SENIOR MANAGER STRATEGIC PLANNING & INITIATIVES (Intergovernmental & Agency Relations)

City of Toronto • Toronto, ON

2d • CA$144,591 - CA$196,565 • Hybrid

About The Position

Recognized as one of Greater Toronto’s Top Employers for 2026, the City of Toronto promotes professional development and is committed to providing opportunities to lead, learn and grow. We value integrity, reliability, and fairness, and we embrace the diversity of the people we work with and serve.
The City Manager’s Office provides strategic leadership to Toronto’s municipal administration, ensuring effective governance, accountability, continuous improvement and strong partnerships across sectors. Its work enables the City to deliver services that support a prosperous, inclusive, and well-managed Toronto.
Why join the City Manager’s Office
Impact: Contribute to decisions and partnerships that shape the City’s future
Collaboration: Work across divisions and governments on complex, high-priority initiatives
Leadership: Build and lead a team in a dynamic and evolving environment
Public service: Help deliver programs and services that improve the lives of residents
Shape how the City advances its priorities through strong partnerships and strategic coordination
In this role, you will lead a high-performing team responsible for advancing the City’s priorities through effective intergovernmental relations, agency oversight, and strategic initiatives. Your leadership will help strengthen partnerships across governments, agencies, and internal divisions while driving coordinated, results-focused delivery.
If you are motivated by complex, high-impact work and thrive in dynamic, fast-paced, politically sensitive environments, this role offers an opportunity to make a meaningful contribution to the City’s success.
The Impact You’ll Make
In the City Manager’s Office, the pace is steady and the issues are rarely simple. Intergovernmental priorities shift, agency matters evolve, and decisions at Council require coordination, clarity, and informed response. As Senior Manager, Strategic Planning & Initiatives (Intergovernmental & Agency Relations), you are at the centre of that work, providing direction, steady oversight, and coordination across intergovernmental and agency-related initiatives.
You will lead a multidisciplinary team, bringing focus to competing priorities while supporting staff development and reinforcing a culture built on collaboration, accountability, and high performance. Your leadership ensures the team is aligned, responsive, and equipped to deliver in a fast-moving environment.
In close partnership with senior leadership, political staff and elected officials, you provide strategic advice on intergovernmental relations, agency governance, and emerging policy issues. You translate complex policy, legislative, and political developments into clear, actionable guidance that informs decisions.
Your work is grounded in relationships. You build and maintain strong connections across municipal, provincial, and federal governments, as well as with City agencies, boards, and corporations. In negotiations, intergovernmental forums, and high-level discussions, you represent the City, articulating and advancing key priorities with clarity and consistency.
You guide complex initiatives from inception through implementation, ensuring alignment with corporate priorities. At the same time, you provide oversight to agency and corporation governance frameworks, including mandates, board structures, and accountability requirements.
With a continuous view of the external environment, you monitor and analyze policy, legislative, and political developments, helping shape the City’s strategic response. Through cross-functional collaboration, you support coordinated, effective service delivery across the organization.

Requirements

• Post-secondary education in public administration, policy, business, or a related discipline, or an equivalent combination of education and experience
• Extensive experience analyzing and navigating complex policy, legislative, and political environments, with the ability to assess impacts and inform strategic direction
• Experience providing strategic advice to senior leadership, political staff and elected officials on intergovernmental relations, agency governance, and emerging policy issues, supported by the ability to prepare clear, concise briefing materials, reports, and presentations for senior audiences
• Extensive experience managing complex, high-profile issues and initiatives, with the demonstrated ability to influence, negotiate, and achieve consensus among diverse governments, agencies, and stakeholders
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to proactively build and maintain strong working relationships across governments, City divisions, and agencies, boards, and corporations
• Extensive experience leading and delivering complex, multi-stakeholder, cross-functional initiatives from planning through implementation within a large public sector or similarly complex organization
• Extensive people leadership experience, including coaching, developing, and supporting professional staff, with demonstrated ability to build high-performing teams and foster a culture of collaboration, accountability, and respectful, inclusive workplaces
• Highly developed judgment and critical thinking skills, with the ability to navigate sensitive, high-profile issues in a complex public sector environment
• Strong knowledge of intergovernmental processes and structures in Canada, with a solid understanding of how municipal, provincial, and federal governments interact and align on shared priorities
• Experience overseeing or supporting governance frameworks related to agencies, boards, and corporations, including mandates, board structures, and accountability requirements
• Proven ability to manage competing priorities and deliver results in fast-paced environments with shifting demands and tight timelines
• Familiarity with relevant legislation and policies (e.g., City of Toronto Act, MFIPPA, AODA, OHSA) and an understanding of their application within a municipal context

Responsibilities

• Lead a high-performing team responsible for advancing the City’s priorities through effective intergovernmental relations, agency oversight, and strategic initiatives.
• Strengthen partnerships across governments, agencies, and internal divisions while driving coordinated, results-focused delivery.
• Provide direction, steady oversight, and coordination across intergovernmental and agency-related initiatives.
• Lead a multidisciplinary team, bringing focus to competing priorities while supporting staff development and reinforcing a culture built on collaboration, accountability, and high performance.
• Provide strategic advice on intergovernmental relations, agency governance, and emerging policy issues.
• Translate complex policy, legislative, and political developments into clear, actionable guidance that informs decisions.
• Build and maintain strong connections across municipal, provincial, and federal governments, as well as with City agencies, boards, and corporations.
• Represent the City in negotiations, intergovernmental forums, and high-level discussions, articulating and advancing key priorities with clarity and consistency.
• Guide complex initiatives from inception through implementation, ensuring alignment with corporate priorities.
• Provide oversight to agency and corporation governance frameworks, including mandates, board structures, and accountability requirements.
• Monitor and analyze policy, legislative, and political developments, helping shape the City’s strategic response.
• Support coordinated, effective service delivery across the organization through cross-functional collaboration.

Benefits

• Professional development opportunities
• Hybrid working environment
• Competitive salaries
• Vacation
• Other unique offerings
• Excellent defined benefit pension plan through OMERS
• Ongoing learning and development opportunities
• Tuition subsidies
• Opportunities to join and take an active role with City’s Communities of Inclusions

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: Associate degree