DIRECTOR PENSION PAYROLL & EMP BENEFITS

Overview

The City of Toronto is the fourth largest city in North America and the fourth largest government in Canada, with a highly diverse and multicultural population. In addition, the City of Toronto has several agencies and corporations including the Toronto Police Service, Toronto Public Library, and the Toronto Transit Commission, which make up the broader municipal organization.

Consistently ranked one of the world’s most livable cities, Toronto is home to more than 2.9 million people whose diversity and experiences make this great city Canada’s leading economic engine and one of the world’s most diverse and livable cities.

Reporting to the Executive Director, Finance Shared Services, the successful incumbent oversees the dynamic operations of the Pension, Payroll, and Employee Benefits Division for the City of Toronto. This multifaceted role involves strategic planning, policy development, financial management, corporate benefit programs, large-scale transformation initiatives, contact centre management, and fostering positive labor relations to ensure the division’s success aligns with the City’s broader objectives. This position is currently hybrid and can be subject to change as aligned with the City’s policy.

Specific Skills

Ability to lead and manage enterprise-wide technology related projects and organizational re-structuring initiatives.
Ability to establish effective working relationships with all stakeholders, employees, client divisions, outside agencies and/or politicians and other levels of government.
Highly developed interpersonal, conflict resolution, project management and problem-solving skills with the ability to interact and communicate effectively both orally and in writing at all levels of the organization.
Ability to represent the City of Toronto in a variety of situations, including collective bargaining and pension board meetings.
Effective decision-maker and proactive leader of people and resources with the ability to drive results through a diverse workforce, promote teamwork, set and achieve high standards of work quality and organizational performance, and inspire continuous learning and innovation.
Strong financial acumen and experience in overseeing operations, budget planning, and financial management systems. Ability to ensure budgets are implemented in accordance with organizational direction and plans.
Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities to conduct financial, operational, and strategic planning. Capability to evaluate performance, identify variances, and recommend appropriate mitigation strategies.
Excellent strategic thinking and planning skills, in combination with strong research and analytical skills, and knowledge of all relevant legislation, municipal programs and services.
A strong customer service focus with the ability to manage change and represent the Division professionally with senior staff, standing committees, Community Councils, Council and stakeholders.
Well-developed management level report writing and presentation skills.
Ability to exercise discretion, judgement, and harness political acumen.

Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership: Collaborating closely with senior management, the successful incumbent sets the strategic direction for the division, establishing clear goals and objectives in alignment with the City's strategic initiatives.
Policy Development and Implementation: Developing and implementing equitable policies and procedures regarding payroll, pension, and benefits, ensuring fairness and compliance while meeting the evolving needs of employees.
Financial Management and Innovation: Overseeing all aspects of payroll, pension, and benefits administration, the incumbent drives innovation in distribution methods to enhance efficiency and effectiveness while ensuring alignment with budgetary constraints.
Continuous Improvement: Leading efforts to continuously improve divisional operations, the incumbent conducts research, benchmarks against industry standards, and implements new programs and policies to address emerging needs and legislative changes.
Employee-Centric Approach: Ensuring programs and services are sensitive to employee needs, the incumbent formulates strategies to enhance employee satisfaction while supporting the broader organizational objectives.
Leadership and Development: Providing ongoing leadership, the incumbent implements effective management and performance management processes, fostering a culture of learning and innovation among staff.
Labor Relations Management: Facilitating effective labor relations, the incumbent provides strategic direction and advice on benefits administration, collective agreement interpretation, and negotiation processes, fostering positive relations with unions.
Financial Planning and Relationship Building: Conducting short- and long-term financial planning, the incumbent establishes and maintains effective relationships with various stakeholders across municipalities and governmental levels, ensuring alignment with budgetary directives and fostering collaboration within the broader pension, payroll, and benefits community.
Transformation Initiatives: Plans, directs and evaluates management information systems and technologies for the Division as well as enterprise-wide technologies related to pension, payroll, time and attendance, and employee benefits. Leads and directs key transformation initiatives for the division including, but not limited to, payroll modernization, PPEB Team Central call centre tools and processes, and scheduling.

Additional Requirements

Extensive senior management experience in a large, complex organization and pension, payroll & employee benefits environment.
Extensive experience with large integrated enterprise resource planning (ERP) supported payroll systems, OMERS or similar pension plan administration, and employee benefits analysis, design and administration.
Extensive experience motivating, leading, training and managing staff in a fast-paced, changing customer service environment.
Experience with contact centre operations and related systems, including telephony, CRM systems, quality assurance and performance measurement is an asset.

Job Nature

Full Time

Educational Requirements

Post-secondary education in Business Administration, Human Resources or a related discipline, or the equivalent combination of education and/or experience. Completion of a relevant professional program such as payroll management certification, Certified Employee Benefit Specialist (CEBS), or an accounting designation (e.g., CPA) is an asset.