Senior Planning and Business Support Specialist

Title: Senior Planning and Business Support Specialist

Employee Working Location: Partially Virtual / Hybrid (Canada)

Employment Status: Permanent Full-time

The Canadian Red Cross (CRC) - an inspirational not for profit organization, helps people and communities in Canada and around the world in times of need and supports them in strengthening their resilience. As a Canada's Best Employers 2026 , we are committed to having an accessible, diverse, inclusive, and barrier-free work environment.

The Senior Planning and Business Support Specialist plays a critical role in advancing strategic priorities within the Enablement team by leading integrated planning processes, enabling cross-functional alignment, and supporting effective management of initiatives. This role works closely with the senior leaders to coordinate financial and operational planning, coordinates functions for effective business support, and strengthen internal engagement and culture. In addition, the Specialist identifies and leads specific projects and initiatives, supports organizational change initiatives, and fosters a culture of learning and collaboration through knowledge sharing and continuous improvement practices.

In this role, you will:

• Facilitate cross-functional collaboration across departments to ensure alignment on strategic goals, planning processes, and organizational reporting.
• Lead the development and implementation of planning processes, ensuring alignment with the Canadian Red Cross' strategic framework and priorities.
• Provide strategic support to the leaders through financial planning, forecasting, data analysis, and reporting to enable informed decision making and resource allocation.
• Plan and coordinate complex multi-stakeholder initiatives, including events and engagement forums.
• Design and implement culture and engagement initiatives in collaboration with senior leaders and other departments to enhance the personnel experience.
• Identify and support strategic engagement opportunities by hosting thought leadership forums and leading key internal and external engagement initiatives.
• Support the identification and mitigation of operational and strategic risks through scenario planning and contingency frameworks.
• Contribute to the development of key performance indicators and coordinate regular monitoring, analysis, and reporting of progress against strategic objectives.
• Collaborate on the development and implementation of change management strategies to support organizational transformation or shifts in strategic direction.
• Promote knowledge sharing and support internal learning by documenting lessons learned from planning and engagement initiatives.
• Lead key projects and initiatives on behalf Enablement or in support of other departments, alignment with project management practices and internal standards and approaches.

What we are looking for:

• Qualifications include a minimum of 6-9 years experience and 3-year college diploma or university degree in business administration, public administration, strategic planning, organizational development, or related field and/or an equivalent combination of education and experience. Project management certification is required.
• Requires expertise in a specialized discipline or broad experience across fields, along with an understanding of interconnections between processes and business units.
• Experience in managing a large portfolio of work covering multiple disciplines.
• Strong depth of knowledge of business operations, logistics, and support processes.
• Strong business acumen, problem solving and effective project management skills including strategic and operational planning, budgetary processes, resource allocation, and strategic planning.
• Strong understanding of strategic planning frameworks, performance measurement, and reporting tools.
• Demonstrated ability to analyze data, forecast trends, and develop actionable insights to support decision-making.
• Solid understanding of organizational change and engagement principles.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications (Word, Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint) and SharePoint.
• Ability to identify complex problems, analyze interrelated factors, assess and mitigate risks, and develop solutions using specialized skills.
• Communication and influence skills to gather perspectives, understand needs, and present information to reach consensus, often in somewhat sensitive situations.
• Fluency in English is required; French is an asset.

Working Conditions:

• Work will be conducted in an office-like setting.
• May require travel to safe locations.
• Work requires the ability to work to deadlines.
• Requires significant attention to detail and concentration and ability to mentally process large amounts of information.
• The work pace is often unpredictable with significant time pressures.
• Ability to adapt to frequent and often urgent changes in priorities, and make decisions under pressure, work at an unpredictable pace.
• In a large-scale emergency, you may be asked to support emergency relief and emergency operational needs.
• As we work with and support people (managers, colleagues, clients/customers, volunteers, donors and external partners) and communities in Canada and around the world, applicants whose first language is not English may be required to perform the responsibilities of the role in English.
• Eligibility to work in Canada: At this time, we welcome applications from candidates eligible to work in Canada. If you are not a citizen or permanent resident of Canada, we encourage you to carefully review your visa to find out whether you are eligible to work in the job you are considering applying for. Refer to our FAQ for more information.