POLICY & PROJECT ADVISOR

• Job ID: 61337
• Job Category: Policy, Planning & Research
• Division & Section: Parks & Recreation, SPICE and Client and Business Services 
• Work Location: City Hall, 100 Queen St W, Toronto, ON M5H 2N2 & Metro Hall, 55 John Street, Toronto, M5V 3C6 
• Job Type & Duration:  Full-Time, Permanent 

• Salary Range: $94,905 to $128,386

  Ideal Hiring Zone: $103,959.00 – $112,319.00 

• Shift Information:  Monday - Friday Hybrid position (35 hours per week - In office 3 days per week)
• Affiliation: Non Union
• Number of Positions Open: 2
• Posting Period: 30-Jan-2026 to 18-Feb-2026 
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Job Summary

The Parks Planning & Strategic Initiatives (PPSI) branch is responsible for the planning, acquisition and design of new and improved parkland and recreation facilities. The branch’s plans and projects advance the City’s strategies for parks and recreation system through the following service areas: local parks plan, park design, transit projects, development application review and parkland acquisition.

The Strategic Projects Implementation and Community Engagement (SPICE) branch is responsible for advancing large-scale Council approved parks planning projects that involve all of Parks and Recreation’s service areas. SPICE leads the development of strategic planning documents that inform Parks and Recreation’s capital program and development review functions, engaging the public, stakeholders, and City Council. SPICE has carriage over the Division’s growing community engagement program supporting all of Parks and Recreation.

The Client and Business Services (CBS) branch is responsible for delivering seamless client and customer experience, developing strong commercial and partnership outcomes that support the Division’s strategic objectives. CBS ensures that residents, visitors, business partners, and stakeholders can access parks, programs, permits and amenities clearly, consistent, equitable and operationally sound while also maximizing revenue, value and public benefit.

Reporting to the assigned Director, the Policy & Project Advisor will lead issues management, City Council coordination and special projects for the branch working closely with the Director and associated management teams as well as the General Manager’s Office, other branches of P&R and other City divisions.

Major Responsibilities

• Provides strategic support for the development and implementation of the division's issues management processes including effective strategies to respond to, manage and track a broad range of divisional issues and critical occurrences.
• Manages agenda items to Community Council, Committees of Council and City Council, ensures coordination of responses from appropriate staff, direction to the division is identified and analyzed for divisional impacts and reviews reports to ensure they are appropriate and accurate before processed in a professional, thorough and timely manner.
• Provides support with on-going strategic planning, priority setting and development of branch annual work programs, city-wide service direction, functional standards, policies and procedures, in consultation with other City divisions and community stakeholders.
• Prepares and drafts briefing notes, presentations and reports on emerging issues, requests for information, and reports for presentation to senior management, standing committees, partners, and Council for strategic decision making.
• Writes correspondence on behalf of the Senior Leadership Team to members of the public, members of Council and staff.
• Manages assigned projects, ensuring effective teamwork and communication, high standards of work quality and organizational performance and continuous learning.
• Provides recommendations, operational support and professional judgment on complex and contentious issues to support management functions and improve efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery.
• Acts as a common escalation point for issues that require multiple functional team inputs and perspectives to resolve.
• Analyzes complex issues and identifies potential root causes, with the support of relevant technical subject matter experts.
• Monitors issue resolution, ensuring work is complete, and updates stakeholders and systems, as appropriate.
• Mobilizes cross functional staff to review issues, and to present solutions and resolution.
• Cultivates effective working relations, represents the Branch and division as a subject matter expert and consults with Members of Council and their staff, internal and external stakeholders, other divisions and members of the public on community and project committees, programs, services and in cross-divisional strategic planning and activities.
• Leads a variety of assigned and special projects.
• Manages a high volume of work in a fast-paced environment requiring independent decision making, significant judgement and experience managing issues.
• Ensures project expenditures are controlled and maintained within approved budget limitations.
• Deals with confidential, sensitive, and urgent information affecting operations, assets and resources.

Key Qualifications

Applicants are required to demonstrate in their resume/cover letter that their qualifications match those specified below:

1. Must have post-secondary education in Public Policy and Administration, Communications, Planning or a relevant discipline or equivalent combination of education and/or experience.
2. Considerable experience in preparing communication materials for all levels of government, stakeholders, and the public through a variety of platforms (memos, briefing notes, presentation decks, emails, etc.).
3. Considerable experience in issues management, public relations, media relations, internal staff communications, stakeholder relations and monitoring key strategic partnerships.
4. Considerable project management experience with a demonstrated ability to take initiative and work independently to meet deadlines, handle multiple and diverse projects, and function as a strong team player in fulfilling the branches' and the division's goals.

Must also have:

5. Excellent presentation skills and outstanding writing, editing and communications skills with the ability to structure and present information clearly, concisely, and logically, to both internal and external stakeholders, through a variety of communication platforms, while ensuring corporate branding and messaging.
6. Ability to have high degree of judgement, political acumen and discretion; ability to analyze, problem solve and mediate complex situations with multiple stakeholders; strong networking and relationship building skills; and ability to handle matters of confidential/sensitive nature as it relates to Council, senior staff, management and unionized employees.
7. Knowledge of municipal operations, Committee and Council proceedings, collective agreements, City guidelines, policies, municipal bylaws, and relevant legislation including Employment Standards Act, Human Rights Code and Occupational Health & Safety Act, AODA, and a general understanding of issues facing divisions and the City.
8. Ability to thrive in a highly demanding, rapidly changing and very creative environment with frequent and completing priorities, deadlines, and multiple tasks.
9. Proficient in a variety of computer platforms, including MS Office, SharePoint, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, WebEx, Slido, internal/intranet technologies, digital asset management systems and various databases.

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.

Accommodation

The City of Toronto is committed to creating an accessible and inclusive organization. We are committed to providing barrier-free and accessible employment practices in compliance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). Should you require Code-protected accommodation through any stage of the recruitment process, please make them known when contacted and we will work with you to meet your needs. Disability-related accommodation during the application process is available upon request. Learn more about the City’s Hiring Policies and Accommodation Process.