Senior Manager, Enterprise Systems Engineering

Metrolinx is connecting communities across the Greater Golden Horseshoe. Metrolinx operates GO Transit and UP Express, as well as the PRESTO fare payment system. We are also building new and improved rapid transit, including GO Expansion, Light Rail Transit routes, and major expansions to Toronto’s subway system, to get people where they need to go, better, faster and easier. Metrolinx is an agency of the Government of Ontario. At Metrolinx, equity, diversity and inclusion are essential to living our values of serving with passion, thinking forward and playing as a team. Provide technology leadership, high-level design of solutions supporting business units such as the Capital Projects Group, bridge the gap between product owners and IT to ensure business needs are well understood and reflected in the solution design and technology selection What will I be doing? KEY CONTRIBUTIONSFunctional/Technical Provides a comprehensive vision for the Metrolinx technology ecosystem by leading, defining and monitoring a technology ecosystem portfolio for quality and service excellence. Under the Design pillar in I&IT, creates alignment across the entire technology ecosystem by combining the long-term technical vision with in-context technical requirements from Delivery and Operational teams in support of the overall strategic plan. Provides senior technical leadership to I&IT projects by providing a single, accountable technical leader spanning all architectural contributors to projects including Solution Architects, Security Architects, Data Architects, Cloud Architects and others. Leads alignment on technical outcomes by making critical and impactful technical decisions and documents them in ADRs (Architecture Decision Records), including technology product and platform selection, integration patterns to be used, and solution topology. Consult, inform and align with business and technology stakeholders. Provides input into the product roadmaps and technology plans, ensuring alignment of plans and schedules with Product Integration plans and schedules; Create, distribute, refine and maintain architecture artifacts conform to the Metrolinx ESE standards and guidelines. Provide senior technical leadership and guidance to other architect roles (whether internal or from vendors). Check the artifacts created by Solution Architects and other technical roles for quality and adherence to Metrolinx standards and expected level of quality and coverage. Leads, defines and monitors a technology portfolio for quality and service excellence. Leads, defines and monitors the Enterprise Systems Engineering (ESE) team’s yearly operating plan and performance objectives to monitor for quality and excellent delivery of services; Oversees the design of the organization’s architecture and technology portfolio, ensuring it is in alignment with the corporate technological vision and direction to support the organization’s strategic and operational goals; Manages domain architects and / or expert service providers; Recommends and presents process changes and implementation choices to management teams for consideration and approval; develops, facilitates and/ or coordinates presentations or end-user training Architecture Standards & Governance Framework Manages the development and implementation of management and governance practices and frameworks to ensure consistency, quality, reliability and integrity; Provides leadership towards defining and refining the roles of ESE, SA, Solution Manager, and leads the implementation and governance; Provides leadership towards defining policies and standards to guide the development, integration, implementation and maintenance of Metrolinx’s IT infrastructure and systems; Directs and oversees the alignment of ESE activities with governing frameworks, standards and methodologies that support business requirements and enterprise-scale efficiencies; Architecture Expertise/Advice Provides expert technical leadership to assist in the development of strategic directions for I&IT architecture, standards and principles; Leads the ESE team regarding the direction of existing and potential corporate / I&IT solutions, emerging solutions, and new I&IT products; (From Customer/Stakeholder) Provides expert opinion on the effectiveness and completeness of product roadmaps and alignment with Metrolinx I&IT and other cross-organization roadmaps Oversees the development, implementation and management of ESE tools, repositories, and ESE support office; Architecture Recommendations/Solutions Bridges the gap between business and technology and communicates architecture-related concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences across the organization’s business functions; Assesses the business/technical feasibility of vendor designs and advises on the impact to current and future systems; Recommends solutions, priorities and advises on resource requirements; Provides support to resolve conflicts, and gains consensus between business and technology leadership across multiple organizational structures; Manages the integration points between solutions within a Product and the integration between various I&IT products (when required);Customer/Stakeholder In partnership with other Metrolinx Senior Managers, leads external consultation, engagement and communication on plans and studies to further develop Metrolinx’s brand and corporate objectives and influence stakeholders on planning and design matters Builds collaborative relationships with senior organizational leadership and gains trust with stakeholders (. customers, other business units, tenants, local transit) to foster good relations, gain support, develop resources, drive results, realize project outcomes, manage conflicts, and represent the needs of customers, stakeholders, operations, and maintenance Leads the development and presents materials to a variety of internal and external audiences to engage staff/stakeholders and promote further awareness and buy-in of Metrolinx objectives and the Metrolinx five-year strategy Develops an in-depth understanding of the business processes, assets, facilities, responsibilities, regulatory requirements and interdependencies within Metrolinx Works closely with project contractors/consultants to set standards/expectations and facilitate feedback structures associated with performance (. SLAs, response times); leverage knowledge/expertise of contractor related to functional area requirements Works in collaboration with other I&IT teams and service delivery agencies to facilitate the exchange of information as it pertains to strategic annual architecture plans; Provides technical advice to delivery teams (internal and vendor) regarding architecture questions, technology risk assessments, technical designs, problem resolution and delivery issues. Provides expert opinion to key Business and I&IT stakeholders on the effectiveness and completeness of product roadmaps, business and technology strategies and alignment with Metrolinx I&IT and other applicable cross-organization strategies and roadmaps. Works in collaboration with vendors to provide ESE input and direction to vendors’ deliverables and delivery schedule to enable successful releases and make corrections as needed; Supports managing the relationship with ESE vendors including providing oversight to vendor contracts, when required; Validates that product designs, configurations / developments and resulting implementations follow the latest reference architecture, ensuring that the results meet the expectations of I&IT stakeholders and business users who use the product Operational Excellence Provides oversight to, defines and monitors the ESE team’s yearly operating plan and performance objectives to monitor for quality and excellent delivery of services; Supports the achievement of the organization’s operational and strategic goals through: defining the role of ESE, and leading its implementation and governance; defining policies and standards to guide the development, integration, implementation and maintenance of Metrolinx’s IT systems and infrastructure; Develops and monitors KPIs and / or metrics to measure the success of the team; Ensures Architecture Decision Records (ADRs) are created in a timely manner and at a high level of quality; Provides resolution to escalated team issues (. policies, programs, strategy); Supports the achievement of business requirements and enterprise-scale efficiencies by ensuring the alignment of ESE activities with overall I&IT and corporate governing frameworks, standards and methodologies; Leads the provision of continuous improvement services to mature ESE related policies, processes and practices, through understanding of global best practices and industry trends; Keeps current and advises the I&IT leadership team regarding the direction of emerging tools and products that would improve the maturity of the organization. Identifies operational opportunities and introduces leading practices to improve processes by developing standards relating to the functional requirements for projects Provides subject matter expertise to drive continuous improvement and consistency by identifying opportunities for innovation and sharing with senior leadership and project teams (. using innovation to ensure Metrolinx is given priority for approvals by municipalities) Represents the corporation in multi-disciplinary governance bodies (including municipal agencies and ministries) and disseminates relevant information back to project teams Maintains industry and related associations and relationships to stay informed of emerging advances in technology, methodology, innovation and best practices for operational and planning excellence Manages and provides oversight for the development and adaptation of industry best practices and initiatives to support client business needs and corporate objectives/priorities Provides leadership with input from others to develop and deploy a strategic vision and aligns others to connect and align projects with strategic corporate goals Develops and implements policies and procedures in compliance with corporate, government and legislative directives and regulations, identifies technical, operational and project risks and develops risk mitigation strategies Oversees the development of quality assurance metrics of contractor and supplier performance and review/approves corrective action plans for performance deficiencies Financial Stewardship Develops and manages annual and long-term budgets and departmental/project staffing plans that adhere to corporate standards and applicable legislation and meet service delivery objectives Monitors the progress of projects to ensure that planning objectives are delivered on time and within budget and that anticipated business results are achieved; is able to explain overages and exceptions Provides approval/sign-off on procurement strategies, project work, cost estimates, design studies/plans prepared by internal staff/consultants; negotiates contractual obligations and amendments with vendors Recommends process improvements and areas for cost savings in the development of procurement and tendering documents Establishes benchmarks, goals, objectives for corporate planning programs/systems, that reflect corporate direction/plans, including performance indicators, monitoring systems, and reporting functionality and reviews Identifies opportunities to streamline technologies that may lead to (cost and/or time) savings; Collaborates with and provides support to the I&IT Commercial Office and Metrolinx Procurement Services during procurement activities for technology products and services; People Leadership Creates a working environment that is aligned with the organization’s desire to be a “best company to work for”, ensuring that people resources possess the required skills, are properly aligned, and are provided with the resources to do the job Manages resources on a project basis including third party consultants Acts as the subject matter expert in providing consultation, advice and day-to-day guidance regarding designs, functional and non-functional requirements and processes Provides creative leadership to develop and deploy a strategic vision for the delivery of corporate planning processes and products, and connects and aligns projects with strategic corporate goals Directly manages employees in a work group or team performing related tasks Demonstrates leadership and core competencies at a high level of development and is an exemplary model of living the corporate Values and Code of Ethics Provides senior leadership oversight and direction to staff and consultants engaged in project teams (. defines team member roles, responsibilities, and expectations) and motivates to achieve objectives; delivers timely feedback to ensure a cohesive operational unit and the optimum use of team skills; manages staff and monitors work assignments for adherence to timelines; monitors the achievement of performance objectives; develops and implements action plans to address performance gaps What Skills and Qualifications Do I Need? High-level architecture & design, technology portfolio management, technology roadmap development, RFP evaluation, product owner experience working with IT, internal business clients, external product vendors and integrators. Excellent communication skills and ability to explain solutions in clearly to varied audiences (ranging from business executives to software developers). Education Completion of a university degree in Computer Science or Computer Engineering, or a related discipline – or a combination of education, training and experience deemed equivalent Experience Demonstrated years’ experience in a technical leadership role (. solution architect, technical lead) including on large complexity projects. Demonstrated years’ experience of contributing to the success of a range of midsize-to-large initiatives with above average levels of complexity and business criticality. Demonstrated years’ progressively senior experience in Information Technology with significant exposure to architecture planning, design, development, implementation and maintenance. Don’t Meet Every Requirement? If you’re excited about working with Metrolinx but your past experience doesn’t quite align with every qualification of this posting, we encourage you to apply. You just might be the right candidate for this or other roles. We are always looking for great talent to join our team. We invite all interested individuals to apply and encourage applications from members of equity-deserving communities, including those who identify as Indigenous, Black, racialized, women, people with disabilities, and people with diverse gender identities, expressions and sexual orientations. Accommodation: We value the unique skills and experiences each person brings to Metrolinx and are committed to creating and maintaining an inclusive and accessible environment. We are committed to the requirements of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act so if you require accommodation during the hiring process, please let our Recruitment team know by contacting us at: 416-202-5601 or email before submitting your application. Should it be determined that any background information provided is misleading, inaccurate or incorrect, Metrolinx reserves the right to discontinue with the consideration of your application. We thank all applicants for their interest, however, only those selected for further consideration will be contacted. WE ARE AN EQUITABLE AND INCLUSIVE EMPLOYER. #LI-SC1