Project Manager – Community-Based Research & Engagement

The Project Manager, Community-Based Research & Engagement provides strategic leadership across a portfolio of community-driven and research-informed initiatives, including the Community Connector Project, the Trust Pathways Project (Canadian Heritage), and the NAARS Community of Practice (CoP) and DNS Working Group.

This role operates at the intersection of community, research, and systems change, leading initiatives that influence how services are designed, accessed, and coordinated across the region. The position is accountable for driving system-level alignment, advancing evidence-informed decision-making, and convening multi-sector partners including executive-level stakeholders toward shared outcomes.

The Project Manager holds full accountability for portfolio performance, strategic direction, budget oversight, and the management of external research partners and contractors, ensuring initiatives are delivered with impact, rigor, and alignment to funder and organizational priorities. In addition, the position regularly handles confidential organizational information and provides advisory input to senior leadership on matters impacting workforce planning and operational delivery.

Key Responsibilities:

Portfolio Leadership & Resource Management

• Provide strategic direction , governance, and oversight across a portfolio of initiatives, ensuring alignment with organizational priorities, funding agreements, and system-level objectives

• Drive the integration of community-based engagement, research, and cross sector collaboration into scalable, system-informed models of service delivery;

• Identify and advance opportunities to influence policy, service design, and system responsiveness through evidence, data, and community insight;

Maintain accountability for portfolio performance, including outcomes, strategic alignment, financial stewardship, and risk management;
Holds accountability for portfolio budget development, planning, and forecasting, ensuring alignment with organizational priorities and funding agreements, and providing regular reporting to the Senior Manager;

• Exercises decision-making authority over allocation and reallocation of financial resources across multiple initiatives to optimize impact and delivery;

• Approves expenditures within delegated authority limits, ensuring compliance with organizational policies and funder requirements;

• Provides oversight of financial reporting to funders, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and alignment with program outcomes;

• Lead proactive identification, assessment, and mitigation of risks impacting portfolio delivery, partnerships, and system outcomes.

Cross-Functional Leadership & Systems Integration

• Convene and lead multi-sector and multi-stakeholder community tables, engaging funders, senior leaders, and partner organizations to advance shared system goals including the NAARS Community of Practice (CoP);

• Facilitates strategic dialogue and provides strategic direction on decision making processes that influence regional coordination, integration, and service alignment to the DNS Working Group;

• Drives decision-making processes across partner organizations, ensuring alignment on priorities, roles, and system-level objectives;

• Guide structured discussions that inform system-level planning, design, and continuous improvement;

• Positions the organization as a systems leader that influences and advances operational direction, collaboration and accountability across sectors.

Research, Partnerships & Contractor Stewardship

• Provide strategic oversight of research partnerships, ensuring alignment between research design, community priorities, and system-level application;

• Direct and manage relationships with external partners, including…