Project Manager; Perm and Term

Department: Opportunities and Social Development

Location: HALIFAX

Type of Employment: Permanent

Union Status: Exclusion - Non Union - NSPG

Closing Date: 08-Nov-26 (Applications are accepted until 11:59 PM Atlantic Time)

At the Department of Opportunities and Social Development (OSD), we are a large and diverse department providing a broad portfolio of programs and services including the Disability Support Program (DSP), Child and Family Wellbeing (CFW), Employment Support and Income Assistance (ESIA), and Homelessness and Supportive Housing.

Through our services, we advocate for and help vulnerable Nova Scotians to be independent, self-reliant, and secure. We work collaboratively across the province with a strong, dedicated network of staff and partners to achieve desired outcomes for all.

Opportunities and Social Development is looking for a Project Manager to join our dynamic Innovation Team, which leads priority initiatives to improve how staff access, experience, and deliver public services.

You will lead complex projects from planning and design through implementation and continuous improvement. Projects may range from short-term initiatives to multi-year strategic initiatives and can include program and policy development, service design, operational improvements, service delivery modernization, and digital solutions.

You will be trusted to shape project scope and direction, establish effective delivery approaches, and make sound decisions within agreed objectives and governance. Working across product, design, business analysis, technology, privacy, security, accessibility, and program areas, you will lead multidisciplinary teams, navigate risks and trade-offs, and maintain momentum toward solutions that are achievable, sustainable, and valuable to Nova Scotians and the people who serve them.

As Project Manager, your primary accountabilities will focus on three key areas:

• Take ownership of complex initiatives from early definition and planning through implementation, transition, and evaluation.
• Build and maintain integrated project plans, establish clear accountabilities, and create momentum across multidisciplinary teams.
• Make sound day-to-day delivery decisions within established objectives and governance, escalating matters that require broader direction or authority.
• Manage scope, schedules, budgets, contracts, dependencies, risks, issues, decisions, and resources with appropriate rigour.
• Connect client and staff experience, policy, operations, data, and technology to maintain a whole-system view of each initiative.
• Adapt the delivery approach as evidence, feedback, priorities, and operating conditions evolve.

• Build trusted relationships across OSD, other departments, communities, and service providers.
• Develop options and recommendations that help leaders make informed decisions about scope, sequencing, resources, risks, and trade-offs.
• Influence outcomes through evidence, clear thinking, sound judgment, and trusted relationships rather than positional authority.
• Communicate progress, risks, decisions, and required actions clearly to other team members, partners, and senior leaders.
• Help create a team environment characterized by curiosity, accountability, collaboration, and implementation.

• Integrate change management, communications, engagement, accessibility, and implementation planning throughout the project lifecycle.
• Define intended outcomes and success metrics, using data and feedback to refine solutions during and after implementation.
• Support the transition of completed work into sustainable operations, with clear ownership, processes, documentation, and…