The Conference Board of Canada (CBoC) is the nation’s largest independent applied research organization offering unbiased, evidence-based information and analysis to both industry, NGOs and federal/provincial governments. We have one of the country’s largest private economic analysis and forecasting teams and are widely recognized for expert economic forecasting, modeling, and leading analysis. CBoC undertakes research to address the most pressing issues in Economics, Innovation and Technology, Human Capital, Sustainability, Immigration, Indigenous and Northern Communities, Education and Skills, and Health. Our social science research provides actionable pathways to solutions. Simply put, we deliver insights that help Canada’s leaders cut through the noise and make informed decisions.

We are seeking a hands-on, experienced and results driven experienced operational leader to join our Information Technology team. In this important role you will be responsible for managing Azure Infrastructure, the Microsoft 365 platform, Enterprise systems that include Microsoft 365 Dynamics CI, CRM, BC and security operations. You will lead efforts to stabilize our newly transitioned managed service provider and implement robust governance standards, streamlined processes and a standardized service management approach to measure and improve the overall health of IT operations. This includes the development of performance dashboards, operational controls and a comprehensive workplan to track ongoing activities, drive optimization and cost savings.

Our Ideal Candidate is… highly motivated, has a high performance standard who is results based, detailed oriented and analytical with a growth mindset. You possess strong knowledge and hands-on experience delivering effective, efficient, highly available and secure IT infrastructure. You take pride in your work and are a person of action. You make sound strategic decisions by gathering information, evaluating facts, risks, cost and providing comprehensive recommendation. You are proactive and efficient with a deep sense of ownership and accountability for all assignments and lead by example. You are a strong leader who excels at supervising a small mighty team of IT professionals, our internal support team and our managed service providers. You have a passion for technology, and continuous learning, you thrive in managing and resolving complex issues.

We are a virtual organization and as a remote worker you must be comfortable and able to work 100 per cent of the time from a home office in Canada. To be successful as a remote worker you need to have a self-starter attitude, possess strong organizational and time management skills and be a proactive communicator. Having a home office environment that provides for a productive, professional, and safe work environment during regular working/business hours is a requirement of this role. This includes internet service and a reliable connection.

About the Role

• Manage, maintain and oversee all day-to-day operational activities for corporate systems:
• Disaster recovery, business continuity and incident response plans
• Alerts, Internal or vendor escalations for cloud, security, helpdesk and logistic providers
• Endpoint patching activities across all Development and production environments
• Service review, operations performance, cost optimization and process improvement reports.
• Develop operational improvements, controls and workplan to improve operations health.
• Identify KPIs and develop dashboards to track operational performance for Microsoft 365 and Azure.
• Create standard test plan for patching all Development and production environments
• Create effective processes to implement MS defender security improvements.
• Provide recommendations to the director on improvements to maximize return on investment
• Perform upgrades to ensure IT infrastructure is compliant, stable, secure and meets all legislative requirements (ex. GDPR, PIPEDA, Data Sovereignty)
• Contribute to the development of the IT roadmap and lead IT aspects of strategic and transformation projects (enterprise project management, data warehouse, custom facing data delivery platform)
• Ensure standard operating procedures for all IT systems and up-to-date inventory for all assets
• Provide leadership and direction on operational considerations when implementing and supporting new technology solutions for the entire organization
• Provide guidance, technical knowledge and strategies on issue resolution and prioritization within the team
• Hire, train, mentor and supervise staff.
• Commitment to producing high quality work and demonstrating professional values in all aspects of work and interactions with colleagues and customers

About You

Required Skills and Qualifications:

• Post-secondary degree – Bachelor of Science, Computing/Engineering, or a related field
• Minimum of 8 years of relevant experience and a minimum of 5 years in a people management role
• Results based leader with experience developing and managing a high performing virtual team.
• Microsoft Azure & 365 Experience: Expert knowledge of Windows operating system and Microsoft modern workplace technologies and licensing (SharePoint/OneDrive/Teams/Outlook, Azure, Active Directory, backup technologies including Azure monitor, backup center and Backupify).
• IT Hardware and Logistics: Strong knowledge of the acquisition, deployment, storage and maintenance of Laptops, docking stations and peripheral devices.
• Enterprise Systems: Current experience of how to support dynamics 365 product suite and how it interacts with the Microsoft ecosystem (Power Platform, Entra-ID and Environments security and permissions).
• Security: Deep understanding of Zero Trust framework, incident response management and cybersecurity controls for Microsoft Defender and Sentinel improving security score.
• Vendor Management: ability to build strong and effective vendor relationships developing efficient service review process, ensuring SLAs are being exceeded and improvement are being made and tracked.
• Ability to anticipate, plan and deliver on internal and external deadlines by demonstrating strong organizational skills and the ability to effectively prioritize.
• Effective team leader, coach and mentor with the ability to connect business goals with IT strategy.
• Highly driven to find opportunities for improvement and take action.
• Motivated to roll up your sleeves and contribute in a hands-on capacity in a small organization.
• Excellent oral, written communication skills and professional maturity with the ability to communicate technical issues and ideas with peers and executives
• Sound analytical, judgement and decision-making skills with proven abilities in complex problem solving
• Ability to build momentum, influence positive outcomes, facilitate cross-functional discussions/decisions.
• Availability to work outside of regular hours/occasional weekends is required

Nice to Haves: (optional)

• Experience managing Linux and MAC O/S endpoints
• Experience implementing Microsoft 365 Copilot enterprise wide.
• Microsoft certification, CISSP, CISM, ITIL, PMP

Benefits

At CBoC, we believe that putting People First is key to our success and attracting the best people. We are committed to providing a supportive and inclusive work environment where everyone can thrive and we are proud to offer a comprehensive benefits package that includes:

• Virtual First – work from home anywhere across Canada with a budget to set up your home office.
• A workplace where your hard work is not just valued, but actively celebrated. We take pride in our commitment to recognizing and rewarding the exceptional talent that drives our success through our Recognition programs.
• Healthcare benefits from Day One to support your physical and mental wellbeing, including a $2,500 benefit for Psychologist, Social Worker or Psychotherapist services
• Work/Life Balance: In addition to 20 days annual vacation, we close between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, observe 13 holidays per year and offer Friday afternoon closures.
• A modern, defined benefit (DB) pension plan: We care about your future and offer a pension plan with a 5% match from Day One
• Employee Family Assistance Program (EFAP): We understand that life can be unpredictable and challenging and EFAP supports you and your family during difficult times.
• Maternity and parental leave top-up plan

The hiring zone for this position is $96,900-$114,000 annually for candidates from any Canadian province or territory. Salaries are based upon candidate experience, qualifications, specific skillsets, as well as market and business considerations. The full compensation band for this position ranges from $96,900-$131,100. The recruiter can share more information about compensation for the position during the hiring process. This job posting is for an existing vacancy within CBoC. We are actively seeking to fill this role with a qualified candidate.

We value the unique skills, experiences, and insights that each employee brings to The Conference Board of Canada. We are committed to fostering an inclusive and accessible work environment where everyone feels valued, respected, and supported and welcome members of all backgrounds and perspectives to apply. If you require an accommodation at any point during the recruitment process, please email cbocjobs@conferenceboard.ca and we will work with you to meet your needs.

We wish to thank all applicants for their interest in The Conference Board of Canada. Please note that only those selected for an interview will be contacted.