Status: Full time, indefinite Location: Ottawa, Ontario, or Toronto, Ontario (hybrid) Closing date: September 8, 2025 Salary range: $87,720 to $109,140 per year Canada’s Drug Agency is a pan-Canadian health organization. We are an independent, not-for-profit organization headquartered in Ottawa, with a satellite office in Toronto. Created and funded by Canada’s federal, provincial, and territorial governments, we drive better coordination, alignment, and public value within Canada’s drug and health technology landscape. We provide Canada’s health system leaders with independent evidence and advice so they can make informed drug, health technology, and health system decisions, and we collaborate with national and international partners to enhance our collective impact.

We are proud to be a 2025 National Capital Region Top Employer. Canada's Drug Agency was named one of the National Capital Region's top employers for a second year in a row. This recognition celebrates our dedication to fostering a work environment that nurtures growth; innovation; and inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility (IDEA). It reaffirms our ongoing efforts to create an outstanding workplace where our employees thrive and feel valued.

Most of our employees participate in a hybrid workspace arrangement that allows for flexibility and enhanced work-life balance. We believe in the positive impact of in-person collaboration and the importance of team building. Added consideration is given to qualified candidates who live near our offices and can participate in a hybrid arrangement. Those applying must be located in Ontario, except in rare circumstances where the employment position is remote.

Primary Focus The Senior Project Manager (IT) is the logistical focal point person for the administration, process execution, and reporting of highly complex projects to ensure effective and efficient project delivery on time and on budget. The Senior Project Manager (IT) leads cross-functional project teams on multiple projects concurrently to fulfill project scope and meet commitments to internal customers. This role will be a liaison between the Business and IT departments, ensuring a partnership across the organization.

Throughout the full life cycle of each assigned project, the Senior Project Manager (IT) develops and manages all nonresearch aspects of projects. Projects may be complex with lengthy timelines, and project teams may include project or section owners, subject matter experts, researchers, health economists, and research information specialists as required.

What do the daily responsibilities look like? On any given day, the Senior Project Manager (IT) will:

Project Onboarding and Planning

• prepare and develop the project scope, timelines, and budget commitment from the outset of the process, including establishing a project charter, key milestones and deliverables, identifying key risks, and advising on core project governance principles while soliciting input from the broader project team and project owner
• ensure leadership alignment with the project charter, scope statement, team composition, budget, risk management strategy, and high-level schedule including key milestones
• work with the Project Management Office (PMO) to develop project schedules and milestones for highly complex projects
• drive activities related to the development and approval of the full project management plan, including budget, schedule, risk management, communication plan, interested parties’ management plan, project change request management plan, cultural change management
• prepare agendas, chair project meetings, and communicate project deliverables and risks to all participants, ensuring milestones and project deadlines are followed.

Project Execution and Control

• manage and track all budgeting and resourcing activities related to the project and promptly communicate and escalate to senior leadership and the project owner any emerging risks to the project timeline, scope, and budget
• continuously monitor, control, and socialize issues and risks; maintain a risk register, evaluate risk exposure, drive risk management strategies and their implementation
• lead the management of each project, including assigning tasks to responsible project members, preparing agendas and chairing project meetings, communicating project deliverables and risks to all participants, and providing timely status updates to all key project partners, including leadership team
• monitor and control project schedule while assisting the project team in prioritizing activities when required; ensure any threats to the timeline are clearly socialized to the leadership team and are addressed appropriately
• facilitate the onboarding of key subject matter experts to support project execution
• collaborate with project and program owners to capture and document efficiencies to optimize project execution
• assist leadership and the PMO in new product or service initiatives by providing expert input on developing processes and translating them into executable schedules
• prepare and deliver status updates at an agreed-upon timeline and on a regular basis with all key project partners, including leadership.

Project Closing and Reporting

• collect and compile a summary of project feedback, learnings, takeaways, and areas of improvement to inform future project best practices and regularly connect with the PMO to share these learnings
• ensure project team sites are maintained with centralized visibility on performance metrics to support the PMO and senior leaders with decision-making
• prepare and validate reports on project key performance indicators required by funders, management staff, and project teams; provide projections and monitor overages to enable and support management decisions on programs and services
• ensure project team sites are populated accordingly to ensure centralized visibility for dashboarding and performance metric tracking.

Strategy and Leadership

• ensure interested parties' identification, engagement, and alignment with project priorities; interested parties will include members of all levels, including executive leadership team, senior leadership team, management, and team members
• provide recommendations and guidance to the project team and leadership team on risk management strategies
• lead cross-functional efforts, drive creation and implementation of cultural change management tactics to ensure organizational adoption
• mentor and coach junior project management and project coordinator employees when needed
• prepare regular reports targeting senior leadership and ensure content is tailored to the appropriate audience
• develop and continuously enhance project management practices within the team and the organization, providing recommendations on project management best practices, tailoring methodologies for different project types, driving adoption of innovative project management practices
• actively participate in planning and supporting the strategic initiatives of the IT department.

Is this the right role for you? The Senior Project Manager (IT) will likely have:

• a Project Management Professional (PMP) certification is required
• a minimum of an undergraduate degree in business administration or project management, with 5 to 7 years of experience as a project manager; an equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered
• experience in the application of project management principles and the implementation of best practices, including coaching others in the application of principles and practice
• experience in delivery of complex IT systems and enterprise applications projects
• strong leadership, analytical, interpersonal, and relationship-building skills
• excellent training and communication skills
• a broad knowledge and skills in project management processes with the ability to refine and improve these processes and practices
• strong organizational skills to manage concurrent projects, ensuring goals and deadlines are met
• ability to proactively identify risks to the successful completion of projects, problem solve and recommend the best course of action
• flexibility and adaptability within a dynamic working environment to successfully manage multiple tasks and conflicting priorities
• a strong ability to perform across cross-functional teams and to translate complex strategic guidance into actionable tasks
• the ability to work with ambiguity and seek clarity to ensure the project team can focus on actionable tasks and priorities.

What will set you apart? The following are considered asset qualifications:

• project management experience in a research environment
• an understanding of the health care sector
• fluency in French.

What’s in it for you? At Canada’s Drug Agency, you will find:

• a team-focused, supportive, and inclusive work environment
• a competitive compensation package, including participation in the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP) — 1 of Canada’s largest and most successful defined benefit pension plans
• a comprehensive benefits package for employees and dependents, including health, dental, life, and travel insurance; a health spending account; and an employee assistance program
• paid time off (including a minimum of 4 weeks of vacation leave as well as sick leave and life leave, a December holiday closure, and other leave options)
• opportunities to work with and learn from highly specialized professionals
• personal growth through professional development opportunities, corporate training, and support for continuing education
• a friendly culture that supports community engagement
• the opportunity to make a difference for people living in Canada and effect positive change.

To apply for this position, visit the Careers section of our website. Your résumé must clearly identify how your skills and experience relate to the requirements of this role. Applications for this opportunity may be used for future staffing vacancies. We thank you for your interest; however, only those candidates selected for further consideration will be contacted. Please visit our website regularly for new opportunities.

At Canada’s Drug Agency, we actively celebrate, support, and flourish through our differences. Our employees are people with different strengths, experiences, and backgrounds, who share a passion for building the future of health care. We demonstrate a commitment to inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility (IDEA) through continuous training, modelling inclusive behaviours, and proactively managing biases. We highly encourage all qualified applicants to apply, including people of all places of origin and religions, people with disabilities, people who are neurodivergent, people who are Black or racialized, Indigenous people, women, and people from the 2SLGBTQ+ community. We also provide accommodations during all phases of the recruitment process. If you require any accommodations during the recruitment process, please let the Talent Acquisition team know when they contact you. We will work with you to meet your needs.

Please note that, as a condition of employment, successful candidates will be required to complete a confidential pre-employment background check, including criminal, employment, and educational verifications.

Candidates must be legally eligible to work in Canada. We regret that we are unable to sponsor employment visas at this time.