Senior Project Manager/Leader

Client: Land & Resources Cluster, Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery and Procurement
Location: Toronto, Ontario – 40 St. Clair West
Assignment Term: August 24, 2026 – June 30, 2027
Work Arrangement: Hybrid – 3–4 days onsite / 1–2 days remote per week
Hours: 7.25 hours/day, Monday–Friday, within standard hours of 8:00 AM–5:00 PM
Openings: 1
Security Clearance: No clearance required
Position Overview
The Land & Resources Cluster is seeking a Senior Project Manager/Leader to provide project management leadership for a large-scale, highly complex, high-profile, multi-jurisdictional and enterprise-wide Discovery initiative aligned with the Ontario Digital Standard.
The successful candidate will lead the project from inception through Discovery and subsequent project stages through implementation/go-live and close-out, ensuring effective management of scope, budget, schedule, risks, resources, stakeholders, governance, vendors and deliverables.
The resource may also be assigned, as required, to projects or initiatives related to Bill 5 – Protect Ontario by Unleashing Our Economy Act 2025.
Key Responsibilities

• Provide senior project management leadership for large-scale, complex, high-profile, multi-disciplinary and enterprise-wide digital initiatives.
  
• Lead and oversee Discovery projects from inception through project close-out, including coordination of the Digital First Assessment (DFA) and transition to operations where required.
  
• Lead digital initiatives through progressive stages including Concept, Discovery, Design, Prototype, Implementation and Go-Live.
  
• Manage project scope, budget, schedule, resources, deliverables, financials, risks, issues, actions and decisions (IRAD).
  
• Establish and manage project governance, including steering committees, gating reviews, checkpoints, reporting and escalation processes.
  
• Monitor project interdependencies, internal and external dependencies, risks, issues and exposure levels across multiple project streams.
  
• Lead stakeholder consultations, facilitation, consensus building and relationship management across business, IT, executive, vendor and external stakeholder groups.
  
• Build strong relationships with divisional stakeholders, subject matter experts, project teams, vendors and external parties.
  
• Develop and implement strategies to overcome resistance to change and capitalize on organizational forces supporting change.
  
• Provide strategic direction, recommendations, analysis and operational support to project teams and senior management.
  
• Translate business and IT executive expectations into clear project objectives, deliverables and outcomes.
  
• Lead and facilitate user research, service design, journey mapping, jurisdictional scans, conceptual solution development and problem-statement development.
  
• Coordinate and complete the Digital First Assessment (DFA) during the Discovery phase.
  
• Ensure project deliverables meet business requirements while adhering to approved scope, schedule, budget, quality and organizational standards.
  
• Develop and communicate project guidelines, procedures, status reports, dashboards, briefing materials, business cases, presentations and executive-level submissions.
  
• Work closely with senior leadership and executives and present project information and recommendations in a manner appropriate for executive audiences.
  
• Manage complex project issues and provide mitigation strategies and recommendations to senior decision-makers.
  
• Direct and coordinate multi-disciplinary project teams to ensure deliverables are completed on time and in accordance with government and ministry standards.
  
• Lead business transformation and change management activities associated with new solutions, systems and business processes.
  
• Support strategic IT investment planning and business case development for new system implementations and enhancements.
  
• Develop procurement artifacts, including RFS, RFP/SOW, contracts and approval documentation, in accordance with applicable organizational policies.
  
• Manage Discovery vendors and vendor deliverables, providing effective oversight and vendor management throughout the project lifecycle.
  
• Lead vendor teams through planning, milestones, guidance, policies, procedures and deliverables.
  
• Influence vendor teams to deliver on-scope, on-time, on-budget and high-quality outcomes that are properly integrated with client deliverables.
  
• Apply Agile and OPS Digital approaches, project management methodologies, standards, guidelines and best practices.
  

Requirements

Mandatory Qualifications & Experience
Senior Project Management

• 10+ years of senior project management experience.
  
• Demonstrated experience leading large, complex, high-profile, multi-disciplinary projects involving multiple business and IT stakeholders.
  
• Strong experience managing scope, budget, schedule, risks, issues, actions, decisions, resources, deliverables and governance.
  
• Proven experience leading digital initiatives through Concept, Discovery, Design, Prototype, Implementation and Go-Live.
  
• Proven experience leading and overseeing Discovery initiatives from inception through close-out.
  
• Experience with project governance committees, including steering committees, gating reviews and checkpoints.
  
• Experience managing project financials, resources, reporting and escalation.
  

Discovery, Digital & Transformation

• Experience coordinating Digital First Assessments (DFA).
  
• Experience leading user research, service design, journey mapping, jurisdictional scans and conceptual solution development.
  
• Experience developing and articulating problem statements and translating business needs into project deliverables.
  
• Experience leading business transformation and change management initiatives.
  
• Proven ability to develop and implement strategies to overcome resistance to change.
  
• Experience supporting business planning, benefits identification and organizational funding requests for I&IT initiatives.
  
• Experience supporting strategic IT investment planning and business case development.
  

Stakeholder & Executive Engagement

• Proven experience leading stakeholder consultations, facilitation and consensus building.
  
• Strong political acuity and ability to collaborate, share information and build relationships across multi-disciplinary stakeholder groups.
  
• Ability to establish and facilitate effective IT partnerships with business clients.
  
• Demonstrated ability to understand business directions, objectives and priorities and translate them into project outcomes.
  
• Strong facilitation, negotiation, diplomacy and conflict-resolution skills.
  
• Experience managing stakeholder expectations and obtaining buy-in from senior management and key stakeholders.
  
• Proven experience building strong relationships with senior leadership and executive stakeholders.
  
• Experience producing and presenting executive-level presentations, dashboards, briefing papers, submissions, business cases and status reports.
  

Vendor & Procurement Management

• Experience managing vendor teams through project planning, milestones, policies, procedures, guidance and deliverables.
  
• Demonstrated ability to influence vendors to achieve on-scope, on-time, on-budget and quality deliverables.
  
• Experience managing vendor deliverables and integrating vendor outputs with client deliverables.
  
• Experience developing procurement artifacts, including RFS, RFP, SOW/Contract and approval documentation.
  
• Knowledge of procurement processes and organizational policies for acquiring services, vendors, business solutions and project resources.
  

Project Team Leadership

• Experience directing, managing and leading multi-disciplinary project teams.
  
• Extensive experience coordinating project processes, interactions, progress, roadblocks and dependencies.
  
• Ability to establish and communicate project guidelines, procedures and standards.
  
• Demonstrated ability to provide strategic direction and operational support to project teams and stakeholders.
  
• Experience monitoring technical and business performance of complex projects.
  

Public Sector / Government

• Experience leading large, complex, multi-disciplinary Discovery and IT/business projects within municipal, provincial or federal government environments.
  
• Experience working within public-sector governance, project management methodologies and organizational standards.
  
• Experience leading or coordinating Digital First Assessment, Cyber Security, Privacy, Architecture and Project Gating activities for public-sector projects.
  

Project Management Certification

• Formal project management training or certification such as PMP, Scrum and/or Agile.
  

Evaluation Criteria
1. Project Management Experience – 30%
Candidates will be assessed on:

• Large, complex and high-profile multi-disciplinary project leadership.
  
• Strong scope, budget, schedule and IRAD management.
  
• Digital initiatives spanning Concept, Discovery, Design, Prototype, Implementation and Go-Live.
  
• Discovery project leadership from inception through close-out.
  
• Governance committees, financials, resources, reporting and escalation.
  
• Stakeholder consultation, facilitation and consensus building.
  
• Senior leadership engagement and executive-level presentations/products.
  
• Transformation and change management leadership.
  
• PMP, Scrum, Agile or equivalent formal project management training/certification.
  

2. Leadership & Communication – 20%

• Political acuity and relationship-building capabilities.
  
• Ability to establish strong business/IT partnerships.
  
• Executive-level communication and presentation skills.
  
• Experience producing presentations, dashboards, briefing papers, submissions, business cases and status reports.
  
• Senior leadership and executive relationship management.
  
• Business transformation and change management experience.
  
• Strategic IT investment planning and business case support.
  

3. Stakeholder Engagement & Relationship Building – 25%

• Strong facilitation, negotiation and diplomacy.
  
• Ability to resolve issues, defuse tensions and achieve stakeholder buy-in.
  
• Strong understanding of business processes and requirements.
  
• Ability to manage stakeholder expectations and establish clear project scope and requirements.
  
• Experience working collaboratively with vendors and internal/external stakeholders.
  
• Ability to influence senior management and client leadership.
  

4. Procurement & Vendor Management – 20%

• Procurement knowledge and experience developing RFS/RFP/SOW/Contract artifacts.
  
• Vendor team leadership and management.
  
• Experience managing vendor milestones, deliverables, policies and procedures.
  
• Ability to influence vendors to deliver quality outcomes within scope, schedule and budget.
  
• Experience integrating vendor deliverables with client deliverables.
  

5. Public Sector Experience – 5%

• Government experience at the municipal, provincial or federal level.
  
• Experience leading complex Discovery and IT/business projects in a public-sector environment.
  
• Experience with Digital First Assessment, Cyber Security, Privacy, Architecture and Project Gating.
  

Desirable Skills

• Knowledge of OPS enterprise architecture practices, particularly business and information architecture.
  
• Knowledge of Information Management principles, concepts, policies and practices.
  
• Experience applying both predictive and Agile methodologies.
  
• Knowledge of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) and related regulations and standards.
  
• Previous Ontario Public Service (OPS) experience is strongly preferred.
  

Ideal Candidate Profile
The ideal candidate is a Senior Project Manager/Leader with 10+ years of experience managing complex digital and IT transformation initiatives, preferably within a public-sector environment.
The candidate should demonstrate a strong combination of:

• Enterprise-scale project leadership
  
• Discovery and digital transformation experience
  
• Executive and senior stakeholder engagement
  
• Strong political acuity and diplomacy
  
• Agile/OPS project management knowledge
  
• Vendor and procurement management
  
• Change management and transformation leadership
  
• Strong governance, risk and financial management
  
• Excellent executive communication and presentation skills
  
• Government/public-sector project experience
  

Work Arrangement: Hybrid, with 3–4 days per week onsite at 40 St. Clair West, Toronto, and 1–2 days remote. Candidates must be comfortable meeting this onsite requirement.