About Strides Toronto
Strides Toronto is a multi-service community agency dedicated to improving the mental, social, and physical health of infants, children, youth (prenatal to age 29), and their families across the Greater Toronto Area. Our continuum of care includes mental health counselling, autism services, early intervention, day treatment, residential services, education, outreach, and community support, delivered through individual, group, and family interventions that strengthen social and emotional well-being.
Strides Toronto serves diverse communities across multiple sites, working with funders, school boards, hospitals, and community partners to deliver accessible, equitable, and culturally responsive services grounded in evidence-based practice and a deep commitment to anti-oppression.
Strides Toronto is now in a pivotal period of organizational renewal, building the leadership capacity, planning discipline, and integrated systems required to deliver on our mission with greater impact, equity, and long-term sustainability.
The Opportunity
Strides Toronto is seeking an accomplished and forward-looking leader to serve as Vice President, People and Transformation. Reporting to the President and CEO, this VP provides executive leadership for the integration of the organization's people, strategy, planning, and transformation functions, including human resources; labour relations; strategy and quality; research and decision support; Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA); internal communications; and organizational change.
This is a defining mandate. The successful candidate will set direction for how Strides Toronto plans, aligns priorities, and executes organization-wide initiatives. They will establish the enterprise Project Management Office, define planning frameworks and governance, and reduce reliance on informal coordination and escalation. They will strengthen leadership capacity and succession planning across the organization, embed IDEA across people practices, planning, service delivery, and decision-making, and ensure that organizational priorities are clearly defined, sequenced, and aligned with available capacity.
The VP brings the rare combination of strategic discipline and people-centred leadership required to integrate previously separate functions, lead through influence in environments with shared accountability, and sustain change across a complex, publicly funded, multi-site organization. They will operate as a trusted advisor to the President and CEO, the Senior Management Team, and the Board, contributing to enterprise-wide planning, prioritization, and decision-making.
The Role
Reports to
President and Chief Executive Officer
Direct reports
Director, Human Resources; Director, IDEA; Director, Strategy and Quality; Executive Assistant
Working arrangement
Hybrid; three days per week in office or community
Time commitments
Some evening Board and committee meetings; occasional Saturdays for events such as the annual Board retreat
Key Responsibilities
Enterprise Alignment of People and Culture Functions
- Set direction and strategy for people and culture to ensure alignment with organizational priorities and long-term sustainability.
- Ensure human resources and labour relations functions are coordinated and effectively support organizational needs.
- Establish expectations for leadership development, workforce planning, and employee experience aligned with organizational priorities and best practices.
- Ensure robust, leading-practice frameworks are in place for performance management, growth and development, and organizational development.
- Strengthen leadership capacity and succession planning across the organization.
Enterprise Strategy, Planning, and Quality
- Set direction for organizational strategy, planning, and quality functions to ensure alignment with mission, priorities, and funder expectations.
- Ensure integration of strategic and operational planning across the organization.
- Ensure organizational priorities are clearly defined, sequenced, and aligned with available capacity and resources.
- Ensure alignment between strategy, planning, and execution across the organization.
- Ensure quality, evaluation, and accreditation functions support continuous improvement and organizational performance.
Transformation and Enterprise Initiative Coordination
- Establish and lead the organization's enterprise Project Management Office, defining standards, frameworks, and governance for initiative planning, prioritization, and execution.
- Set expectations for initiative ownership, accountability, and delivery across the organization.
- Ensure organization-wide initiatives are aligned with strategic priorities, appropriately sequenced, and supported by available capacity and resources.
- Provide visibility into initiative progress, risks, and outcomes to support timely decision-making and course correction.
- Ensure initiatives result in sustained organizational change, with clear ownership, adoption, and measurable outcomes.
- Ensure consistent use of project management and change management practices across the organization.
Organizational Integration and Prioritization
- Establish frameworks for organizational prioritization, capacity planning, and trade-off decision-making.
- Ensure alignment across functions to support integrated execution of organizational priorities.
- Strengthen decision-making discipline by clarifying roles, accountabilities, and escalation pathways.
- Ensure internal communications are aligned with organizational priorities and sequencing.
Decision Support and Data Analytics
- Set direction for research, data, and decision support functions to strengthen evidence-informed decision-making.
- Ensure data, analytics, and reporting provide timely, accurate, and actionable insights to inform strategic and operational decisions.
- Establish standards for data governance, reporting, and analytics across the organization.
- Ensure alignment between data, reporting, and organizational priorities.
- Strengthen the organization's ability to use data to assess performance, identify trends, and inform planning and prioritization.
IDEA Strategy and Organizational Alignment
- Ensure IDEA strategy is aligned with organizational values, service delivery, and community needs.
- Integrate IDEA priorities across people practices, planning, and organizational decision-making.
- Coordinate and embed IDEA efforts throughout all organizational functions, including people practices, planning, service delivery, and decision-making.
- Foster a culture of accountability, inclusion, and collaboration across the organization.
Leadership and Organizational Contribution
- Lead and develop direct reports, ensuring strong performance, accountability, and leadership capacity.
- Build leadership capability within the People and Transformation Division.
- Contribute as a member of the Senior Management Team to organization-wide planning, prioritization, and decision-making.
- Advance organization-wide initiatives and priorities, working collaboratively across portfolios.
- Collaborate with the CEO and Board of Directors on matters related to the portfolio, including presenting to the Board, supporting committees, and contributing to Board discussions.
- Align People and Transformation priorities with organizational strategy and organization-wide needs.
- Support organizational effectiveness, sustainability, and continuous improvement within scope.
The Successful Candidate Will Have
Education and Credentials
- A degree in business administration, public administration, organizational development, or a related field.
- A graduate degree (MBA, MPA, or related) is considered an asset.
- A professional designation in a relevant discipline is considered an asset.
Experience and Expertise
- Significant senior leadership experience in strategy, transformation, or organizational effectiveness within a complex organization.
- Knowledge of the health and community services sector, including government funding models, policy environment, and system context.
- Demonstrated experience leading large-scale, organization-wide transformation initiatives with measurable impact.
- Experience establishing or leading organization-wide initiatives, transformation efforts, or PMO functions.
- Demonstrated commitment to and experience advancing IDEA within a complex organization.
- Demonstrated ability to support and integrate human resources and people and culture functions within a complex organization.
- Proven ability to align diverse functions and stakeholders to deliver on organizational priorities.
- Strong understanding of organizational planning, prioritization, and performance management.
- Experience supporting executive decision-making through data, research, and analysis.
- Experience integrating cross-functional priorities, such as people, equity, and strategy, into organizational planning and execution.
- Experience working in a unionized and publicly funded environment is an asset.
- Knowledge of relevant legislation, labour frameworks, and sector practices.
Leadership Attributes
- Demonstrated ability to lead through influence in environments with shared accountability and distributed authority.
- A change-oriented mindset, with the ability to integrate previously separate functions and sustain organizational change.
- Excellent communication and relationship-building skills, with the ability to engage credibly with executive peers, the Board, funders, partners, and staff at all levels.
- A collaborative, enterprise-minded orientation, contributing beyond functional accountabilities to organizational performance, culture, and effectiveness.
Equity and Sector Orientation
- Demonstrated commitment to and ability to champion Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) within a complex organization.
- An anti-oppressive, anti-racist orientation, including an understanding of Anti-Black Racism in the context of the social determinants of health.
- Knowledge of, and respect for, the cultural diversity of the communities served by the agency.
Compensation, Benefits, and Working Arrangement
Strides Toronto offers a competitive compensation package and a comprehensive benefits program for executive leaders.
Salary
The salary range for this role is $159,002.92 to $185,159.29 across a six-step grid. Placement on the grid is determined by relevant experience, education, current market conditions, and internal equity, in accordance with Strides Toronto's Grid Placement policy. Vice Presidents receive annual salary increments aligned with negotiated increases.
Benefits and Pension
Following three months of continuous service, Strides Toronto pays one hundred percent of monthly premiums for the Group Benefits Plan, including Life Insurance, AD&D, comprehensive Healthcare Benefits (covering physical health, mental health, drugs, and vision care), Dental Benefits, and the Employee and Family Assistance Plan. Long-Term Disability premiums are paid by employees. The Defined Contribution Pension Plan provides a five percent employer contribution, matched against a two percent employee contribution, with a six-month waiting period.
Time Off
Four weeks of vacation to start, paid sick time, management days, and float days, prorated to start date.
Working Arrangement
Hybrid. Three days per week in office or community, with some evening commitments for Board and committee meetings, and occasional Saturdays for events such as the annual Board retreat.
Application Details
Interested applicants are invited to apply through the job board by submitting a resume and cover letter. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.
Only candidates meeting the selection criteria will be contacted. All applications are reviewed, and we may consider you for future opportunities aligned with your experience.
Strides Toronto is an equal opportunity employer. We benefit from the diversity of lived experiences in our workplace and encourage applications from qualified candidates who reflect the diversity of the communities we serve. Strides Toronto is a participant in the Government of Canada's 50-30 Challenge, a program that challenges organizations to improve access for women and non-binary people, and other equity-deserving groups, including those identifying as racialized, Black, and/or people of colour, people with disabilities (including invisible and episodic disabilities), 2SLGBTQ+ and/or gender and sexually diverse individuals, and Aboriginal and/or Indigenous Peoples, to increase the representation and inclusion of diverse groups within their workplace.
Please let us know if you require accommodation during any aspect of the recruitment process and we will work with you to address your needs.
About Strategisense Consulting
Strategisense Consulting is a boutique Canadian management consulting firm established in 2000, serving nonprofit, public sector, and purpose-driven organizations. Our services span executive search, organizational strategy and design, leadership development, executive coaching, governance and board effectiveness, and facilitation. Guided by our promise of Purpose. People. Strategy., we partner with mission-driven organizations to strengthen the leadership capacity, organizational systems, and strategic thinking required to deliver lasting impact in the communities they serve.
