• Job Description

  Req#: 43118

  • Job ID: 43118
  • Job Category: Policy, Planning & Research
  • Division & Section: Parks, Forestry & Recreation, PFR Policy & Strategic Planning
  • Work Location: Metro Hall (24th floor), 55 John Street, Toronto, M5V 3C6
    Job Type & Duration: Full-Time, Temporary (12 month) Vacancy
  • Salary: $101,900 - $131,222 (2023 Rate)
  • Shift Information: Monday to Friday, 35 hours per week
  • Affiliation: Non-Union
  • Number of Positions Open: 1
  • Posting Period: 15-JAN-2024 to 29-JAN-2024

  Job Description

  Parks, Forestry and Recreation (PFR) is one of the City of Toronto’s largest Divisions. PFRs mission is to improve the quality of life of Toronto's diverse communities by providing safe, beautiful parks; a healthy, expanding urban forest; and high quality, community focused recreational spaces. We contribute to the city’s social and environmental resilience by ensuring that our parks, playing fields, recreation centres, ice rinks and pools, along with tree-lined streets, trails, forests, meadows, marshes, and ravines, are beautiful, safe and accessible, that they expand and develop to meet the needs of a growing city, and are filled with vibrant, active, and engaged communities.

  
  The Policy and Strategic Planning (PSP) Team is a centre of excellence for strategic policy development and solutions, data analytics, and performance metrics and research. The Team supports PFR to drive evidenced- based decision-making, solve complex problems, and advance divisional priorities though strategic solutions and policy options, development of division- focused evaluating performance and outcomes to drive continuous improvement.

  
  As a successful Policy Development Officer, reporting to the Manager, Policy Development in the Policy and Strategic Planning Branch of PFR, you can see strategic linkages and opportunities across complex issues and can confidently design and steward policy innovations from concept to implementation to measurement. Your superpowers are facilitation, active listening, conceptual thinking and political acuity.

  Major Responsibilities:

  Policy Development: Research, Analysis and Reporting

  • Develops and delivers system-level and evidenced-based policies and strategic plans and projects for PFR Division in alignment corporate and divisional priorities.
  • Supports the development of transparent performance measures, outcomes, targets and criteria to measure the effectiveness and success of programs and services.
  • Conducts research and monitors developments in the field and integrates results into the formulation of policy and/or program recommendations to Council, senior management and other levels of government.
  • Monitors other orders of government and non-government organizations, academic and research bodies and local communities to ensure ongoing awareness of existing and evolving issues and concerns related to the needs of Toronto's residents and PFR strategic objectives.
  • Deals with confidential and sensitive information affecting operations, assets and resources.

  Project Management

  • Provides leadership and support in the development of inter-branch policies, strategies and implementation plans, ensuring strategic alignment and integration.
  • Leads multi-stakeholder teams, often without direct authority, to successfully complete and deliver complex research, analysis, consultation and policy development products, using effective negotiation, collaboration, coaching and influencing skills.
  • Responsible for a portfolio of diverse policy files of varying degrees of complexity, delivering high quality results, meeting deadlines, and managing competing demands independently and with limited oversight.

  Relationship Building and Communication

  • Stewards, leads or coordinates PFR’s role in strategic corporate initiatives. Partners with other divisions to expand opportunities and interdivisional efforts that impact PFR.
  • Makes presentations to senior leadership, directors and other key decision makers and stakeholders within the Division.
  • Designs and facilitates meaningful resident and stakeholder engagement processes to ensure that policy positions are rooted in the needs, experience and expertise of those most impacted.
  • Cultivates strong relationships and represents the division/branch by providing leadership and policy expertise at project, community consultation, and internal and external partnership meetings across the City of Toronto, and with community groups, environmental groups, academia and other stakeholders to support strategic divisional and corporate initiatives.
  • Maintains effective working relationships with other City staff, elected officials, other orders of government, community groups, service users and other stakeholders regarding the development of new policies and provides expert advice on the interpretation of City policies.
  • Represents the City, Deputy City Manager, Division at events and committees which have an impact on PFR priorities and programs

  Key Qualifications:

  Your application must describe your qualifications as they relate to:

  1. Post-secondary education in a related discipline (e.g. social sciences, urban design/planning, public policy/public administration) or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
  2. Extensive project management experience, stewarding complex initiatives from inception through to implementation with minimal direction while balancing political, community and other stakeholder interests, and resolving conflicts.
  3. Considerable experience in strategy development and policy design, ability to advance knowledge translation between research, policy and operations.
  4. Considerable experience in facilitating stakeholder groups, including community groups or residents, in the development of public policy.
  5. Considerable experience using evidence to support policy development.
  6. Exceptional problem-solving abilities; proven ability to generate creative solutions to complex operational, policy and evaluation problems.
  7. Exceptional leadership, negotiation and collaboration skills and the ability to coach and influence without direct authority.
  8. Strong knowledge of some or all of the following: equity, diversity and inclusion issues; anti- racism and anti-oppression; reconciliation; environmental resilience and sustainability; community development; recreation service system planning; parks design or planning.
  9. Ability to work independently and under pressure to meet deadlines.
  10. Ability to succinctly articulate insights and present information—spoken, visual, and written— across all levels of management.
  11. Political acuity with an exceptional ability to handle sensitive and confidential situations with diplomacy.

  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.

• About the company

  Toronto (/təˈrɒntoʊ/, locally /ˈtrɒnoʊ, -nə/) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario.

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