Apply By: Monday, October 20, 2025 11:59 pm EDT

Head, Operational Services

Job ID:

234645

Posting status:

Open

Organization:

Ministry of Transportation

Division:

Operations Division

City:

Thunder Bay

Position(s) language:

English

Job term:

1 Permanent

Job code:

M1011B - Technical Services16

Salary:

$92,920.00 - $135,056.00 Per year

Are you ready to drive operational excellence and shape the future of transportation in Ontario? Bring your expertise in highway maintenance, construction, and design to this dynamic leadership role with the Ministry of Transportation.

As Head of Operational Services, you will oversee integrated service delivery across the North Operations region. You'll coordinate capital programs and infrastructure preservation, maintain unincorporated roads and bridges, manage contracts, and ensure compliance with policies and regulations. You'll also lead safety initiatives and support emergency planning.

Your role also collaborates with other ministry offices, partnering with Indigenous communities and municipalities, to provide these services, and support the safe and efficient movement of people, goods, and services.
and embark on a transformative journey with us!

The Ontario Public Service: Strengthening Ontario, together.

A career in the Ontario Public Service (OPS) is driven by purpose. We're building a stronger Ontario by delivering programs and services that make a real difference in people's lives. If you share this ambition, you'll find a workplace that reflects the diversity of the people we serve and empowers you to lead with confidence.

Why Your Leadership Belongs Here

• Purpose that drives you: Lead work that matters. Your leadership will shape policies, programs, and services that improve lives across the province—every day.
• A culture that supports you: Thrive in a flexible, inclusive, and respectful workplace that values your well-being and empowers you to bring your whole self to work.
• A career that grows with you: Explore leadership opportunities across ministries and sectors. With access to mentorship, learning, and mobility, your career can evolve here.
• Recognition that reflects your impact: We value the difference you make. You'll receive competitive pay, a defined-benefit pension, and benefits that support your well-being—plus meaningful recognition for your contributions

About the job

We hold our leaders to high standards because we believe in their potential to drive meaningful change. In the Ontario Public Service, leadership means showing up with authenticity, acting with integrity, and having the courage to do what's right—even when it's hard.

As a leader, you'll be expected to create a team culture that encourages innovation, supports collaboration, and champions inclusion. You'll help build a diverse, anti-racist, and accessible workplace where everyone feels safe, respected, and able to thrive.

Leadership is about impact—and in these roles, you'll have the opportunity to make a meaningful one. You will:

• Coordinate the development and delivery of infrastructure capital programs.

• Manage contracts, oversee external consultants, and resolve disputes to ensure compliance and service quality

• Maintain and improve unincorporated roads and bridges

• Participate in operational planning, budgeting, and resource allocation

• Implement programs in alignment with strategic plans, monitor expenditures, and provide technical guidance

• Engage stakeholders, including Indigenous communities and municipalities, coordinating consultation to incorporate their inputs and perspectives

• Lead risk identification, emergency planning, and safety program development

Meet Your New Team

This position reports to Bruce Caldwell, an experienced leader with over 25 years building and growing strong, collaborative teams in energy, infrastructure, aviation, and highway operation sectors. Bruce is an open, approachable, and principled leader, who encourages focus on shared goals and objectives, strengthened by thoughtful contributions from a diverse team.

North Operations
North Operations is one of four regional Branches in the Operations Division. It coordinates transportation services across the region, manages stakeholder and Indigenous relations, and oversees emergency response, corridor management, and infrastructure preservation and maintenance. North Operations is geographically huge, spanning from Manitoba to the east, all across Northern Ontario, to the Huntsville area. The region is subdivided into Area West and Area East, with parallel operations in these two halves.

Highway Operations - Area West
The Highway Operations office delivers integrated transportation services, including highway maintenance, emergency planning and response, corridor management, and capital infrastructure preservation. Its focus is on maintaining safe, efficient movement of people and goods to support regional economic growth. Area West is headquartered in Thunder Bay and is responsible for the region of Northern Ontario from Manitoba to the West, to Longlac/White River to the East.

Information Session
Interested in this position? Join us to learn more about the team, vision, and key priorities. The session will be held on October 6, 2024 at 9:00 AM. Use the following link to access the MS Teams invitation on the day of.

Information Session Link

What you bring to the team

Leadership Experience

• Team Leadership: Skilled in guiding technical staff through coaching, feedback, and fostering a high-performance, inclusive work environment.
• Strategic Direction: Experienced in setting clear goals and driving continuous improvement across teams and operations.
• Resource Management: Strong background in managing budgets, human resources, and labour relations.
• Innovation & Growth: Committed to promoting learning, creativity, and professional development within teams.

Technical Expertise

• Regulatory Knowledge: Skilled in interpreting and applying legislation, policies, and standards related to infrastructure, highway operations, emergency management, municipalities, drainage, and unincorporated areas.
• Infrastructure Asset Management: Understanding of road and drainage deterioration and preservation to identify deficiencies and support project design, tendering, and delivery.
• Procurement & Contracting: Familiar with ministry procurement principles to support service acquisition. Familiar with contract administration and contract issue prevention and dispute resolution.
• Facility Design & Maintenance: Able to apply the Ontario Building Code and health and safety legislation to ensure compliant and safe design, construction & repair.

Program Management

• Program Delivery: Proven ability to lead and manage program development, project execution, project tracking, and accomplishment reporting.
• Analytical Thinking: Skilled in developing plans, overseeing high-profile projects, and making data-informed decisions.
• Policy Evaluation: Experience reviewing legislation and policies, assessing relevance and impact to program areas, and providing strategic recommendations to senior leadership.
• Issue Management: Strong ability to anticipate and address key issues that may impact program success at the regional level.

Communications and Relationship Management

• Relationship Building: Skilled in engaging stakeholders, including the public, contractors, municipalities, and agencies, with tact and diplomacy.
• Team Collaboration: Strong interpersonal skills to lead teams, promote customer service excellence, and support performance.
• Representation: Experienced in representing the ministry on internal and external committees, task forces, and working groups.
• Communication Skills: Proficient in preparing and delivering briefings, presentations, and written materials for diverse audiences.

Don't meet every qualification?

If you are excited about this position and meet most, but not all, of the listed qualifications, please still consider applying. We recognize that no one person might have every qualification in this job ad, and you just might be the right candidate!

Think this role could be right for you?

We're here to support you every step of the way. These short videos can help you feel confident and prepared:

• Navigating Our Hiring Process (2 min) – Get a clear overview of each stage in our structured hiring process so you know what to expect and how to prepare.

• Application Preparation Tips (4 min) – Learn how to showcase your leadership experience in ways that align with how we evaluate applications during the screening stage.

Take a few minutes to explore these resources. They're designed to set you up for success.

How we support diversity, inclusion and accessibility

We are building an inclusive workforce that reflects the communities we serve. We encourage everyone interested in working with us to apply, including people with disabilities, Indigenous, Black and racialized individuals, as well as people from all ethnicities, cultures, sexual orientations, gender identities and gender expressions.

Our hiring process is accessible, consistent with Ontario's Human Rights Code and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005. We are working to prevent and remove barriers in our hiring processes and can offer accommodation to address specific needs related to Code-protected grounds such as disability, family status and religion. For more information about accommodation during the hiring process please contact us.

Learn more about the work the OPS is doing to create an inclusive, anti-racist, accessible and diverse workplace:

• diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives
• accessibility
• Anti-Racism Policy

Additional information:

Apply by:

Monday, October 20, 2025 11:59 pm EDT

Position details:

• 1 English Permanent, 615 James St S, Thunder Bay, North Region

Compensation group:

Management Compensation Plan

Work hours:

Schedule 6

Category:

Management and General

Posted on:

Monday, October 6, 2025

Note:

• N-MT-234645/25

How to apply:

• You must apply online.

• Your cover letter and resume combined should not exceed five (5) pages. For tips and tools on how to write a concise cover letter and resume, review the Writing a Cover Letter and Resume: Tips, Tools and Resources.

• Customize your cover letter and resume to the qualifications listed on the job ad. Using concrete examples, you must show how you demonstrated the requirements for this job. We rely on the information you provide to us.

• Read the job description to make sure you understand this job.

• OPS employees are required to quote their WIN EMPLOYEE ID number when applying.

• If you require a disability related accommodation in order to participate in the recruitment process, please Contact Us to provide your contact information. Recruitment services team will contact you within 48 hours.

Language requirements and assessment:
All external Ontario Public Service (OPS) job ads are posted in English and French. Check the "position(s) language" section at the top of each job ad for the language requirements. For all roles, candidates are assessed in English, the business language of the OPS. If the position is bilingual (English/French), you'll also need to pass a French-language proficiency test.

Exigences en matière de langue et évaluation:
Toutes les offres d'emploi externes de la fonction publique de l'Ontario (FPO) sont affichées en français et en anglais. Consultez la section « Langue du ou des postes » en haut de chaque offre d'emploi pour connaître les exigences linguistiques. Pour tous les postes, les candidats sont évalués en anglais, la langue d'affaires de la FPO. Si le poste est bilingue (anglais/français), vous devrez également passer un test de compétences linguistiques en français.

Strengthening Ontario, together