Senior, Manager Equipment Maintenance

Viarail; Toronto; On-site; CAD 107,000 - 134,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous Vacation

Parental Leave

Personal Leave

Telemedicine Access

Train Travel Privileges

DEI Commitment

Employee Resource Groups

Job summary

VIA Rail is seeking a Senior Manager for the Maintenance Centre in Toronto. You’ll lead equipment maintenance, drive a proactive, scheduled approach and act as a change agent to improve train availability and performance.

You will strategize department objectives, manage a night-shift team, and promote a safe, inclusive work culture while delivering results through strong leadership and collaboration with unions and stakeholders.

Qualifications

• College/University Education or 10+ years in leadership roles in equipment maintenance (asset).
• Experience in transportation industry (asset).
• Familiar with Transport Canada Railway regulations (asset).
• Proficiency in Microsoft Suite.
• Proven leadership and coaching abilities.
• Strong interpersonal and team-spirit skills.
• Ability to work under tight deadlines with prioritization.
• Strong problem solving and conflict management.
• Excellent communication skills (political savvy).
• Strong analytical abilities.
• Drive for safety and quality with results.
• Agile, strategic and adaptable to change.
• Promoting diversity and inclusion.
• Proficiency in both official languages (English/French) (ASSET).

Responsibilities

• Directs a team of supervisors and indirect unionized employees.
• Provide coaching and develop team members’ competencies.
• Lead maintenance strategy and communicate changes and methodologies.
• Oversee daily activities: production, materials, tooling, on-time performance, safety, budget, quality and staffing.
• Manage investigations and corrective actions per the collective agreement.
• Foster a healthy work climate and positive labor relations.
• Coordinate HR activities and recruitment.
• Promote health and safety culture and compliance.
• Identify improvements for health, safety, environment and processes.
• Oversee continuous improvement programs and policy adherence.
• Coordinate efficiency, asset availability and cost management.
• Ensure safe, efficient repairs and servicing in line with regulations.
• Monitor projects and KPI progress; implement corrective actions.
• Lead fleet integration with planning for new work methodologies.

Skills

Leadership

Communication

Problem solving

Strategic thinking

Education

College/University Education or equivalent Leadership Experience

Tools

Microsoft Suite

Job description

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Annual Salary / Hourly Rate : $106,811 - $133,514

Number of positions to be filled :1

Application Deadline :11/21/2026

Did you know that VIA Rail is carrying out ambitious projects to modernize its services and infrastructure? From our new ultramodern train fleet to ongoing improvement of our infrastructure, we’re building the future of transportation in Canada. Working for VIA Rail is being a part of a collective effort in sustainable mobility.

Why VIA Rail?

We’re proud to offer a workplace that reflects the diversity and inclusivity of Canadian society. At VIA Rail, you’ll enjoy:

• Generous Vacation, Parental, and Personal Leave
• Unlimited Access to Telemedicine Services
• Train Travel Privileges for You and Your Family
• Commitment to Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
• Participation in Social Initiatives & Employee Resource Groups

Our Maintenance Department, responsible for the maintenance and inspection of our trains, is facing an exciting future. With a new fleet on the horizon, changing demographics of our workforce and several projects on the go, our maintenance centers are undergoing a transformation.

POSITION:

Reporting to the Director Mechanical Maintenance, the Senior Manager oversees all key areas and functions in relation to equipment maintenance and services at the Maintenance Centre in Toronto. You will be responsible to implement a proactive maintenance approach based on planned and scheduled work ensuring train availability for the service. Through your mobilizing leadership, you will act as a change agent and lead your teams through challenging and exciting changes in a continuous improvement approach and promote a healthy and safe work environment.

The senior manager is also responsible to develop the appropriate strategy for his departments and therefore for Via Rail’s maintenance center.

SHIFT:

Night shift. The schedule would be agreed on to suit both parties and would cover Sunday to Thursday.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

MANAGING PEOPLE

• Directs a team of supervisors and indirect unionized employees;
• Act as a leader, provide coaching and ensure the transfer of knowledge to improve the competencies of team members. Also, responsible to empower their team’s growth with individual development plans;
• Lead and promote the mechanical and maintenance strategy and ensure to communicate adequately all changes and methodologies when applicable. Also, support the short and long-term vision within VIA Rail and influence decisions within their department;
• Manages and oversees the daily activities such as production, material, tooling, on-time performance, safety performance, budget/cost efficiency, maintenance performance, quality and staffing;
• Responsible for overseeing the investigation process in accordance with the collective agreement, as well as ensuring that timelines are met and actions are completed. Recommending corrective action and responding to grievances;
• Ensure a healthy work climate, culture, employee engagement and positive labor relations in collaboration with the union;
• Accountable for maintaining a positive work environment and effectively managing and resolving conflicts promptly and equitably amongst employees (coaching recognition, reinforcement and feedback);
• In collaboration with various partners, ensures the application and promotion of theHR activities cycle, while playing a key role in the recruitment process.

PROMOTING HEALTH AND SAFETY

• Encourage and promote a healthy and safe culture at the workplace as well as, take the appropriate preventative actions in a timely manner;
• Manage and promote a work environment conducive to the prevention of loss (occupational safety and health, overtime, absenteeism, productivity, corporate assets, material waste and environmental compliance);
• In collaboration with the supervisors, identify opportunities to improve Health and Safety, the environment and strive to gain efficiency in our processes while making recommendations to VIA’s maintenance center;
• In collaboration with the director and the health and safety committee ensure the application and implementation of safety initiatives and ensure compliance with Company Safety programs/policies, Canada Labour Code, OSHA and general safety principles.

CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

• Promote and foster a culture of continuous improvement;
• Oversees the servicing and mechanical maintenance programs with the specific focus of continuing to improve and develop set policies and procedures;
• Recommend and implement the necessary corrective measures following violations of the railway operational rules, train delays and other irregularities;
• Acts as a change agent and partner with the planning team to ensure the implementation of new work methodologies for the integration of the new fleet.

MANAGING EFFICIENCY & QUALITY OF WORKMANSHIP

• Development, adherence and integration of our Safety and Environmental Management and Quality system into the operation and maintenance program;
• Focuses on improving equipment availability and reliability, cost management, while ensuring adherence to set laws and regulations;
• Liaise with peers and support functions to coordinate efforts to seek efficiencies within the operation in relation to the Maintenance Centers and VIA as a whole;
• Follow up with the service and maintenance process on locomotives and passenger rail cars to ensure that assets are utilized efficiently;
• Ensures that all repairs and/or servicing are affected in a safe and efficient manner and in accordance with Company, AAR and TC regulations;
• Manage projects and monitor the results to ensure work quality and alignment with established objectives;
• Implement the necessary actions to ensure that objectives, and KPI’s are met, respecting and monitoring methods according to the established schedule.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR:

• College/University Education or 10 years' experience of which 5 are in a leadership role in the maintenance of equipment, preferably in a unionized environment;
• Experience in transportation industry (asset);
• Familiar with Transport Canada Railway regulations (asset);
• Proficiency in Microsoft Suite;
• Proven abilities in leadership and coaching;
• Demonstrate superior interpersonal skills & team spirit;
• Demonstrated ability to work under tight deadlines, multi-task, required high-level & priority decision making;
• Strong problem solving & conflict management;
• Excellent communication skills (political savvy);
• Strong analytical abilities;
• Drive for results with a demonstrated commitment to Safety and Quality;
• Agile, strategic and adaptable in an environment of constant changes;
• Promoting Diversity;
• Adhering to mission & purpose;
• Proficiency in both official languages (English/French). (ASSET)

At VIA Rail, we are proud to be an employment-equity employer and we strive to form teams that reflect the diversity of Canadian society. We aim to remove barriers to employment accessibility and aspire to provide an inclusive and equitable work environment where everyone is valued, regardless of their identity or differences, to enable them to reach their full potential.

To support our recruitment process, we may use artificial intelligence and automated tools that support, but never replace, human judgment. All hiring decisions are made by our hiring managers, supported by experienced recruiters.

If you need assistance in making the recruitment process or the position you are applying for more accessible, please let us know. Alternate arrangements may be offered to individuals who request them at any stage of the recruitment process. All information received in relation to arrangements will be kept confidential.

Note that we will only contact those who are selected for an interview.

Join our 3,000 other employees in helping provide Canadians with a safe, accessible, environmentally sustainable way to travel!