligations, & risk management practices.
• Lead & support assigned staff including hiring, work assignments & schedules, assessing staffing needs, ensuring employee development, managing performance &, when required, disciplinary action.
• Coordinates with business leaders & subject matter experts (including vendors) to identify innovations & improvement initiatives, define problem statements, dependencies, value, policy implications, assessment of risk, & alignment of initiatives to corporate & business priorities.
• Collaborates with Enterprise Architecture to evaluate, design & transition approved automation, artificial intelligence & technology-enabled opportunities into appropriate technology roadmaps, standards & implementation initiatives.
• Develops & maintains needed annual business plans or strategies including the ICI section business plan, its associated roadmaps, & ensures timely execution of related work & realization of planned outcomes.
• Provides leadership & oversight for process & service improvement across Transformation & Technology, including the development, document, monitoring, & continual improvement of ICI processes.
• Guides business leaders through required governance & approvals mechanisms, such as privacy, procurement, records management & architecture to coordinate early engagement & reduce risk
• Prepares & presents communication plans & progress reports to internal & external stakeholders regarding outcomes of innovation & continuous improvement initiatives.
• Support the Departments of Digital Technology & Business Transformation by developing & providing budget management oversight & procedures in the management of their operating & capital budgets.
• Prepare & manage the financial performance of capital & operating budgets for ICI.
• Facilitate cross functional governance structures to review, evaluate, & prioritize initiatives based on corporate strategic & business priorities.
• Develop & maintain performance measurement for the ICI portfolio, including Key Performance Indicators, dashboards, & regular reporting of outcomes.
• Identify, assess, & pilot emerging practices & enabling technologies in innovation & continuous improvement that can improve service delivery, employee & customer experience, cost effectiveness, & risk management.
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

Enhance Customer Experience

Excel in Strategy and Operations

Empower People and Ideas

What We Are Looking For:

• Degree in quality, business, process engineering, computational science, business or public administration or related discipline.
• Ten years’ progressively responsible experience leading continuous improvement initiatives, including five years’ experience in a senior supervisory role. Experience working within a centralized customer service environment would be an asset.
• Demonstrated knowledge of continuous improvements, such as Lean, Six Sigma, Business Process Management, Value Stream Mapping, or equivalent approaches.
• Demonstrated experience evaluating and implementing digital transformation, automation, artificial intelligence, or emerging technology initiatives.
• Certification in continuous improvement, quality management, Change Management, innovation or artificial intelligence would be considered an asset.
• Possession of an equivalent combination of education, training and experience may be considered.
• Thorough knowledge of customer service issues, standards, measurement and policies.
• Demonstrated ability to resolve complex issues in a multi-disciplinary environment, including conflict management, facilitating collaboration amongst stakeholders, and delivering projects on schedule within budgetary constraints.
• Demonstrated ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with co-workers, management and external contacts.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively, including the preparation and presentation of complex reports.
• Demonstrated project management skills showing a successful track record of initiating significant organizational process improvements and organizational change resulting in the delivery of reliable and responsible customer service.
• Demonstrated experience leading organizational change initiatives and fostering adoption of new processes and technologies.
• Demonstrated ability to influence diverse stakeholders without formal authority.
• Demonstrated facility and conflict management skills.

Requires Security Check

Acceptable current Criminal Record Check (CRC) upon offer of employment.

Weekly Hours:40

Salary Range:$126,966.24to$149,185.20 CADper annum (2026rates)

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

The City of Saskatoon offers an inclusive workplace that embraces diverse backgrounds. As an equity partner with the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission (SHRC), the City commits to diversity, equity and inclusion in our workplaces. By having our workforce reflect the community we serve, we support the realization of miyo-pimatisiwin, (me-o-pi-ma-ti-si-win) “the good life”, for all residents. To learn more about Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the City, please visit Saskatoon.ca/diversity

Accommodation

The City of Saskatoon strives to provide an accessible and inclusive workplace for all, including throughout the application and selection process through reasonable access and accommodations. Should you require accommodation through any stage of the recruitment process, please email [e-mail].

While we appreciate all applications we receive, only candidates under consideration will be contacted.

Our Recruitment Process: Application > Posting Closes > Resume Review > Pre-screen/Interview > Offer > Pre-Employment Conditions > Welcome to the City