SENIOR MANAGER STRATEGIC PLANNING & INITIATIVES

City of Toronto; Toronto; On-site; CAD 142,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

A municipal government in Toronto is seeking a Senior Manager for Strategic Planning & Initiatives. This role involves managing operational support and contract management within waste collection services. The ideal candidate will have extensive leadership experience, be adept at strategic planning, and excel in customer service. Responsibilities include overseeing projects and fostering relationships across city divisions. Competitive salary and a chance to drive impactful change in local governance await.

Qualifications

• Extensive experience leading and managing administrative and operational programs.
• Adept at providing strategic advice and overseeing city-wide contracts.
• Ability to thrive in high-performance environments with complex priorities.

Responsibilities

• Drive strategic planning and oversee operational logistics.
• Manage relationships with City divisions and external stakeholders.
• Participate in change initiatives and develop strategic alignment.

Skills

Leadership

Strategic planning

Project management

Customer service orientation

Negotiation

Education

Post-secondary education in a relevant discipline

Job description

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SENIOR MANAGER STRATEGIC PLANNING & INITIATIVES

• Job ID: 54993
• Job Category:Operations & Maintenance
• Work Location:86 Ingram Drive (In Ingram Yard, And various other work yards across the City as required).
• Job Type & Duration:Permanent, Full-time Vacancy.
• Salary: $ 142,104.00 - $189,918.00 , TM1777, wage Grade 9.0.
• Shift Information: Monday to Friday, 35 hours per week
• Affiliation: Non-Union
• Number of Positions Open: 1
• Posting Period:06-Aug-2025 to 20-Aug-2025.

The Collections and Litter Operations Section is responsible for delivering safe and reliable waste collection and supporting city beautification through public space cleaning and litter operations.

This new role will report to the Director, Collection & Litter Operations and will assist them by providing strategic project management, administrative support, advice and guidance on a range of operational matters and will also be accountable for leading the Section’s Operations Managers in the following units: Contract Operations, Operational Support and Contract Administration & Customer Care. The new role will be responsible for the operational support and contracts management, performance monitoring, coordination, team oversight and management, project management and implementation of any new (or updated) initiatives or processes and ensuring consistency across the section. This position will require the Senior Manager to be in office (which may include multiple locations across the City) at least 3-4 days a week and presence at City Council or Committee meetings from time to time.

What can you expect to do?

The focus of this role will be on driving coordinated and consistent, tactical efforts, accurate and up to date information tracking, key performance metrics monitoring for the Section, improving customer service and service effectiveness, and cultivating a culture dedicated to exceptional service delivery and effective teamwork. This includes identifying solutions within a politically sensitive environment, driving major changes in overall business performance based on short, medium and long-term needs, analyzing changing decision-making and operating environments, developing and implementing detailed operating plans, recommending policies, operating procedures and workplans specific to program requirements, and overseeing day-to-day contract logistics, customer service and program support operations.

The Senior Manager is an internal operations support advisor, facilitator and strategist, playing a critically important leadership role in fostering a collaborative environment where all team members actively contribute to the work and understand where their contribution fits in. You will manage, motivate and train staff and maintain high work standards.

Your leadership will extend to establishing strong relationships across the Section with the frontline Collections Operating units and with other City divisions, members of Council and other internal and external stakeholders to address conflicting demands. You will participate in organizational and management change initiatives, identify solutions in complex, multi-stakeholder scenarios, and manage relationships with City entities and external partners. Your collaboration with senior management on high-level strategic projects will involve guiding the team through cross-functional endeavors and developing strategies aligned with the corporate vision. Active participation in comprehensive collaboration and coordination with internal and external stakeholders is vital.

Other responsibilities include:

• Supporting the development of effective relations with other City Divisions to foster constructive relationships and co-operation needed to advance the City’s interests.
• Providing strategic planning and coordination of the Section’s City's interactions including tracking and analyzing service levels and service delivery initiatives
• Developing, articulating, and representing the Division at inter-Divisional meetings as required Facilitating strategic alignment of the Division’s mandates, strategies and priorities with the City strategies and priorities.
• Providing oversight of operational aspects of Collection & Litter Operations in order to achieve requirements and directions as set by City Council

Key Qualifications:

We are seeking an experienced results-driven leader who is adept at providing strategic advice, overseeing and performance managing City-Wide contracts, developing protocols and procedures to support operations and consistency in service delivery, superior customer, project management and program development. An accomplished professional who thrives in an environment of high expectation and as someone directly responsible for operational, contract management and administrative support teams and their ability to meet and exceed to service level standards set by City Council, and multiple complex program changes and priorities, you are flexible enough to manage multiple projects and function as a fully accountable program leader. Perhaps most important, you thrive in an environment of high-performance expectations, have superb communications both in an operational environment and for audiences including the Divisional senior management team and/or members of City Council. You also are excited and welcome the complex challenges associated with large-scale program and operational shifts and accompanying change management by supporting the Division as a key operational change champion.

• Extensive experience leading, managing and implementing administrative, contract and operational multi-disciplinary programs of various scopes supporting progressive and critical objectives.
• Extensive experience making critical and strategic decisions, demonstrating innovation and results oriented leadership, fiscal accountability, and strong customer service orientation. Extensive experience in managing complex issues, with a high level of ability to influence and negotiate outcomes and achieve consensus among various parties having different objectives with a broad spectrum of diverse groups, while balancing political, community and public interests. Extensive experience in coordinating large- scale, multi-party, complex projects; from inception to completion, with considerable knowledge of project management and contract management best practices and methodologies. Extensive experience planning, developing, coordinating, and writing a broad range of materials including reports, correspondence, briefing notes, decks and strategic documents for senior management that include strategic advice and recommendations.
• Extensive experience working with and providing recommendations to senior management teams and key stakeholders including divisional partners, government officials, to meet service objectives, as well as divisional and organizational objectives.
• Extensive experience in leading, supervising, motivating, coaching, a team of administrative, contract management and operations professionals, while supporting employee engagement and development.
• Post-secondary education in a professional discipline pertinent to the job function or an equivalent combination of relevant training and/or experience.
• Extensive Solid Waste Management Industry experience (with direct municipal experience at a management level being an asset).
• Ability to interact and communicate effectively (written and oral) using strong political acuity with all organizational levels including elected officials, political representatives and the media.
• Ability to operate as a fully accountable program leader, deliver complex projects, and thrive in an environment with high expectations and frequent and competing deadlines. Strong ability to be flexible and manage multiple tasks in an environment with shifting priorities, firm deadlines and high-performance expectations.
• Ability to develop and administer budgets and other corporate reporting and compliance requirements to ensure unit fiscal accountability and effective use of resources.
• Ability to foster an organizational culture that emphasizes innovation, continuous learning, collaboration, transparency, accountability and trust while promoting a strong code of ethics and integrity to support public service excellence.
• Ability to support the Toronto Public Service values to ensure a culture that champions equity, diversity, and respectful workplaces.
• Knowledge and understanding of relevant policies and government legislation including City of Toronto Act, Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (MFIPPA), Occupational Health and Safety, Ontario Human Rights and Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act.

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

The City is an equal opportunity employer, dedicated to creating a workplace culture of inclusiveness that reflects the diverse residents that we serve. Learn more about the City’s commitment to employment equity .