Manager, Strategic Initiatives, Family Medicine

Primary Purpose: The Manager, Strategic Initiatives provides project and implementation management for priority initiatives within the Department of Family Medicine. Reporting to the Director, Operations & Administration, the Manager supports the implementation of approved departmental priorities by translating organizational direction into structured implementation plans and coordinating the activities required to move initiatives forward.

The Manager may serve as the operational implementation lead for selected departmental initiatives such as new residency training sites, program expansion, implementation of new systems, operational transitions, and other priorities requiring coordination across multiple academic and operational areas.

The position provides the structure, coordination, monitoring, and follow-through required to keep complex initiatives on track. The Manager works closely with academic and operational leaders to coordinate responsibilities, timelines, dependencies, risks, and implementation requirements and to ensure that issues requiring leadership direction or decision are identified and escalated appropriately.

Nature of Work: The Department of Family Medicine operates within a complex, provincially distributed academic and clinical environment involving multiple programs, training sites, operational portfolios, and internal and external partners.

The Manager, Strategic Initiatives works across these areas to support the coordinated implementation of departmental priorities. The work is varied and frequently involves multiple stakeholders, interdependent activities, competing priorities, and defined implementation timelines.

The position provides project and implementation leadership for assigned strategic initiatives but does not assume ongoing ownership of the operational functions involved. Functional accountability remains with the appropriate academic or operational portfolio, with initiatives transitioned to the responsible portfolio once implementation is complete.

The position requires a high degree of organization, initiative, judgment, and follow-through, with the ability to manage multiple initiatives, maintain momentum, identify risks and barriers, and escalate matters requiring leadership direction. The Manager works independently within established priorities while maintaining close collaboration with the Director, Operations & Administration, academic leadership, operational managers, and organizational partners.

Accountabilities:

Strategic Initiative Implementation

Coordinate the implementation of priority departmental initiatives, including new residency sites, Direct Entry, program expansion, operational transitions, new systems, and other initiatives approved or assigned by Department leadership.

Develop and maintain implementation plans, timelines, responsibilities, milestones, and dependencies and coordinate activities across academic and operational portfolios to support successful implementation.

Project Planning and Coordination

Provide project management and coordination for assigned departmental initiatives.

Develop project charters, work plans, implementation schedules, and supporting documentation; coordinate project meetings and working groups; monitor deliverables and action items; and ensure appropriate follow-up across project participants.





Operational Readiness

Coordinate operational readiness for new programs, sites, systems, and operational changes.

Work with responsible portfolios to identify and coordinate administrative, human resource, financial, infrastructure, technology, policy, communication, and other implementation requirements. Identify gaps or barriers, coordinate resolution with the responsible portfolio, and support transition to ongoing operational ownership following implementation.

Monitoring, Risk and Reporting

Monitor the progress of assigned initiatives, including timelines, milestones, dependencies, risks, issues, and outstanding decisions.

Provide regular implementation updates to the Director, Operations & Administration and identify matters requiring leadership direction, decision, or escalation.

Research and Implementation Support

Conduct research, environmental scans, implementation assessments, and analysis required to support the planning and implementation of assigned initiatives.

Prepare project documentation, process maps, briefing materials, reports, and other supporting information required by the Director, Operations & Administration and Department leadership.

Collaboration and Transition

Work collaboratively with academic leaders, operational managers, project teams, and internal and external partners to coordinate implementation activities and maintain alignment across participating areas.

Support the transition of completed initiatives into ongoing operations by confirming responsibilities, outstanding actions, documentation, and handoff to the appropriate academic or operational portfolio.

Qualifications

Education: Completion of a relevant undergraduate degree in business administration, health administration, project management, public administration, education, or a related discipline. A combination of education and experience may be considered.

Additional education or certification related to project management or change management is considered an asset.

Experience: A minimum of five years of related experience in project management, operational implementation, program administration, or organizational initiatives within a complex environment is required. Experience within a post-secondary, healthcare, or medical education environment is considered an asset.

Experience coordinating complex initiatives involving multiple stakeholders, operational areas, or organizational partners is required. Knowledge of the University of Saskatchewan and Saskatchewan Health Authority policy and procedures is required. Requires a high degree of understanding of University and Saskatchewan Health Authority structure, policies and processes. Experience working in diverse and inclusive environments is required.

Skills: This position requires strong project-management, organizational, analytical, facilitation, and communication skills.

The successful candidate will demonstrate the ability to organize complex initiatives,



establish clear implementation plans, coordinate multiple workstreams, monitor timelines and deliverables, identify risks and dependencies, and maintain consistent follow-through.

The role requires robust interpersonal skills and the ability to establish effective working relationships with academic leaders, operational managers, faculty, staff, and internal and external partners.

The successful candidate must demonstrate sound judgment and the ability to identify issues requiring escalation, communicate project risks clearly, and provide accurate and timely information to leadership.

Strong written communication skills are required, including the ability to prepare project plans, reports, briefing materials, implementation documentation, and status updates.

The position requires a proactive, self-directed approach and demonstrated ability to manage multiple initiatives with competing priorities and deadlines.

The successful candidate must be comfortable working in an environment where priorities evolve and must demonstrate flexibility, problem-solving ability, attention to detail, and a strong commitment to completing assigned work.

Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications and experience using project-management, collaboration, data visualization, or workflow tools is considered an asset.

Travel may be required to support implementation activities across the Department's distributed training sites.

Inquiries regarding this position can be directed to Jaclyn Randall at [email protected].

Department: Family Medicine (Saskatoon)

Status: Permanent

Employment Group: ASPA

Full Time Equivalent (FTE): 1.0

Salary: The salary range, based on 1.0 FTE, is $69,035.00 - 107,868.00 per annum. The starting salary will be commensurate with education and experience.

Salary Family (if applicable): Managerial

Salary Phase/Band: Phase 2

Posted Date: 9/23/2026

Closing Date: 9/30/2026 at 6:00 pm CST

Number of Openings: 1

Work Location: May be eligible for hybrid work under the terms of USask's Alternative Workspace Guidelines The University of Saskatchewan aspires to be what the world needs and embraces equity, diversity and inclusion as foundational to excellence and innovation. We actively seek to create a welcoming environment where all individuals feel empowered to thrive, contribute, and grow. Applications from equity-deserving groups are encouraged as part of our ongoing efforts to reflect the diversity of the communities we serve: EDI Framework for Action.

We continue to grow our partnerships with Indigenous communities across the province, nationally, and internationally and value the unique perspective that Indigenous employees provide to strengthen these relationships. Verification of Indigenous Membership/Citizenship at the University of Saskatchewan is led and determined by the deybwewin | taapwaywin | tapwewin: Indigenous Truth policy and the Standing Committee in accordance with the processes developed to enact the policy. Successful candidates that assert Indigenous membership/citizenship will be asked to complete the verification process of Indigenous membership/citizenship with documentation.

The University of Saskatchewan provides an accessible and inclusive workplace. Should you require support through any stage of the recruitment process, please contact us for assistance.

📌 Manager, Strategic Initiatives, Family Medicine (Saskatoon)
🏢 University of Saskatchewan
📍 Saskatoon