Director, IT Digital Innovation

Job Title: Director, IT Digital Innovation

Location: GTA

About Us:

Welcome to Lactalis Canada! We’re proud to be Canada’s #1 branded dairy company and to be consistently recognized as one of the country’s top employers by Forbes . Our purpose is to enrich and nurture the lives of Canadians by offering the best of dairy from Canada’s favourite dairy brands like Cracker Barrel, Black Diamond, Balderson, Astro and Lactantia. In fact, our products can be found in over 90% of Canadian refrigerators in any given time. As part of Lactalis Group, the world’s leading dairy company, we remain focused on innovation and quality and are seeking like-minded individuals to join us as we continue our growth journey.

Our flexible hybrid work model accommodates 40% remote work, adapting to the evolving needs of our workforce. Step into a collaborative hub with our revamped office, and enjoy free parking, endless coffee, delicious Lactalis snacks, an on-site gym, and more!

About the opportunity:

The IT Director Digital Innovation is a technology leader responsible for shaping and executing the enterprise digital innovation agenda across Lactalis Canada. This role drives the modernization and new business capabilities by identifying emerging technologies, leading strategic pilots, and scaling digital solutions that materially improve productivity, revenue growth and customer experience.

As a key advisor to the VP IT and the Executive team, this leader influences long‑term strategy, champions innovation culture, and ensures digital investments deliver measurable enterprise value. The IT Director Digital Innovation provides leadership and direction to Solution Architects, Data and Software Engineers.

The attributes we are looking for:

Strategic Leadership and Digital Transformation;

• Define and execute the AI and Digital Innovation strategy and investment roadmap in alignment with business priorities, long-term growth, and the IT strategy.
• Partner with business leaders across Lactalis Canada to identify, prioritize, and champion high-impact digital innovation use cases that deliver measurable business value.
• Act as a catalyst for innovation, ensuring technology investments aligned with business priorities.
• Build business cases for new digital capabilities with clear ROI, risks, and adoption considerations.
• Play a key role driving the organizational and cultural change management required for broad AI adoption, promoting AI literacy and communicating the value and impact of digital innovation to both technical and non-technical stakeholders, up to the executive level.

Portfolio Management & Solution Delivery:

• Overall management of the Digital Innovation portfolio including RPA, AI, IoT, Cloud applications and advanced analytics.
• Identifies emerging technologies, pilots high impact solutions, and scales successful innovations across manufacturing, supply chain, quality, commercial, and corporate functions.
• Ensure digital products and platforms are scalable, secure, and capable of supporting personalized, and self-service needs.
• Manage the implementation of projects by preparing project plans, timelines, resources, and cost estimates, and manage ongoing deliverables.
• Oversee product engineering, systems architecture, data infrastructure, and platform reliability.
• Ensure reliable day-to-day support.
• Guarantee new solutions meet cybersecurity, regulatory, and audit requirements.
• Manage ongoing expenditure, IT resources, and long-term financial planning within your scope of responsibility.

Team Leadership and Development:

• Build, mentor, develop and lead high-performing teams in data engineering, AI/ML, RPA and in-house cloud-based applications.
• Foster a culture of accountability, innovation, and collaboration.
• Attract, retain, and develop top technology talent.

Stakeholder and Partner Management:

• Act as a key liaison with internal executives, external technology partners, and solution providers.
• Build and maintain strong business relationships to align technology initiatives with business goals.
• Ensure consistent communication and alignment across business divisions.
• Manage key relationships with vendors to ensure delivery of the solutions and maximize value within budget.
• Represent the organization in industry forums and contribute to thought leadership.

Governance, Risk and Compliance:

• Set up and lead an AI governance council or working group to review and guide decision on high‑impact or high‑risk AI use cases.
• Establish and maintain compliance with regulatory requirements, internal policies and technical documentation.
• Utilize risk management techniques to make sure that effective disaster recovery and business continuity plans are in place.

What you will bring:

• University graduation with post graduate degree at the Master’s level
• Minimum 15+ years of progressive experience in technology, digital transformation, data science, or AI/ML, with at least 5 years in a leadership role driving enterprise-level strategy and execution, preferably within the CPG industry.
• Experience in change management, training, and organizational transformation.
• Experience in software evaluation and vendor negotiation.
• Deep understanding and expertise of AWS and Microsoft platform and services, AI/ML technologies, including Generative AI, large language models (LLMs), Agentic AI, and their practical application on a large-scale. Experience in Robotic Process Automation.
• Experience in defining and implementing AI governance frameworks, MLOps, and managing the end-to-end lifecycle of AI products.
• Strong understanding of Data Lake architecture, AI and Data governance and security best practices
• Technical expertise/knowledge:
• Expertise with implementing AI agents with Microsoft Copilot Studio, Microsoft Power Automate, Microsoft Purview, Microsoft Agent 365.
• Expertise in AWS platform and services like: S3, Lake Formation, Glue, EMR, EC2 Athena, Lambda
• Expert level proficiency on the following technical development stack: SQL, Python, JavaScript, Spark, Databricks, …
• Experience with Robotic Process Automation tools such as UIPATH

What Lactalis will offer:

Lactalis Canada believes in rewarding its people with the following comprehensive benefits package and perks:

• A Competitive Base Salary
• Company Vehicle or Car Allowance
• A Performance-Based Bonus System
• 5 Weeks of Vacation
• Benefits starting day 1
• A Pension Program with an Employer Match at 100% of up to 6%
• Tuition reimbursement plan of up to $3,000/year
• A Volunteer Day to give back to your community
• Learning and Development opportunities
• A commitment to internal career advancement with potential for international mobility

Our ESG commitment:

Our ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) roadmap drives our sustainability mission. We aim to positively impact communities and the planet by enabling stakeholders including our people, consumers, customers, suppliers, dairy farmers, government, and industry partners to have a positive impact on the wellbeing of our communities and the planet through all that we do.

At Lactalis Canada, we value our employees as catalysts for positive change. Together, we will create a sustainable future, promote belonging, and make a lasting impact on the world.

Our commitment to DEI:

Fuel Our Culture with Your Uniqueness! Lactalis thrives on the value each person brings. We're dedicated to amplifying diverse voices, inviting personal and professional growth, and embracing everyone's true selves. We're committed to crafting an environment that genuinely welcomes all, reflecting the richness of our people and communities. We apply an equal access to employment program and invite women, aboriginal people, visible minorities, and people with disabilities to apply.

Our promise extends to accessible processes and spaces. If you require accommodation due to a disability (which may be visible or invisible, temporary, or permanent), please inform our Talent Acquisition team – confidentiality will be maintained.

Note: Lactalis Canada does not conduct credit or background checks through . If required, we'll contact you after signing a Job Offer.

Compensation:

As part of our commitment to fairness, trust, and transparency and our ambition to be an Employer of Choice, the base salary range for this position is $144,800 – $181,000+ .

Please note: Along with a comprehensive Total Rewards package, your actual base salary will be fair, competitive, and be based on your skills, experience, and qualifications.