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

Final date to receive applications: 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.

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…