Senior Manager, Information Technology - Whitby, ON

The Senior Manager, Information Technology reports directly to the Assistant General Manager and leads Makita Canada's IT department. The role has three direct reports - an IT Manager, a Senior IT Technician and a Senior Data Coordinator - and is accountable for IT services at every Makita Canada location across the country.
The focus of this role is cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and project delivery. The Senior Manager owns Makita Canada's security posture and is our primary point of contact with Makita Corporation (Japan) for systems and security matters, including the annual Makita Group cybersecurity assessment. Day-to-day implementation of security controls on our ERP, servers and network is carried out by the IT Manager, who reports to this role.
Our ERP and network, end-user technology and business intelligence reporting each have an experienced specialist responsible for them. The Senior Manager sets direction, removes obstacles, manages priorities and budget, and supports each of these specialists rather than replacing them.
We are looking for someone who wants to build something. Security, process improvement and the practical use of artificial intelligence are company priorities, not side projects, and the person in this role will own them. They will also be an active member of the leadership team.

How Makita Supports Our Team Members:

- Company-paid benefits (medical/dental/vision/employee assistance plan)
- RSP plans
- Work life balance with paid/unpaid leave, including paid vacation, family related leave & personal days

What We Offer:

- Leadership of the IT function for a national organization, with an established team of specialists,



direct access to Canadian leadership, and a direct line to Makita's global head office.
- A clear mandate to modernize - security, process improvement and AI adoption are company priorities with executive support.
- Support for professional development and certification.

Responsibilities:

Cybersecurity and Information Security (primary focus)

- Owns Makita Canada's information security posture and is accountable for the implementation of Makita Group security policies and controls, the identification of risks, and the development and execution of remediation plans.
- Acts as the primary point of contact with Makita Corporation's (Japan) cybersecurity team and with our managed security service provider, including escalation of critical alerts outside regular business hours.
- Leads the annual Makita Group cybersecurity assessment: completes the questionnaire, collects and submits supporting evidence with the IT Manager, represents Makita Canada in online hearings, and delivers management-approved improvement plans on schedule.
- Sets security standards and reviews their implementation across identity and access management (Microsoft 365 and Entra ID, Conditional Access, multi-factor authentication, least privilege), endpoint protection, vulnerability and patch management,



backup isolation and network segmentation, working through the IT Manager and the Senior IT Technician.
- Establishes and maintains the incident response organization, escalation paths and procedures; takes command during a security incident, runs periodic exercises, and reports incidents to management and to head office.
- Delivers security awareness training to employees and reports security posture, risks and progress to Canadian leadership and to Japan.

Artificial Intelligence and Business Improvement

- Leads Makita Canada's adoption of artificial intelligence - identifies practical use cases with business departments, evaluates tools, runs pilots, sets usage and data‑handling guidelines, and builds internal capability through training and internal champions.
- Works with the Senior Data Coordinator to improve business intelligence and reporting, strengthen data quality and governance, and make company data usable for both reporting and AI initiatives.
- Identifies and implements process improvements that raise quality, increase efficiency and reduce cost, working directly with Finance, HR, Legal, Purchasing, Sales and Service.
- Advises leadership and head office on system upgrades, recent platforms and technology investments, with clear cost and risk analysis.

Project and Vendor Management

- Leads IT projects end to end: scope, schedule, budget, resourcing, vendor coordination, testing, cutover and post-implementation review.
- Develops the multi-year technology plan and the IT budget, and monitors IT-related costs across all departments.
- Manages technology vendor and service provider relationships, contracts

📌 Senior Manager, Information Technology (Whitby)
🏢 MAKITA CANADA
📍 Whitby