Lead, Projects & Change Management

Calgary Homeless Foundation; Calgary; On-site; CAD 85,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Calgary Homeless Foundation seeks a Lead, Projects & Change Management to direct planning, delivery, and implementation of strategic initiatives. You will guide project lifecycle activities, coordinate with directors and partners, and support governance and communications to maximize outcomes.

The role emphasizes day‑to‑day leadership, coaching, and building project management capability across CHF, ensuring accountable delivery and sustainable impact in service to the city’s homeless population.

Qualifications

• Post‑secondary degree, diploma, or certificate in Project Management, Business Administration, Engineering, Management, or related discipline
• 6–9 years of progressive experience leading projects from initiation through implementation and close‑out
• Experience managing multiple concurrent projects in complex, multi‑stakeholder environments
• Experience providing leadership, coaching, or supervision to project staff
• Experience embedding change management best-practice models into project delivery

Responsibilities

• Lead assigned projects from initiation through implementation and close‑out, translating objectives into clear scopes, work plans, timelines, and deliverables
• Provide project and change management expertise to strengthen planning, coordination, and delivery
• Identify risks, issues, dependencies, and constraints and mitigate impacts with the project team
• Lead project meetings, communications, and status reporting to ensure alignment and progress
• Embed change management practices and support stakeholder engagement throughout the project lifecycle

Skills

Project leadership

Change management

Stakeholder engagement

Coaching

Communication

Education

Project Management degree

Job description

Calgary Homeless Foundation (CHF)

Calgary Homeless Foundation guides the fight against homelessness. Fueled by this purpose, we envision the day when homelessness is rare, brief, and non-recurring — perhaps an episode in someone's life, but never a condition that defines it. Working in alignment with governments and collaboratively with service providers and community partners, we help translate complex system needs into coordinated, efficient ground-level action that maximizes the impact of every resource and creates lasting pathways out of homelessness.

We are uniquely positioned to observe the many challenges facing our city and strengthen the entire sector through strategic leadership, forward-thinking capacity development, and hands-on, day-to-day support.

Our comprehensive data warehousereveals the full picture of homelessness in our community, enabling us to anticipate challenges and identify effective solutions. And we unite diverse stakeholders around shared goals and help address complex situations that no single agency can solve alone.

Our collective approach and focus on learning and evaluation equip us to address homelessness across our city while keeping the people experiencing it at the heart of our work.When the system works better together, more people find their way home.

We are looking for passionate, entrepreneurial, and talented people to join our action-oriented, high impact team.

The Position

The Lead, Projects & Change Management reports to the Director, Projects & Change Management and is responsible for leading the planning, delivery, and implementation of assigned projects and strategic initiatives that advance Calgary Homeless Foundation's strategic and operational priorities. The Lead applies project and change management expertise to support effective execution, stakeholder alignment, and sustainable outcomes.

Working closely with the Director, responsible Directors, system leaders, internal teams, and external partners, the Lead provides hands‑on leadership throughout the project lifecycle, supporting planning, coordination, governance, communication, and delivery activities.

In addition to leading assigned projects, the Lead provides day‑to‑day guidance, coaching, and technical support to Project Coordinators and project teams, helping build project management capability and consistency across the organization.

Our Staff

CHF staff are action‑oriented individuals who are catalytic leaders, courageous collaborators, evidence inspired, and vision dedicated. They choose to bring their professional expertise and personal talents to the non‑profit sector, to add value to the full community. They work cooperatively with others in a strong team environment; demonstrate flexibility in organizing and undertaking work; show a high degree of initiative, discernment and resourcefulness; exhibit excellent communication and relational skills; demonstrate thoughtfulness and intelligence in decision making; and are focused on creating positive outcomes for persons experiencing homelessness.

How we work here:

At CHF our approach is grounded in purpose, collaboration, and accountability. We believe that how we work together matters as much as what we achieve.

Here’s what you can expect from us—and what we expect from you:

• Ownership Under Pressure: We take responsibility for outcomes, even when challenges arise.
• Constructive Feedback: We give and receive feedback openly, with the goal of learning and improving.
• Pace with Purpose: We move quickly when needed, without sacrificing quality or integrity.
• Healthy Disagreement: We challenge ideas respectfully and invite discussion to make decisions stronger.
• Shared Understanding: Expertise means building clarity for others, not being “right by default.”

Our culture values transparency, inclusion, and resilience. We name real pressures – external and internal - and navigate them together. Interviews and development conversations focus on real examples of how we act when it’s hard, because that’s when our values matter most.

Accountability and Deliverables

Key activities include:

Project Leadership & Delivery

• Lead assigned projects from initiation through implementation and close‑out, translating objectives into clear scopes, work plans, timelines, and deliverables
• Contribute to and support projects led by others, providing project and change management expertise to strengthen planning, coordination, and delivery
• Manage day‑to‑day execution to ensure projects remain on track, within scope, and aligned with agreed outcomes
• Identify risks, issues, dependencies, and constraints within assigned projects, and work with project teams to mitigate impacts and elevate decisions or trade‑offs in a timely and transparent manner
• Work effectively within varying roles across projects, including leading, supporting, and advising, depending on project needs and ownership structures

Risk, Issue and Dependency Management

• Identify and manage risks, issues, and dependencies within assigned projects
• Escalate decisions, trade‑offs, and constraints to leadership in a timely and transparent way

Communication & Reporting

• Lead and facilitate project meetings, working sessions, and decision forums to support alignment, clarity, and progress
• Lead project communications, including agendas, decisions, updates, and action tracking, in alignment with CHF brand guidelines and, in collaboration with the Communications team where appropriate
• Provide clear, regular status reporting to Director, projects and change management
• Maintain accurate project documentation and support governance checkpoints and approvals

Change &ImpactManagement

• Embed recognized change management best‑practice models into project planning and delivery of assigned projects
• Develop and support stakeholder communication and engagement approaches aligned with change management best practices
• Integrate people, process, systems, readiness, and adoption considerations into project plans and communications, applying tools proportionate to project size and complexity
• Work with the project team and stakeholders to identifying change risks early and support structured, sustainable transitions

Project Discipline & Continuous Improvement

• Apply appropriate project management methodologies and tools based on project size, complexity, and risk
• Balance structure with pragmatism in a dynamic, community‑based environment
• Drive and contribute to lessons learned, evaluation, and continuous improvement efforts
• Apply and promote the use of established project management tools, templates, and practices to support consistent and effective delivery

Capacity Building & Organizational Enablement

• Support the development of internal project and change management capability through coaching, mentoring, knowledge sharing, and practical support to project teams and Project Coordinators.
• Model disciplined, pragmatic project practices that strengthen clarity, accountability, and learning across teams
• Contribute to broader initiatives and organizational priorities, applying project and change management expertise to support evolving organizational needs

Education and Experience

The ideal candidate will have the following qualifications:

• Post‑secondary degree, diploma, or certificate in Project Management, Business Administration, Engineering, Management, or related discipline
• 6–9 years of progressive experience leading projects from initiation through implementation and close‑out
• Demonstrated experience managing multiple concurrent projects in complex, multi‑stakeholder environments
• Experience providing functional leadership, coaching, or supervision to project staff (e.g., Project Coordinators or similar roles)
• Practical experience embedding change management best‑practice models or approaches into project delivery

Preferred Qualifications (Assets):

• Project Management Professional (PMP) certification, or actively working toward PMP
• Formal training or certification in change management (e.g., Prosci approaches or equivalent)
• Experience in the non‑profit sector, specifically the homeless‑serving system of care, would be an asset
• Experience working in environments involving systems change, service transformation, or cross‑organizational collaboration

General Competency Requirements

The ideal candidate will be expected to demonstrate and grow the following competencies:

Taking Accountability for Guiding the Fight Against Homelessness by:

• Regularly sharing our Purpose and Ambition and make decisions that move us toward it
• Following through on my commitments to earn the trust of my colleagues and community partners
• Identifying obstacles, admitting my mistakes, and taking ownership of solutions

Fostering a Growth Mindset by:

• Regularly seek new information and leveraging data to inform my solutions and decisions
• Treating mistakes as learning opportunities and focusing myself & others on improving future results
• Considering how I may have contributed to problems and regularly seeking feedback to discover how I can improve
• Accepting ambiguity and taking action to move us in the direction of our goals without waiting for perfect information

Empowering Others to Succeed by:

• Articulating and agreeing upon clear expectations and desired
• Meeting regularly with my key internal and external stakeholders to ensure they have what they need from me to succeed.
• Eliminating organizational constraints that hold people back

Collaborating for Greater Impact by:

• Proactively collaborating with others and incorporating their input into solutions
• Respecting the unique strengths and agency of others by encouraging them to propose solutions and make decisions
• Having the courage to share difficult perspectives directly, respectfully, and in a timely manner, and encouraging others to do the same
• Being willing to change my perspective when presented with new information