PROJECT DIRECTOR

Job Summary
Strategic position to project manage key initiatives to improve overall customer experience for residents and businesses interacting with the City. Incumbent will be working with operating areas, leveraging data, insights and through innovation and continuous digital improvements.

Reports To:
Executive Director, Division Head Customer Experience Division

Supervises:
Various Non-Union and Unionized Jobs

Major Responsibilities:

• Oversee the end-to-end planning, execution, and delivery of digital initiatives that modernize and enhance citizen-facing services, ensuring they align with the city of Toronto’s strategic vision, accessibility standards, and stakeholder needs while improving efficiency, usability, and overall customer satisfaction.
• Lead Customer Experience redesign and redevelopment of the City’s digital platforms, ensuring modern, user centered design principles and accessibility compliance (AODA).
• Works with divisional heads, sector partners and others to promote customer experience innovation aligned with industry trends as part of divisional and service area transformation initiatives.
• Designs, implements and evaluates the division's strategic opportunities for improvement for divisional and service area programs as directed by City Council and/or the Division Head.
• Develops, designs and implements operating policies and digital service improvements that improve the customer and agent experience and overall business performance leveraging data, analytics and process automation.
• Contributes to the continuous improvement and accountability of divisional performance through analysis, data analytics and reporting and the development and implementation of sound management practices and procedures.
• Provides program management staff with recommendations, direction and guidance, processes and tools to increase efficiencies and improve effectiveness.
• Leads and motivates a diverse team, ensures effective teamwork and empowerment, ensures high standards of work quality and organizational performance, continuous learning and encourages innovation.
• Provides input to the unit's annual budget for the section and ensures that the section's expenditures are controlled and maintained within approved budget limitations.
• Works with the Division Head to proactively identify, address and ensure timely response to resolve ongoing and emerging issues, establishing KPI’s to monitor performance, complaints and customer service deficiencies facing the Division and its operations.
• Represents the Division Head when liaising with Members of Council and their staff and with senior City staff and the public.
• Develops strong partnerships that promote positive outcomes related to various programs aligning to divisional priorities and scorecard.
• Informs the design, development and implementation of program changes, new programs or pilot projects to better support clients.
• Working with other members of the Senior Management Team provides program leadership to promote excellence in customer service, effective and efficient service delivery models and accountability at all levels of the service experience.
• Develops program performance indicators and establishes reporting requirements to provide strategic program oversight.
• Establishes strong communication with divisional management to ensure effective program oversight, update on priorities and strategic initiatives.
• Prepares monthly, quarterly, annual and ad hoc reports to ensure compliance with legislation, operating agreements, etc.

Key Qualifications:

1. Extensive experience leading complex digital projects with demonstrated achieved objectives on large-scale (divisional and/or organizational) transformational initiatives with emphasis on organizational strategic direction, financial, procurement and risk management.
2. Post-secondary education with relevant project management training and experience, or an equivalent combination of education and/or related experience.
3. Extensive senior level experience managing, leading, coaching, developing and motivating teams in the delivery of a major transformation initiatives.
4. Extensive experience working with executives, sponsors and senior management teams across the organization to meet divisional and organizational objectives while maintaining effective relationships.
5. Extensive experience directly and indirectly managing business teams and resources (operational managers, project managers, staff, contractors and vendors) for the development of business solutions to achieve corporate objectives.
6. Extensive experience in contract negotiations and managing contracts from inception to closure, including Requests for Proposals (RFPs) and Sole Source Requests.
7. Superior analytical and well-developed human relations skills with an exceptional ability to communicate both verbally and in writing, negotiate persuasively and effectively, and forge solid internal relationships.
8. Proven ability to exercise discretion, with a high degree of initiative and creativity in problem solving.
9. Highly effective presentation skills with internal and external stakeholders.
10. Demonstrated political acumen, judgement and insight.
11. Possession of a professional designation and/or post graduate degree (PMP, PEng, CPA, MBA, MPA, etc.) would a great asset.