Senior Project Manager / Project Leader – Senior

Client: Government Services Integration Cluster (GSIC), Ontario Public Service

Ministry: Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery and Procurement

Location: 222 Jarvis Street, Toronto, ON

Work Arrangement: 100% Onsite – 5 days/week

Contract: September 10, 2026 – March 31, 2027

Extension: Up to 1 additional term

Openings: 1

Security Clearance: No clearance required

Position Overview The Ontario Public Service is seeking a Senior Project Manager / Project Leader to provide project management leadership for large-scale, complex, high-profile, and high-risk OPS I⁢ initiatives.

The successful candidate will be responsible for ensuring project deliverables meet business requirements while being delivered on time, within scope and budget, with a strong focus on cost-effectiveness, operational efficiencies, compliance, and adherence to OPS project management methodologies and frameworks.

Key Responsibilities

- Provide project management leadership for large-scale, complex, high-profile, and high-risk OPS I⁢ projects.

- Ensure project deliverables meet client business requirements on time, within scope, and within budget.

- Lead organizational development, strategy development, business planning, and Ministry funding requests.

- Gather and develop requirements to create and maintain detailed project schedules and/or integrated project plans.

- Develop, manage, and monitor project schedules, deliverables, scope, dependencies, milestones, and timelines.

- Monitor and forecast project costs and provide financial reporting and input to ensure project targets are achieved.

- Develop and manage complex project budgets involving multiple funding channels and cross-Ministry dependencies.

- Maintain strong fiscal control and accountability, including estimates, forecasts, reconciliation, and confirmation of actual expenditures.

- Direct project teams and ensure deliverables are completed on time and in accordance with government and Ministry standards.

- Coordinate and monitor project processes and develop, maintain, and communicate project guidelines and procedures.

- Promote I⁢ project management best practices and adherence to standard methodologies.

- Source, select, and onboard project team members across various disciplines.

- Clearly define roles, responsibilities, tasks, deliverables, and performance expectations for both OPS unionized employees and fee-for-service (FFS) consultants.

- Resolve resource-related and interpersonal conflicts within project teams.

- Negotiate changes to project resourcing and resource assignments as required.

- Ensure knowledge is effectively shared among project team members to support achievement of project objectives and deliverables.

- Proactively identify potential project risks and issues before they occur and develop appropriate mitigation strategies.

- Articulate and prioritize significant issues and risks at senior executive levels.

- Recommend mitigation and response strategies to senior decision makers.

- Establish and participate in steering committees, stakeholder forums, and governance activities.

- Provide project, program, and/or portfolio reporting to multiple stakeholders at senior executive levels.

- Manage stakeholder expectations and maintain effective client relationships throughout the project lifecycle.

- Identify and address potential conflicts between project and functional areas.





- Use appropriate change-management strategies to overcome resistance to change and capitalize on forces supporting change throughout all project stages, including:
- Concept

- Definition

- Planning

- Implementation

- Close-out

- Promote OPS I⁢ standards and project management best practices to support:

- System quality

- Adherence to standard methodologies

- Effective control and utilization of I⁢ resources

- Stay current with emerging I⁢ trends, directions, tools, and methodologies.

- Adapt project management approaches to changing technology trends and leverage emerging tools and methodologies effectively.

Requirements

Mandatory / Required Skills and Experience

Project Management Leadership

- Extensive experience managing large-scale, complex, high-profile, and high-risk I⁢ projects.

- Demonstrated experience managing project scope, schedules, deliverables, dependencies, risks, issues, resources, and budgets.

- Proven ability to lead project teams and ensure successful delivery against established timelines, scope, budget, quality, and government/organizational standards.

- Experience applying formal project management methodologies, frameworks, standards, and best practices.

- Strong experience developing detailed project schedules and/or integrated project plans.

- Experience monitoring and forecasting project costs and providing project financial reporting.

- Experience developing and managing complex project budgets involving multiple funding sources and/or organizational dependencies.

Project Integration & Delivery

- Demonstrated experience coordinating and monitoring complex project processes.

- Experience developing and communicating project guidelines, procedures, standards, and processes.

- Experience directing multidisciplinary project teams.

- Experience sourcing, selecting, onboarding, and managing project resources.

- Experience managing both internal/unionized employees and external/fee-for-service consultants is highly relevant.

- Demonstrated ability to manage resource changes and resolve resource and interpersonal conflicts.

- Strong understanding of project dependencies and cross-functional impacts.

- Experience proactively identifying project risks and issues and developing mitigation strategies.

- Experience presenting and escalating significant risks and issues to senior executives and decision makers.

- Experience establishing and participating in steering committees and stakeholder governance forums.

- Experience providing project, program, and/or portfolio reporting to senior-level stakeholders.

Requirements & Stakeholder Management

- Experience gathering and developing business and project requirements.

- Demonstrated ability to manage client relationships and stakeholder expectations.

- Experience communicating project status, risks, issues, dependencies, and recommendations to stakeholders.

- Ability to identify and resolve conflicts between project and functional areas.

- Strong negotiation, communication, coordination,



and stakeholder-management skills.

Change Management

- Demonstrated experience managing organizational change throughout the project lifecycle.

- Ability to identify and address resistance to change.

- Ability to develop and implement strategies that support successful adoption of project changes.

- Experience supporting change from project concept and definition through planning, implementation, and close-out.

Desirable Skills

- Knowledge and understanding of the Project Management Institute (PMI) Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK).

- Knowledge and understanding of Information Management principles, concepts, policies, and practices.

- Knowledge and understanding of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) and related regulations and standards.

- Ability to make recommendations regarding the acquisition of:
- Software

- Hardware

- Technology resources

- Experience managing and coordinating project monitoring activities.

- Ability to anticipate and troubleshoot project issues.

- Ability to provide ongoing project management expertise and resolve project problems.

- Experience assessing and improving project effectiveness.

- Ability to identify conflicts between project and functional areas and develop appropriate responses.

- Robust client relationship management skills, including expectation management, status communication, and conflict identification/resolution.

- Awareness and knowledge of emerging I⁢ trends and directions.

- Ability to adapt to changing technology trends and leverage emerging tools and methodologies.

Ideal Candidate Profile The ideal candidate will be a senior-level Project Manager / Project Leader with extensive experience delivering complex I⁢ initiatives in large, highly structured environments. The candidate should be comfortable managing significant budgets, multidisciplinary teams, senior executives, governance forums, competing stakeholders, project risks, and organizational change.

Experience within the Ontario Public Service or broader public-sector environment, particularly involving government standards, methodologies, executive reporting, Ministry stakeholders, and public-sector project governance, would be highly relevant.

Evaluation Criteria

Candidates will be evaluated across the following areas:

Evaluation Area

Weight

Project Management

35%

Technical, Deployment and Project Integration Skills

35%

Documentation Skills

20%

Public Sector Experience

10%

Total

100%

Work Arrangement

- 100% onsite – 5 days per week

- Location: 222 Jarvis Street, Toronto, Ontario

- 1 position available

- No security clearance required

- Contract through March 31, 2027, with potential for one additional extension term

Application Focus

Candidates should clearly demonstrate experience with:

Large-scale I⁢ Project Management • Complex/High-Risk Projects • Project Schedules • Integrated Plans • Project Budgets • Cost Forecasting • Fiscal Control • Requirements Gathering • Scope Management • Project Governance • Steering Committees • Executive Reporting • Risk & Issue Management • Resource Management • Team Leadership • Conflict Resolution • Stakeholder Management • Change Management • OPS/Government Standards • I⁢ Project Methodologies • Documentation • Public-Sector Experience • PMBOK • Information Management • AODA

📌 Senior Project Manager / Project Leader – Senior (Toronto)
🏢 Upstaff
📍 Toronto