Senior Strategist, Strategy and Transformation in Toronto

Metrolinx is connecting communities across the Greater Golden Horseshoe. Metrolinx operates GO Transit and UP Express, as well as the PRESTO fare payment system. We are also building new and improved rapid transit, including GO Expansion, Light Rail Transit routes, and major expansions to Toronto’s subway system, to get people where they need to go, better, faster and easier. At Metrolinx, equity, diversity and inclusion are essential to living our values of serving with passion, thinking forward and playing as a team.

Our Strategy & Centres of Excellence Office is looking for a Senior Strategist to support the development and execution of organizational strategy at Metrolinx. This includes the development of near- and medium-term strategies at both the enterprise and divisional levels, as well as helping ensure organizational success through business planning, strategic reporting, performance insights, governance, communications, change management, and market and industry insights.

This role will also directly support the organization with the delivery of key transformative strategic initiatives, working closely with functional teams across the organization to investigate opportunities, conduct analysis, and design solutions that help us be bold, create possibilities, and think and do differently. This will include directly assisting the enterprise and individual teams across the organization with a variety of their highest complexity problems.

The Senior Strategist will combine strategic problem solving, qualitative and quantitative research and analysis, stakeholder engagement, and effective communications to implement organizational changes that are not only highly effective, but feasible to deliver.

If you are curious, tenacious, and interested in making a difference in the lives of those who live in this region, we want to hear from you.

What will I be doing?

• Drive the development of Metrolinx’s corporate strategy and transformation initiatives bringing them to life through integrated planning frameworks — from medium-term roadmaps to annual action plans — ensuring all corporate plans are aligned and working together in harmony.
• Lead industry research, best-practice analysis, benchmarking, and quantitative analysis in support of strategy development and implementation, effectively synthesizing findings into actionable insights.
• Lead strategic communication and change management efforts to embed corporate strategy into the fabric of the organization and inspire collective action across the workforce.
• Distill performance insights by deeply understanding the business, ensuring our actions align with strategy, and equipping leadership with the clarity needed to make impactful decisions.
• Support other Metrolinx teams as an SME on strategy development and implementation, strategic problem-solving, business model design and implementation, operating model design and implementation, and other priority strategic topics.
• Lead engagements, including workshops, with varied Metrolinx stakeholders to support the development of divisional and team strategic planning, business model design, and operating model design, including establishing the conditions for the effective implementation of proposed changes to structures.
• Lead internal and external stakeholder consultations to support all aspects of the role, including strategy development and divisional strategic support.
• Develop high-quality, fact-based reports and presentations suitable for an executive audience; deliver presentations to executive audiences.
• Influence decisions by recommending best solutions for business needs and identifying areas of waste or duplication.

What Skills and Qualifications Do I Need?

• Completion of a degree in Business Administration or a related discipline – or a combination of education, training, and experience deemed equivalent; MBA is an asset.
• Demonstrated experience in organizational strategy; management consulting experience is considered a strong asset.
• In-depth understanding of corporate strategy development and implementation, including familiarity with common approaches and best practices.
• Ability to approach complex, abstract problems and structure and execute an approach to arrive at a solution independently.
• Ability to craft a story and communicate abstract ideas clearly and independently to manage complex project objectives.
• Analytical skills to analyze data and corporate business performance and recommend improvements.
• Strong interpersonal and oral/written/presentation communication skills to interact with groups across the organization; comfort engaging with executive-level audiences.
• A high degree of comfort in MS Office Suite (Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.), including making high-impact PowerPoint presentations.

Accommodation: Metrolinx is an equal opportunity employer and committed to a diverse and inclusive workforce. We are also committed to offering reasonable accommodation to job applicants in accordance with applicable legislation.

Eligibility & Application Requirements

• All applicants must be legally entitled to work in Canada.
• It is your responsibility to include an updated email address that is checked daily and accepts emails from unknown users.
• Please be advised that a Criminal Record Check may be required of the successful candidate.
• Candidates must be in their current role for 12 months prior to applying for another role and each applicant must be in good standing (not participating in a Performance Improvement Plan).