Manager, Strategic Projects and Innovation

Manager, Strategic Projects and Innovation

JOB DESCRIPTION

JOB CLASSIFICATION: Manager, Strategic Projects and Innovation

PROGRAM/DEPARTMENT: Office of the CEO

COMPANY: Skills for Change

HOURS: 35 hours per week (Monday to Friday with occasional evening/weekend hours)

REPORTS TO: Chief Executive Officer

START DATE: Immediately

APPLICATION DEADLINE: Open Till Filled

GENERAL ACCOUNTABILITY:

Founded in 1982, Skills for Change is a leading non-profit organization serving immigrants and refugees in Canada. Our mission is to build welcoming and equitable communities. Skills for Change is known for pioneering programs that respond to shifting immigration and workplace trends and lead to employment. We create skills development opportunities for immigrants and refugees to access and fully participate in the workplace and wider community. Our Agency has played a major role in uplifting immigrant and equity-seeking communities for 40 years. As one of the leading holistic service providers in our sector, Skills for Change offers more than 25 programs and services, and annually serves 16,000 people who are newcomers, immigrants, and equity-seeking groups in services around employment, integration, mental health, leadership, entrepreneurship, and more.

Skills for Change is working to:

• Reduce Poverty through Decent Jobs
• Settle newcomers to build a life in Canada
• Improve Mental Health and Wellbeing
• Build skills to promote increased labour market freedom
• Advocate for environmentally sustainable and healthy communities
• Combat social and professional isolation through mentorship and networking
• Help underserved seniors to make friends and be digitally safe
• Empower entire communities to work towards eradicating systemic racism

POSITION NATURE AND SCOPE:

The Manager of Strategic Projects and Innovation supports the CEO by developing, piloting, and coordinating initiatives that advance the organization’s strategic priorities but do not fall neatly into existing departmental portfolios. The role provides structure, research, analysis, and disciplined project management to new ideas and emerging opportunities, ensuring concepts are tested, tracked, and moved forward.

The Manager works primarily with the CEO but also collaborates with the Executive Team on strategic ideas, pilots, and initiatives that require cross-functional coordination, strategic development, or CEO-level oversight. Ideas may originate from the CEO, individual Vice Presidents, cross-team discussions, external opportunities, or organizational planning processes. The CEO determines scope and priority for all assignments, and the Manager advances these initiatives while maintaining alignment with strategic direction and governance expectations.

The Manager also supports organization-wide strategic plan coordination by tracking progress across departments, integrating milestone updates, identifying interdependencies, and preparing high-level reporting for the CEO, Executive Team, and Board committees.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Idea Development

• Work directly with the CEO to refine and structure emerging ideas, pilots, opportunities, and strategic concepts.
• Prepare concept notes, environmental scans, research briefs, feasibility assessments, and early-stage models.
• Support idea development regardless of origin, with scope and prioritization directed by the CEO.
• Translate conceptual ideas into clear project proposals with defined objectives, resource considerations, and timelines.

Pilot and Project Coordination

• Lead coordination of pilot initiatives, ensuring input from relevant departments and stakeholders.
• Support testing and learning processes, including data collection, stakeholder feedback, evaluation, and documentation of lessons learned.
• Track milestones, risks, barriers, and decision points to support decisions on continuation, scaling, or discontinuation.
• When pilots demonstrate viability, work with the CEO and relevant Vice Presidents to develop a transition plan that establishes clear ownership, operational accountability, resource needs, and timelines before handoff to a department.
• The Manager supports transition planning but does not assume ongoing operational responsibility once an initiative moves to departmental implementation.

Innovation and Strategic Support

• Explore new program models, partnership opportunities, research areas, funding trends, and sector developments that align with the CEO’s strategic direction.
• Develop frameworks, prototypes, tools, or approaches to support innovation and strategic exploration.
• Conduct analysis on issues relevant to Skills for Change, including workforce development, immigration, community resilience, digital transformation, and related areas.

Priority Tracking and Follow-Through

• Maintain a tracking system for all CEO-led initiatives and strategic priorities.
• Coordinate organization-wide tracking of the Strategic Plan by gathering updates from Vice Presidents and Directors and maintaining a high-level dashboard of goals, milestones, risks, and interdependencies.
• Ensure timely follow-through by coordinating with relevant executives and staff and surfacing issues requiring decisions or escalation to the CEO.
• Prepare regular Strategic Plan progress summaries, dashboards, and presentations for the CEO, Executive Team, and Board committees.
• Identify cross-department linkages or barriers affecting progress and facilitate alignment discussions while respecting departmental authority.
• Provide clear, concise written updates that support executive decision making.

Executive Coordination

• Facilitate alignment across departments for cross-functional initiatives while respecting functional authority of Vice Presidents.
• Support meetings related to CEO-driven projects through preparation of agendas, briefing notes, and follow-up actions.
• The Manager may support Executive Team initiatives that require cross-functional coordination or executive-level strategy. When doing so, the Manager works collaboratively with the relevant Vice President while maintaining clear accountability to the CEO for scope, prioritization, and progress.
• Facilitate cross-department discussions for strategic plan goals that require joint ownership, shared decision-making, or problem solving.
• Ensure alignment between departmental activities and the CEO’s strategic priorities by consolidating updates and clarifying interdependencies.

Governance and Strategic Documentation

• Prepare reports, briefs, and materials for board committees or executive team discussions as requested by the CEO.
• Ensure strategic projects align with organizational priorities and governance expectations.
• Support documentation related to strategic planning, special initiatives, and organizational performance.
• Prepare organizational Strategic Plan reports and updates for Board committees and executive leadership, ensuring accuracy, clarity, and alignment with governance expectations.

Boundaries and Authority

• Operates with coordination authority, not operational authority over departments or staff.
• Works collaboratively with Vice Presidents and Directors, supporting execution without directing or overriding departmental responsibilities.
• When supporting Executive Team initiatives, the Manager provides strategic development, research, and project coordination support as directed by the CEO.
• Strategic Plan tracking and coordination do not alter or supersede Vice Presidents’ ownership of departmental goals; the Manager provides integration, visibility, and structured reporting to support organizational alignment.
• Vice Presidents retain full responsibility and authority for their portfolios.

Reporting

• Reports directly to the CEO. Collaborates closely with Vice Presidents and Directors across the organization.

Qualifications

• Degree in public administration, public policy, business, project management, or a related field.
• Minimum five to seven years experience in project management, strategic coordination, policy analysis, or cross-functional work in a complex environment.
• Strong ability to synthesize information and prepare executive-level briefs and recommendations.
• Demonstrated capacity to structure ideas, manage ambiguity, and drive clarity in early-stage initiatives.
• Excellent organizational, analytical, and communication skills.
• Experience with innovation frameworks, pilot design, or strategic planning is an asset.
• Ability to operate with discretion and handle confidential information.

As part of our commitment to diversity & inclusion racial justice and reconciliation, Skills for Change encourages applications from those who identify as Black, Indigenous, LGBTQ2S+, Racialized and other under-represented communities. Skills for Change offers accommodation for applicants with disabilities in each stage of the hiring process. If you are contacted regarding a job opportunity, please advise if you require accommodation. This document is available in an alternate format on request. We thank all applicants for their interest in this position, however only those selected for an interview will be contacted.