Director, Organizational Performance & Strategy

Job Description

Director, Organizational Performance & Strategy

Posting #: NU-2025-10

Posting Period: April 4 - 25, 2025

Employer Group: Non-Union

Reporting to: Chief Administrative Officer

Grade: 15

Wage Range Annually: $150,896 – $183,602

Position Status: Permanent full-time

Work Hours: 35 per week

Location: Cayuga, ON (Haldimand County Administration Building)

Core Competencies

• Critical Thinking
• Cognitive Flexibility
• Service Orientation
• Collaborative Skills
• Technology Use

Position Summary

As an organizational champion of change, innovation, advanced processes and customer centric service, you will transform the workplace culture to one of continuous improvement, leading or facilitating change management related to the development and implementation of an organizational performance and quality management framework. As a Director, the position plays an integral role in leading Haldimand’s municipal performance program through the direct management of the Organizational Performance & Strategy Division, close collaboration with the senior management team and through cross departmental interaction and guidance. The position is responsible to implement mechanisms and tools required for results based management and plays a key role in aligning projects, processes and improvements with strategic themes and priorities through the implementation of a continuous improvement program. Working closely with the Chief Information Officer, and the Manager of Customer Experience & Communications, this position will lead or facilitate key corporate projects that serve to improve organizational effectiveness, modernize processes and enhance customer service in all areas of the organization.

Qualifications, Knowledge, and Skills

Education

• University Degree relative to the area of responsibility, with current certification in a recognized continuous improvement methodology

Experience

• 5-7 years progressively responsible experience developing quality management and continuous improvement programs within complex organizations, including Supervisory experience
• Experience in performance measurement, process optimization and managing continuous improvement initiatives
• Formal certification in Project Management

Knowledge/Skills

Responsibilities

The incumbent is responsible for, but not limited to:

Corporate

• Oversee Corporate Strategic Plan Alignment
  • Develop and implement the corporate strategic plan, including work planning, organizing and attending meetings, public consultation, staff & Council engagement, preparing presentations and Council reports as well as other communications materials;
  • Provide vision, direction and oversight to Haldimand’s strategic planning and performance management processes;
  • Collaborate closely with the Senior Management Team, under the direction of the CAO, to incorporate corporate strategic goals and priorities into the corporate continuous improvement framework and work plan;
  • Advise and support management and staff on the alignment of their initiatives with the strategic plan;
  • Ensure that the objectives of improvement projects, determined in collaboration with applicable teams, are aligned with the objectives of Haldimand County’s strategic plan;
  • Implement strategic planning monitoring and reporting tools and provide reports;
  • Design and present the municipality’s annual strategic planning progress report.
• Management of Organizational Performance
  • Foster strong leadership skills within the organization to drive positive change;
  • Act as the corporate consultant in support of developing an organizational performance and quality management framework focusing on continuous improvement, performance measurement, innovation, advanced processes and customer service (internal and external);
  • Implement and oversee an integrated municipal performance management system based on continuous improvement methodology;
  • Establish key performance metrics in collaboration with the senior management team and the County’s leadership team;
  • Implement a framework to monitor and evaluate the relevancy of established KPI’s;
  • Monitor and evaluate processes and services to ensure that they meet established standards and County requirements. This may include measuring performance against key performance indicators (KPI's), collecting and analyzing data, and conducting regular reviews to identify areas for improvement;
  • Make recommendations to the General Manager respecting key performance indicators important to their Department with an emphasis on dashboard style reporting once available;
  • Consider open data and dashboards of performance indicators, financial and usage metrics for specific services (e.g., recreational facilities and amenities, programs, etc.)
  • Produce annual reports to senior management and Council on KPI’s;
  • Publish KPI’s year over year on County website for public viewing;
  • Monitor new trends and make recommendations to the senior management team;
  • Optimize and improve collective performance by recognizing contributions and developing skills across the organization.
• Continuous Improvement
  • Foster a culture of continuous improvement across the organization at all levels;
  • Lead and establish a continuous improvement program that emphasizes defining standards, methodology and roles, identifying and mitigating risks to the program and defining and monitoring metrics for program success;
  • Maintain a customer centric mindset to ensure that all improvement initiatives are aligned with the needs and expectations of the organization’s internal and external customers;
  • Provide expert advice to management and support the latter in building a continuous improvement culture;
  • Lead various corporate initiatives that drive continuous improvement and innovation throughout the organization, including managing research into municipal best practices, leading organizational reviews and recommending organizational changes to policy and practice;
  • Act as project lead/facilitator in large scale corporate continuous improvement projects as assigned;
  • Monitor new trends in continuous improvement and best practices in change management, recommending and encouraging their adoption when beneficial to the organization;
  • Act as a facilitator in resolving interdepartmental issues related to project advancement;
  • Identify key processes, services and areas of operation within the municipality that are critical to delivering quality services;
  • Lead the development, implementation and management of a corporate wide process improvement program;
  • Engage with teams across the Corporation to assess and prioritize current processes for improvement; identify, collect, and analyze key performance metrics and monitor progress on approved action plans to ensure sustainability;
  • Analyze issues faced by work teams and help them identify potential avenues for improvement, assess the scope and scale of change, carry out diagnostics and draft recommendations to enhance Haldimand’s overall performance;
  • Introduce new processes, collaborate to recommend new tools for service improvements and gain buy-in and commitment for consistent corporate-wide adoption;
  • Provide support and guidance to divisions (staff and management) through the identification of improvement-oriented initiatives and undertaking projects;
  • Carry out performance audits and prepare the appropriate reports;
  • Work collaboratively with the Chief Financial Officer related to Haldimand’s internal audit, performance management and service review program of work; provide high level direction and oversight to these areas from a process, efficiency and service delivery perspective while considering the CFO’s financial perspective;
  • Produce and present an annual report to management on projects completed and processes implemented, to include results obtained, and analyze return on investment;
  • Keep the CAO and Senior Management Team apprised of progress made on projects;
  • Conduct an annual review of the continuous improvement program;
  • Report to Council as necessary.
• Change Management
  • Analyze the impact of key corporate projects on the organization and the risks associated with change, in collaboration with senior management;
  • Develop change management strategies to address the impacts of significant or ongoing change in the organization;
  • Implement a change management program, individualized to the circumstances of each organizational change;
  • Develop and implement a communications plan for continuous improvement and change management.
• Strategic Initiatives
  • Lead or participate in complex, sensitive and high profile corporate initiatives or special projects to advance the CAO’s strategic agenda and mandate;
  • Stay engaged on important projects and initiatives to ensure the work continues to be in alignment with the CAO’s expected outcomes.

People

• Direct supervision and guidance to project management staff within the division including orientation, supervision, performance discussions, support, professional development and occupational health and safety;
• Manage and lead a high performing, results oriented team while providing consultative direction, support, and supervision to employees in areas of continuous improvement, data literacy, project management, innovation, KPI analysis and performance reporting;
• Identify training and development needs within the team;
• Foster a learning environment for the Organizational Performance Division where team members are encouraged to continuously expand their knowledge, share best practices and explore new approaches to problem solving;
• Work closely with the Chief Information Officer and the Manager of Customer Experience & Communications to forge a cohesive continuous improvement and innovation vision for the organization, benefitting internal and external customers;
• Champion a culture of continuous improvement, leadership, performance and accountability, customer service and innovation, for results;
• Foster strong relationships with SMT, corporate management team and Council;
• Build trusting relationships, foster cross-functional collaboration and create a safe environment within the organization for open and honest discussion about service performance, breaking down barriers, challenging the status quo, and taking calculated risks.

Timeline

• Regularly prepare and report on all aspects of the Organizational Performance program to the Senior Management Team and Council as necessary;
• Regularly update supervisor in terms of assigned strategic initiatives and projects;
• Council report schedule is set annually and reports must be prepared, reviewed based on this schedule;
• Attendance at Council in Committee meetings based on annual schedule and as required;
• Attendance at budget meetings, divisional and Senior Management meetings as required.

Money/Asset

• Develop and implement the Division’s operating and capital budgets and take appropriate actions to ensure adherence to the approved budgets; take corrective actions if required;
• Actively contribute as a co-lead of the IT Governance Committee to prioritize technology needs across the corporation in keeping with the mandate of the Organizational Performance & Strategy Division;
• Within the role of the position, prepare and submit grant applications to various government agencies with a view to expanding and/or improving services;
• Produce the activity reports needed to assess and optimize processes and procedures, and make recommendations aimed at improving services;
• Produce reports for Senior Management and Council to show financial results of continuous improvement initiatives including cost reductions, productivity gains, etc.;
• Effectively manage external contracts related to divisional responsibilities.

Functional

Demonstrate commitment to the Haldimand County Code of Conduct

The duties listed above are intended only as illustrations of the various types of work that may be performed. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the position if the work is similar, related or a logical assignment to the job.