Senior Operational Process and Systems Designer

The Career Foundation; Toronto; Hybrid; CAD 80,000 - 85,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

RRSP matching

Employee Assistance program

Paid religious observance days

Paid personal wellness days

Job summary

The Career Foundation is seeking a Senior Operational Process and Systems Designer to map and optimize workflows across program operations and corporate functions. You will identify bottlenecks, data gaps, and opportunities for optimization, delivering practical designs with the right tools and governance.

You will collaborate with directors and managers, design future-state processes, and build dashboards and automation using Power Automate, Power BI, SharePoint, and Excel.

Qualifications

• Post-secondary degree in Information Systems, Business Administration, Operations Management, Industrial Engineering, or related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 5-8 years of experience in process design and improvement, business analysis, operations or organizational effectiveness, including leading current-state assessments and future-state redesign.
• Demonstrated track record of diagnosing operational problems to root cause and designing workflows that were implemented and sustained, with measurable results.
• Skilled at identifying systems and practices for operational effectiveness and efficiency.
• Lean, Six Sigma or equivalent process improvement certification is an asset.

Responsibilities

• Map end-to-end current-state processes, hand-offs, decision points and supporting systems across program and corporate functions, using interviews, observation, walk-throughs and system data.
• Document how work is actually performed day to day, including workarounds, duplicate data entry and informal practices, rather than relying only on what policy or procedure says.
• Establish baseline measures for priority processes, such as service time, phase cycles, volumes, error and rework rates, backlogs and staff effort, so that improvements can be evidenced.
• Assess how well existing systems, tools and reports support the work and where they create extra effort.
• Performs other relevant duties as needed.

Skills

Power Automate

Power BI

SharePoint

Excel

BPMN

Visio

Lucidchart

Miro

Education

Post-secondary degree in Information Systems, Business Administration, Operations Management, Industrial Engineering, or related field

Tools

Power Automate

Power BI

SharePoint

Excel

Visio

Lucidchart

Miro

Job description

About The Career Foundation: The Career Foundation is a dynamic non-profit organization and registered charity that offers a wide range of employment, training, and workforce development services to job seekers and employers. Since its inception in 1988, The Career Foundation has steadily expanded its services. Operating out of seven locations in the Greater Toronto Hamilton Area, as well as offices in British Columbia, Alberta, and Nova Scotia, we now help thousands of people each year successfully achieve their employment goals. Our team of dedicated professionals has described The Career Foundation as caring, compassionate, innovative, and team-oriented. For more information about us and our services, please visit our website at CareerFoundation.com.

Some of the benefits and features available to our employees include:

• Competitive compensation
• A comprehensive health benefits plan that includes massage therapy, naturopath services, travel coverage, and much more
• A comprehensive dental insurance plan
• An RRSP Matching benefit
• An Employee & Family Assistance program
• Employee wellness initiatives
• Paid days off for religious observance purposes
• Paid days off for personal wellness purposes

Role Description:

The Career Foundation is seeking an experienced, analytical and hands-on Senior Operational Process and Systems Designer to examine current workflows across our organization, pinpoint challenges, inefficiencies and bottlenecks, and design improved ways of working.

The Senior Operational Process and Systems Designer will assess current-state processes and systems across various program operations and corporate departments to identify roadblocks, rework, and accountability gaps, and design improved workflows supported by the right tools, roles, and controls that teams can adopt and sustain.

Reporting to the Director, Business Systems and Quality Assurance, with sponsorship from the Executive Office, you will work closely with directors, managers and coordinators to support organizational priorities set by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chief Operating Officer (COO). Once improved workflows are in place, your role will shift toward training, systems reinforcement and continuous improvement: monitoring how the new designs perform and refining them over time.

As the ideal candidate, you keep asking "why" until you reach the root cause. You take a structured, evidence-based approach, grounding your findings in data and baseline measures, and you have a natural ability to turn complex analysis into clear, practical insights, adapting your communication to each audience and setting so that others can easily understand and act on them. You have a proven track record of designing workflows that were implemented and sustained with measurable results.

You are as comfortable in a frontline team meeting as in an executive briefing, building trust with staff at all levels and communicating findings candidly and constructively. You are equally at ease mapping a process and building the practical tools to support it, from Power Automate flows to Power BI dashboards. You understand that lasting change depends on people as much as process, and you coach managers and staff so improvements become part of how teams work.

You thrive in a fast-paced environment with shifting priorities, and you measure success by whether workflows are simpler, more straightforward and more effective, making day-to-day operations more seamless and efficient for staff and more impactful for clients.

Position Type:

Full-time (37.5 hours per week), one-year contract with excellent potential for extension.

Salary:

The annual starting salary range for this position is $80,000 - $85,000, commensurate with experience.

Location, Travel, and Hybrid Requirements:

The position’s base location is The Career Foundation’s Head Office located near Lawrence Avenue West and Allen Road in North York. The Senior Operational Process and Systems Designer will also travel to other company locations within the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) and stakeholder locations as needed and assigned to fulfill the scope of the position. The successful candidate should possess a valid Ontario G driver’s licence and a vehicle for travel between locations and other stakeholder sites across the GTHA.

The role will also permit a hybrid-remote work schedule, as approved by the Director of Business Systems and Quality Assurance and contingent on scope of work. The hybrid schedule requires a private work-from-home space with reliable high-speed internet. A company laptop, cell phone, and other equipment will be provided.

Vacancy Status:

This posting is for an existing vacancy.

Start:

As soon as possible.

Reporting to:

Director, Business Systems and Quality Assurance

Vulnerable Sector Check Requirement:

An offer of employment for this opportunity will be contingent on the incumbent providing an acceptable Vulnerable Sector Check (VSC).

Use of Artificial Intelligence:

Artificial intelligence (AI) is not currently used to screen, assess, or select applicants at any stage of the hiring process.

Responsibilities include:

Assess the Current State

• Map end-to-end current-state processes, hand-offs, decision points and supporting systems across program and corporate functions, using interviews, observation, walk-throughs and system data.
• Document how work is actually performed day to day, including workarounds, duplicate data entry and informal practices, rather than relying only on what policy or procedure says.
• Establish baseline measures for priority processes, such as service time, phase cycles, volumes, error and rework rates, backlogs and staff effort, so that improvements can be evidenced.
• Assess how well existing systems, tools and reports, including Microsoft 365, SharePoint and funder and client management systems, support the work and where they create extra effort.
• Performs other relevant duties as needed.

Identify Roadblocks and Root Causes

• Identify bottlenecks, delays, duplication, unclear ownership, decision gaps and hand-off slips that prevent work from being completed on time and to standard.
• Apply structured root-cause methods (e.g., 5 Whys, fishbone analysis, value-stream mapping) to separate symptoms from underlying causes, whether they relate to process, systems, roles, capacity or accountability.
• Analyze quality assurance findings, compliance issues, complaints and performance data to detect recurring problems and trace them to their source.
• Prioritize issues by their impact on clients, funder contract compliance, outcomes and staff workload.
• Present clear, candid diagnostic findings and options to the Director, Business Systems and Quality Assurance and senior leadership, with clearly mapped resolutions.
• Performs other relevant duties as needed.

Design Improved Workflows and Systems

• Design future-state workflows that remove identified blocks, with clear roles and responsibilities, decision rights, hand-off points, service standards and controls.
• Build accountability into workflow design through tracking, escalation paths and follow-up points, so that actions and commitments are completed rather than lost between teams.
• Translate workflow designs into system and tool requirements, and build practical solutions using Power Automate, Power BI, SharePoint, Excel and Microsoft Forms; partner with Digital/IT on larger system changes
• Develop process maps, standard operating procedures and user guidance that make the new way of working clear and easy to follow.
• Test and pilot new designs with frontline staff and managers before full rollout, and refine them based on results.
• Performs other relevant duties as needed.

Implement, Measure and Sustain

• Lead the implementation of approved designs, coordinating with program management, the Digital/IT department, and the QA & Training Specialist on rollout, training and staff adoption.
• Develop and deliver training and reinforcement measures to ensure full understanding and adoption.
• Measure results against baseline and report on improvements in efficiency, quality, compliance and accountability.
• Build dashboards and monitoring tools that show program management whether workflows are performing as designed and surface emerging blocks early.
• Establish a continuous improvement cycle for redesigned processes, recommending refinements as programs, funder requirements and priorities change.
• Performs other relevant duties as needed.

Executive Priorities and Cross-Functional Initiatives

• Provide process and systems design expertise to organizational priorities led by the CEO, COO and senior leadership, including new programs and changes to service delivery.
• Prepare clear findings, recommendations and decision-support materials for executive review.
• Maintain an organizational improvement roadmap and project trackers showing priorities, owners, status and outstanding deliverables.
• Build process-improvement capability across the organization by coaching managers and staff to identify blocks and improve their own workflows.
• Performs other relevant duties as needed.

Qualifications/Skills Required:

• Post-secondary degree in Information Systems, Business Administration, Operations Management, Industrial Engineering, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 5-8 years of experience in process design and improvement, business analysis, operations or organizational effectiveness, including leading current-state assessments and future-state redesign.
• Demonstrated track record of diagnosing operational problems to root cause and designing workflows that were implemented and sustained, with measurable results.
• Skilled at identifying systems and practices for operational effectiveness and efficiency.
• Proficiency in process mapping methods (e.g., swimlane, BPMN, value-stream mapping) and tools such as Visio, Lucidchart or Miro.
• Proficiency in Power Automate, Power BI, SharePoint and advanced Excel.
• Lean, Six Sigma or equivalent process improvement certification is an asset.
• Experience in non-profit, social services, employment services or government-funded program environments is an asset.
• Strong facilitation, interviewing and observation skills, with the ability to understand how work is really done and to build trust with frontline staff.
• Ability to communicate findings candidly and constructively to program management and senior leadership, and to lead change across departments.
• Excellent verbal and written English communication skills.
• Exceptional relationship-building skills with the ability to develop and maintain trusting relationships with internal and external stakeholders at all levels.
• Ability to serve as a trusted advisor and handle sensitive information with the utmost confidentiality and discretion.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, with a proven ability to demonstrate tact, diplomacy, and exceptional customer service.
• High emotional intelligence: demonstrates empathy, builds trust, and understands diverse perspectives.
• High ethical standards, with a proven ability to exercise sound judgment.
• Adaptable and resilient, able to navigate ambiguity and dynamically changing priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong problem-solving skills, with the ability to mediate issues and implement effective solutions.
• Demonstrated organizational skills, effective time management, and ability to multitask to meet deadlines and achieve objectives.
• Capable of working under pressure and meeting deadlines in a target-driven environment.
• Flexibility to work outside of normal business hours when needed.
• Proactive and solutions-oriented team player who fosters a positive team culture, leads by example, and consistently demonstrates initiative, accountability, and a strong commitment to collaboration and shared success.

The Career Foundation's Commitment:

The Career Foundation is committed to diversity and inclusion and aims to create a healthy and rewarding environment for all. We welcome applications from qualified individuals who represent the diversity of the people we proudly serve, including, but not limited to, visible minorities, women, persons with disabilities, Indigenous peoples, and individuals of all genders and sexual orientation. The Career Foundation, in accordance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), is also committed to accommodating applicants with disabilities throughout the recruitment process. We will work with candidates requesting accommodation at any stage of the hiring process.