POLICY DEVELOPMENT OFFICER EMP&SOC SVCS

• Job ID: 47470
• Job Category: Policy, Planning & Research
• Division & Section: Employment & Social Services, E&SS Strategic Program Management
• Work Location: Metro Hall, 55 John St, Toronto
• Job Type & Duration: Full-time, Temporary Vacancy (12 months)
• Salary: $102,155.00 - $135,815.00, TM0473 and wage grade 7.0
• Shift Information: Monday to Friday, 35 hours per week
• Affiliation: Non-Union
• Number of Positions Open: 1
• Posting Period: 19-SEPT-2024 to 03-OCT-2024

Job Description:

Toronto Employment & Social Services provides employment supports, financial benefits, and social supports to people living in Toronto. Our vision is to strengthen the social and economic well-being of Torontonians in their communities.

As a Policy Development Officer, you will support the division by conducting research, developing policy, and providing advice on approaches to delivering the provincial Ontario Works program.

As a member of the Strategic Planning, Research, and Engagement unit, you will lead and support projects; support Social Assistance Renewal efforts; advance the goals articulated in the City’s Poverty Reduction Strategy; engage with residents, staff, researchers, and stakeholders; monitor, analyze and develop policies impacting low-income residents; apply innovative, service design approaches; and facilitate strategic planning processes – all with the goal of improving the suite of supports and services available to Toronto residents living in poverty.

Major Responsibilities:

Policy analysis and development

• Leads strategic policy analysis and development processes by formulating and recommending new policies and approaches and detailed implementation plans to support the delivery of programs and services.
• Applies an equity lens to policies, programs, and strategies, ensuring strategic alignment with actions outlined in the Reconciliation Action Plan and the Toronto Action Plan to Confront Anti-Black Racism, and assesses the impact of proposed changes on various community groups including Indigenous, Black, racialized, newcomer, 2SLGBTQ, and low-income residents.
• Provides expert interpretation of federal, provincial, and municipal strategies, policy, and legislation, identifies the impact of changes or new initiatives, and recommends opportunities for improved service planning and delivery.

Engagement/consultation

• Undertakes consultation with stakeholders and leads public consultation processes.
• Fosters strategic partnerships and builds effective working relationships with service providers, Indigenous organizations, Black-mandated/Black-led/Black-serving organizations, organizations serving other equity-deserving groups (i.e. refugees, newcomers, 2SLGBTQ+ residents, youth, etc.), community and social sector stakeholders, City divisions, other orders of government, and elected officials.
• Plans and carries out consultations with community and sector stakeholders, technical consultants, members of the public, and other groups, as appropriate, to develop new policies and programs, and ensure awareness of existing and emerging issues and concerns.
• Liaises with cluster and corporate partners to maintain strategic alignment and oversight across all areas that impact divisional work, priorities, and clients.
• Participates on various committees and acts as a divisional representative.

Research, writing, and evaluation

• Researches, analyzes and evaluates policies/programs.
• Leads and directly conducts ongoing research (qualitative and quantitative) and analysis of trends and activities related to poverty, homelessness, income security, and related services to provide information and identify emerging issues and opportunities to senior management.
• Embeds the collection, analysis, and reporting of disaggregated socio-demographic data into projects to inform divisional projects.
• Applies evaluation best practices to develop targets, criteria, and outcomes to measure the effectiveness and outcomes of programs and policies.
• Monitors the implementation of policies and programs and evaluates their ongoing impact through identifying and operationalizing metrics, targets, and outcome measures using a human-centred design, and data-informed approach.
• Develops and interprets research and analysis tools and databases to support evidence-informed decision-making.
• Prepares Council reports, research analysis, major funding requests, briefing notes, presentations, and other policy reports/recommendations, as required, by senior management and consistent with unit, divisional, and corporate priorities and strategic directions.

Project management/implementation
 

• Manages project teams to research, prepare, and develop strategies for integrating programs and services.
• Collaborates with project team members, ensuring effective teamwork, high standards of work quality and organizational performance, continuous learning, and encouraging innovation in others.
• Applies project management skills in the leadership of staff teams on projects related to policy development, implementation, and evaluation.
• Champions the implementation of policies and programs leading to positive outcomes for equity-deserving groups and applies an intersectional, equity-driven analysis to project planning and evaluation.
• Develops and manages project budgets, requests for proposals, and service contracts with external consultants and other partners.

Key Qualifications:

1. Post-secondary education in public policy, public administration, social science, or related discipline or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
2. Considerable experience with research methodologies (quantitative and qualitative) and using evidence to support policy and program development, and evaluation.
3. Considerable experience in policy and strategy development including  experience advancing knowledge translation between research, policy, and operations.
4. Considerable experience with project management including project design, development, and implementation.
5. Considerable experience in community engagement/consultation processes, including relationship-building, facilitation, consensus-building, and conflict resolution.
6. Highly developed strategic, organizational, analytical, and conceptual thinking skills with the capacity to understand complex operating and policy issues, and performance measures, as well as the ability to respond to emerging issues.
7. Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
8. Ability to communicate with a broad range of internal and external stakeholders, senior management, and political representatives through preparing reports, and delivering effective presentations.
9. Able to work independently, and collaboratively in a team environment to produce high-quality work.
10. Lived experience as a member of an equity-deserving group (e.g. Indigenous and Black communities, etc.) is an asset.

Additional Information:

If you are interested in learning more about the Policy Development Officer position within Toronto Employment and Social Services, you are invited to attend an Information Session on Thursday, September 26, 2024, from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. EDT.

The information session will provide you with an opportunity to learn more about the role and responsibilities of the Policy Development Officer, the mandate of Toronto Employment and Social Services, what it is like to work at the City of Toronto, as well as the City's application process.

You can join the Information Session by using the link or call-in details below:

Webinar link: https://toronto.webex.com/weblink/register/re883fddaaafeabe9963e95c7a76b84da

Webinar number (access code): 2632 586 7728

Webinar password: tzPA9qvkm77 (89729785 when dialing from a phone or video system)

Call-in: +1-416-915-6530 Canada Toll

Participants, please note, if you do not wish your name to appear during the session, please enter an alternate First and Last Name or join the session by dialing in.

Note To Current City of Toronto Employees

City of Toronto employees are eligible to apply for the posted job opportunity, but cannot hold two different jobs. To be considered for this job posting, you must indicate that you are a "Current City of Toronto employee" on the on-line application form, and provide your "Employee Number".

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.