Director Strategy Insights & Planning

• Job Category: Customer Service
• Division & Section: Customer Experience, CX Strategy, Insights & Planning
• Job ID: 38547
• Posting Period: 31-JUL-2023 to 15-AUG-2023
• Work Location: METRO HALL, 55 John Street & 61 Front Street, Toronto
• Number of Positions Open: 1
• Affiliation: Non-Union
• Job Type & Duration: Full-time, Temporary Vacancy, 12 months
• Salary: $160,062.00 - $200,026.00, PSG #TM5276, wage grade 10.
• Shift Information: Monday to Friday, 35 hours per week per week

Are you a seasoned leader with a passion for driving transformative change and enhancing customer experiences? If so, we have an exciting opportunity for you to make a significant impact as the Director Strategy Insights and Planning at the City of Toronto!

The Director Strategy Insights and Planning will provide strategic direction and leadership in the overall development, sustainment and continuous improvement of the Customer Experience (CX) Division's strategy through the development of city-wide policies, standards and procedures.

Overseeing the design, governance structure and frameworks of the Division, the successful candidate will provide leadership and guidance to the innovative functional changes established to improve and enable CX across the City.

Major Responsibilities:

• Provides operational oversight, expert planning and leadership to establish a transparent roadmap for the defined goals, objectives and customer-centric benchmarks.
• Leads and motivates a diverse workforce, ensures effective teamwork, ensures high standards of work quality and organizational performance, continuous learning and encourages innovation in others.
• Builds and maintains strong, collaborative relationships and partnerships with clients, senior leaders, external stakeholders, members of Council, Unions and Divisions to address and resolve conflicting demands and implement city-wide solutions.
• Develops, recommends and administers the annual budget for the section, and ensures that the section's expenditures are controlled and maintained within approved budget limitations.
• Develops, designs and implements the City's CX policies in adherence to city-wide standards, processes, technologies and services by promoting continuous improvement.
• Establishes and leads a unified view of CX strategy, standards, business cases, roadmaps and governance.
• Plans projects and initiatives to deliver the City's CX vision while providing oversight, insight and frameworks to make strategic decisions.
• Identifies emerging issues, priorities and sensitive/confidential matters that could impact objectives, and develops strategies to address them.
• Develop the Division's overall CX strategy by staying on top of industry trends, understanding and providing insights on the City's customers and their evolving requirements, and identifying and recommending areas for improvement based on frequent analysis of service data and benchmarking.
• Develops, designs and implements functional policies and programs that make major changes in overall business performance based on long-term needs. Contributes to the continuous improvement of divisional performance through analysis and the development and implementation of sound management practices and procedures, provides program management staff with direction and guidance, processes and tools to increase efficiencies and improve effectiveness of the services provided by this section.
• Provides innovative ideas for continuous improvement of the CX by understanding customer segmentation/personas/profiles and customer journeys.
• Establishes and measures adherence to corporate standards and identifies and recommends improvements to CX across all customer touchpoints.
• Prepares various reports for the Executive Director for consideration by Council and Standing Committees.
• Directs, through subordinate management staff, all activities of the section, delegating management responsibility.
• Represents the Division on various committees, task forces and teams.
• Identifies emerging industry trends and develops ways to design an innovative and equitable experience for the public while understanding customer preferences.
• Establishes and delivers multi-year work plans and prioritizes initiatives while integrating Mayor/Council priorities and corporate strategic directions, to achieve the transformation objectives and outcomes.
• Builds and plans channel centralization and oversees the development of the overarching strategy and standards to enable a seamless and cohesive CX at the City.
• Attends Committee and Council meetings and communicates with Executive and Senior Management.
• Engages with key leadership on strategic direction, transformation progress, performance data/trends, and operational challenges (e.g. Mayor's Office, Council, Senior Leadership Team, and Corporate Leadership Team).
• Works collaboratively and in conjunction with the Corporate Employee Relations team when resolving employee relations issues. Provides guidance and advice regarding Corporate and Divisional policies and procedures and legislative requirements to all levels of staff and ensures consistent and timely implementation and adherence throughout the Division.
• Gathers political and/or executive support from various aspects of the organization, and negotiates with stakeholders (City Senior Leadership, Divisional Management, The Mayor's Office, Councillors, etc.) with competing and conflicting goals/priorities, while maintaining positive working relationships.

Key Qualifications:

1. Extensive and progressive leadership experience in strategic planning, program management and customer experience roles, preferably within government or large organization.
2. Considerable experience in designing and executing innovative solutions to improve customer experience, drive organizational performance and meet evolving customer preferences through an access, equity and inclusion lens.
3. Considerable experience leading change within a large complex organization, while managing diverse stakeholder needs and interests, paired with an ability to identify emerging issues and navigate complex unionized and political environments.
4. Considerable experience in omni-channel management, leveraging enterprise-wide Customer Relationship Management tools to drive and support organizational goals and objectives.
5. Experience embedding equity, reconciliation, accessibility and inclusion lens into planning, budgeting, programs and processes.
6. Experience in developing and administering budgets for large-scale projects and initiatives while ensuring adherence to approved budget limitations.
7. Post-secondary education in a discipline pertinent to the job function or equivalent combination of education and experience.
8. Effective decision-making skills, with a track record of innovation and results-oriented leadership with an ability to motivate, promote and foster teamwork and establish an environment that influences and inspires excellence.
9. Proven ability to collaborate and build effective relationships with cross-functional teams, senior leadership, external stakeholders, and political representatives.
10. Demonstrated ability to provide strategic direction and lead the development of long-term organizational strategies, policies, and procedures to enhance customer experience at a city-wide level.
11. Deep understanding of customer segmentation and customer journey mapping to drive customer-centric improvements across various touchpoints.
12. Ability to identify emerging industry trends and translate them into actionable strategies to create an innovative and equitable customer experience.
13. Strong planning and analytical skills with the ability to gather and interpret data, analyze performance metrics, and make data-driven decisions to enhance CX outcomes.
14. Demonstrated ability to identify key issues, prioritize initiatives, and develop strategic plans to achieve transformation objectives.
15. Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to prepare comprehensive reports and present complex information to executive leadership, Council, and other stakeholders.
16. Understanding of the political landscape and experience in navigating and negotiating with stakeholders with competing and conflicting priorities.
17. Up-to-date knowledge of customer experience best practices, industry trends, and emerging technologies to drive innovation in CX strategy.
18. Proficiency in project planning, execution, and oversight, with the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously while meeting deadlines and maintaining high-quality standards.
19. Sound judgement with an ability to work on confidential and sensitive matters.
20. Knowledge of sound accounting and financial principles and practices, including financial management skills.
21. Familiarity with current issues and best practices related to equity, accessibility, human rights, inclusion, reconciliation and deep understanding and a thorough working knowledge of the Ontario Human Rights Code, the Occupational Health & Safety Act, Accessibility for Ontario's with Disabilities Act, Employment Standards Act and Municipal Freedom of Information Act.

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

The City is an equal opportunity employer, dedicated to creating a workplace culture of inclusiveness that reflects the diverse residents that we serve. Learn more about the City’s commitment to employment equity.

Accommodation

The City of Toronto is committed to creating an accessible and inclusive organization. We are committed to providing barrier-free and accessible employment practices in compliance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). Should you require Code-protected accommodation through any stage of the recruitment process, please make them known when contacted and we will work with you to meet your needs. Disability-related accommodation during the application process is available upon request. Learn more about the City’s Hiring Policies and Accommodation Process.

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