Senior Policy Advisor

Fonction publique de l'Ontario; Toronto; On-site; CAD 80,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Ontario Public Service is seeking a strategic policy professional in Toronto to lead research, analysis, and policy development for innovation and streamlining across Ontario’s energy sector. You will manage projects, build cross‑government alliances, and prepare senior management briefings to drive meaningful outcomes for Ontarians.

In this temporary 12‑month role, you will contribute to the province’s evolving energy policies and engage with federal, provincial, and municipal partners to

Qualifications

• Strong critical thinking and problem-solving skills to independently identify issues and options, and develop strategic, evidence-based recommendations.
• Proven expertise in developing and applying research methodologies and techniques to gather appropriate and reliable data.
• Advanced qualitative and quantitative analysis capabilities to develop evidence-based policy options and recommendations.
• Experience coordinating complex initiatives, working collaboratively to achieve outcomes.
• Experience developing and applying performance measures to effectively assess the impact of policies and programs.

Responsibilities

• Conduct research and perform qualitative and quantitative analysis to inform policies, programs and initiatives that support emerging technologies and applications, or that streamline processes across the energy sector.
• Develop and help guide policy proposals through government decision-making processes, considering: objectives; costs; energy system needs; legal authority and risks; and stakeholder perspectives.
• Manage projects by developing project goals and deliverables, implementing processes, managing risks and briefing senior management.
• Prepare reports, presentations, briefing notes and recommendations for senior management.
• Build alliances with internal and external stakeholders, including other levels of government, as well as industry associations and participate on working committees, task forces, project teams and panels as needed.

Skills

Policy development

Research methods

Qualitative analysis

Quantitative analysis

Project management

Stakeholder engagement

Strategic thinking

Job description

Apply By: Monday, September 14, 2026 11:59 pm EDT

Distribution, Conservation and Innovation Policy Division / Standards, Streamlining and Innovation Policy Branch

City:

Toronto

Position(s) language:

Job term:

1 Temporary (12 months with a possible extension)

Are you passionate about innovation and the future of Ontario's energy sector? We are seeking a strategic and experienced professional to help shape policies that drive innovation, improve regulatory efficiency, and support a clean, reliable, affordable, and secure energy system.

In this role, you will lead research, analysis, and policy and program development to advance innovation and streamlining across Ontario's energy sector.

You will also build and manage strong relationships with our key partners, including federal, provincial and municipal bodies, agencies and industry.

Through collaboration and engagement, you will help drive innovative solutions to complex policy challenges and support meaningful outcomes for Ontarians.

About our team:

The Innovation Policy and Streamlining Unit within the Streamlining, Standards and Innovation Branch is responsible for developing policies and programs that advance emerging opportunities in Ontario's evolving energy system and broader economy, including oversight of the province's low-carbon hydrogen strategy. The unit also leads streamlining and burden reduction initiatives to ensure Ontario remains globally competitive and able to deliver on priority energy projects.

About the job

In this position, you will:

• Conduct research and perform qualitative and quantitative analysis to inform policies, programs and initiatives that support emerging technologies and applications, or that streamline processes across the energy sector.
• Develop and help guide policy proposals through government decision-making processes, considering: objectives; costs; energy system needs; legal authority and risks; and stakeholder perspectives.
• Manage projects by developing project goals and deliverables, implementing processes, managing risks and briefing senior management.
• Prepare reports, presentations, briefing notes and recommendations for senior management.
• Build alliances with internal and external stakeholders, including other levels of government, as well as industry associations and participate on working committees, task forces, project teams and panels as needed.

What you bring to the team

Policy Development, Research and Analytical Skills

• Strong critical thinking and problem-solving skills to independently identify issues and options, and develop strategic, evidence-based recommendations.
• Proven expertise in developing and applying research methodologies and techniques to gather appropriate and reliable data.
• Advanced qualitative and quantitative analysis capabilities to develop evidence-based policy options and recommendations.
• Experience in coordinating complex initiatives, working collaboratively to achieve outcomes.
• Experience developing and applying performance measures to effectively assess the impact of policies and programs.

Leadership and Project Management Skills

• Accountable and proactive in driving tasks and outcomes.
• Experienced in leading and supporting complex, multi-party projects from initiation to completion.
• Skilled in managing sensitive issues and providing leadership, guidance, and coaching to team members.
• Skilled in developing and gaining consensus on project plans, coordinating policy development, navigating approvals processes, including resolving project issues.
• Collaborative, able to work effectively within multi-disciplinary, intra/inter-ministerial project teams.

Sector Knowledge

• An understanding of the broad economic, environmental, legal and political issues underlying policy and program development in the energy sector, or a related sector.
• Knowledge of Ontario's energy industry and emerging issues/trends, including knowledge of energy supply, distribution, demand-side management and consumer issues, or comparable knowledge from a related sector.

Interpersonal and Communication Skills

• Written and verbal communication, with the ability to write clearly and persuasively with a target audience in mind.
• You have exceptional attention to detail and can quickly prepare briefing materials for senior-level audiences, collaborating with teams on products as needed.
• Stakeholder engagement and influencing skills.
• Facilitating issue resolution and representing the ministry on committees and task forces.
• Providing clear and succinct oral and written briefings which to summarize energy issues for technical and non-technical audiences.

Don't meet every qualification?

If you are excited about this position and meet most, but not all, of the listed qualifications, please still consider applying. We recognize that no one person might have every qualification in this job ad, and you just might be the right candidate!

How we support diversity, inclusion and accessibility

We are building an inclusive workforce that reflects the communities we serve. We encourage everyone interested in working with us to apply, including people with disabilities, Indigenous, Black and racialized individuals, as well as people from all ethnicities, cultures, sexual orientations, gender identities and gender expressions.

Our hiring process is accessible, consistent with Ontario's Human Rights Code and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005. We are working to prevent and remove barriers in our hiring processes and can offer accommodation to address specific needs related to Code-protected grounds such as disability, family status and religion. For more information about accommodation during the hiring process please contact us.

Learn more about the work the OPS is doing to create an inclusive, anti-racist, accessible and diverse workplace:

• diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives
• accessibility
• Anti-Racism Policy

• 1 English Temporary, duration up to 12 months, 77 Grenville St, Toronto, Toronto Region

Association of Management, Administrative and Professional Crown Employees of Ontario

• Less qualified applicants may be considered on an underfill basis.
• The information that you provide for the purpose of this competition and the results from this competition may be used to fill other positions. These positions may be of various tenures including short-term assignments. Your information and the results from this competition will be retained for the purpose of filling vacancies in accordance with the applicable collective agreement or policy provisions.
• OPS employees are required to quote their WIN EMPLOYEE ID number when applying.

Language requirements and assessment:

All external Ontario Public Service (OPS) job ads are posted in English and French. Check the "position(s) language" section at the top of each job ad for the language requirements. For all roles, candidates are assessed in English, the business language of the OPS. If the position is bilingual (English/French), you'll also need to pass a French-language proficiency test.