Director, Program Development – Impact

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in Canada.

📋 Description

• Spearhead the development of programs, including strategy, performance metrics, evaluations, and economic impact analysis.

• Direct the creation and design of programs that align with the organization’s strategy and the priorities of stakeholders.

• Convert strategic goals, government initiatives, and ecosystem demands into effective program frameworks.

• Recognize new opportunities for program development, partnerships, and innovative funding models.

• Ensure programs have well-defined objectives and measurable results.

• Set standards, processes, and governance frameworks for program development.

• Transform evaluation insights into actionable recommendations for program design and strategic decisions.

• Provide leadership in the evaluation function.

• Create and manage evaluation frameworks that assess program performance, outcomes, and return on investment.

• Develop program frameworks, change theories, logic models, implementation strategies, and performance metrics.

• Conduct economic impact assessments that address economic growth, productivity, commercialization, talent outcomes, and ecosystem benefits.

• Supervise impact reports, performance dashboards, and evidence-based narratives for executives, Board members, government partners, and stakeholders.

• Enhance organizational capacity to leverage data and evidence for ongoing improvement.

• Oversee the entire lifecycle from identifying strategic needs and policy challenges to program design, implementation, outcomes, evaluation, and enhancement.

• Monitor the performance of the program portfolio, ensuring strategic alignment, effectiveness, relevance, and value creation.

• Identify issues and decide if new programs, adaptations, or delivery enhancements are necessary.

• Shape a program portfolio that responds to economic, innovation, talent, and policy priorities.

• Lead and cultivate a multidisciplinary team focused on program development, evaluation, and economic impact analysis.

• Set priorities, operating plans, and performance goals.

• Encourage collaboration among program, evaluation, policy, and operational teams.

• Report directly to the Vice President of Policy, Program Development, and Government Relations.

⛳️ Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Economics, Business, Public Policy, Statistics, Evaluation, or a related discipline.

• A graduate degree or equivalent experience is preferred.

• At least 10 years of progressive experience in program development, strategy, evaluation, performance measurement, and economic impact, ideally within research, innovation, or economic development sectors.

• Proven experience in designing, developing, and enhancing programs.

• Capacity to convert evidence, data, and analysis into strategic recommendations and decisions.

• Strong knowledge of program evaluation, performance measurement, economic impact assessment, and the Canadian research and innovation ecosystem.

• Experience managing complex program portfolios while balancing strategic priorities, resources, performance, and impact.

• Excellent analytical, strategic thinking, problem-solving, and project management capabilities.

• Outstanding communication and presentation skills.

• Ability to distill complex analyses into clear, actionable insights for senior leaders and stakeholders.

• Proficiency in written and spoken English is required.

• Bilingualism (English/French) is considered an asset.

• Lived experience or perspectives linked to Indigenous worldviews are highly valued.

• Leadership experience in managing high-performing teams and fostering interdepartmental collaboration.

🏝️ Benefits

• Commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion.

• Recruitment accommodations available upon request.

• Human review of AI-enabled recruitment tools alongside human-driven hiring decisions.