Asst Director, IT Strategy & Service Management

Date Posted: 03/09/2026
Req ID:47141
Faculty/Division: UofT Mississauga
Department: UTM: Info. & Inst. Tech. Services
Campus: University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM)
Existing Vacancy: Yes

 

Description:

U of T Mississauga--the second largest campus of Canada’s top-ranked university and the only research university in Ontario’s booming Peel Region--is one of the world’s great catalysts of human potential.

 

Our employee community hums with the energy of 3,400 faculty, librarians and staff, who power our campus with curiosity, connection and care. We work together to spark life-changing research and innovation, make an indelible mark on the world by building equitable cities and societies, enable healthy lives, create a sustainable future and ignite entrepreneurship. Above all, we prioritize student success, and seek to give our 16,500 students the lift of a lifetime through learning and discovery. We love to open opportunities available nowhere else for our community to achieve their ambitions and make their unique contributions to Canada and the world.

 

This work all comes together on a spectacularly green campus, alongside the Missinihe-ziibi (Trusting Creek or Credit River), where we seek to honour truth, reciprocity and reconciliation on the traditional land of the Huron-Wendat, Seneca and the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. We’re thrilled to welcome those who want to learn more about us and to be part of what we do.

 

I&ITS is a modern, client-centred service operation and a driving force of digital transformation at the University of Toronto Mississauga, delivering technology services, solutions, and experiences that directly enable the teaching, learning, and research mission of the campus. We are in an active period of organizational transformation, maturing our service management practices, deepening our partnerships with campus clients, and building a culture of collaboration and continuous improvement across our teams.

 

The Assistant Director, IT Strategy & Service Management is a senior leadership role at the heart of that evolution. You will shape how I&ITS delivers and governs services at a strategic level, building the frameworks, practices, and partnerships that connect our digital capabilities to the priorities of a world-class institution.

 

Position Summary

Reporting to the Director, the Assistant Director, IT Strategy & Service Management provides senior leadership for UTM’s IT service strategy, enterprise service management, business transformation, and digital governance. This is a role for a strategic builder, someone who will shape the long-term direction of IT services through a maturing Service Management Office, a growing Business Relationship Management practice, and the governance of UTM’s enterprise SaaS platform and digital ecosystem. The Assistant Director ensures that services, processes, and digital capabilities are designed and governed using evidence-based methodologies, aligned to institutional priorities, and delivering measurable value to the campus community.

 

The Assistant Director has strategic oversight of the ServiceNow platform and its ecosystem of digital applications and workflows, leading a multi-disciplinary team of architects, analysts, and platform specialists who design and create scalable enterprise capabilities. The incumbent directs platform roadmaps, ensures alignment between the service portfolio and digital-product evolution, and oversees sustainable, repeatable delivery models that support the campus’s administrative, academic, and research missions.

 

The Assistant Director has direct accountability for I&ITS’ Business Transformation and Program Management function, providing strategic direction, oversight, and integration of portfolio and program management and transformation initiatives within the unit.

 

The incumbent serves as a trusted advisor and business partner to senior administration and stakeholders, leading complex needs assessments, enabling client-centric service design, and ensuring that service strategies reflect campus priorities, risk considerations, operational realities, and long-term sustainability. The Assistant Director represents UTM in tri-campus service management, service delivery, and enterprise platform forums, ensuring strategic alignment, consistency of practice, and the avoidance of duplication across all three campuses.

 

The Assistant Director provides strategic leadership and governance for I&ITS’ project, program, and portfolio management (PPM) practices, consolidating the Business Transformation and Program Management (BT/PM) practice under the service-strategy umbrella. The incumbent establishes portfolio evaluation criteria, prioritization frameworks, and value-realization measures; reviews and approves strategic project scopes, roadmaps, and business cases; and ensures the portfolio aligns with institutional strategies, resource capacity, and the evolving service portfolio. The Assistant Director oversees the development of standardized methodologies, templates, and delivery practices for projects and programs, ensuring integration with ITSM processes, service design principles, change management, and data-driven decision-making.

 

The incumbent leads major digital-product modernization and business-transformation initiatives across UTM, acting as executive sponsor for high-impact service redesign, workflow optimization, and process-re-engineering efforts. They ensure that transformation initiatives incorporate user-experience insights, service-design practices, risk assessments, and campus-wide coordination, and that the outcomes deliver measurable improvements to service maturity, client satisfaction, operational efficiency, and digital capability.

 

The Assistant Director governs portfolio-level reporting and analytics, enabling transparent decision-making and performance monitoring through dashboards, performance indicators, and health assessments. The incumbent ensures effective integration between Service Portfolio Management (SPM), Service Management Office (SMO) processes, PPM frameworks, and the ServiceNow and application platforms roadmaps, creating a coherent, enterprise-aligned governance structure across I&ITS.

 

The Assistant Director works as a senior peer to the Assistant Director, IT Service Delivery & Operations, jointly stewarding the integration of service delivery and service management functions across I&ITS. Together, the two roles ensure that operational execution, service management practices, digital governance, and service portfolio planning are aligned, coordinated, and mutually reinforcing. This partnership supports a cohesive operating model that connects front-line service delivery with strategic planning, governance, and continuous improvement, enabling I&ITS to deliver reliable, client-centred services and advance institutional priorities. 

 

The Assistant Director also contributes to the development and maturation of emerging practices in Enterprise Architecture and Business Relationship Management, establishing foundational processes, governance structures, capability mapping approaches, and client-engagement models that support long-term service planning, technology alignment, and strategic decision-making across I&ITS.

 

The incumbent holds responsibility for the financial, contractual, and human-resources management of teams and services within the IT Strategy & Service Management portfolio. They prepare and manage annual and project budgets; oversee procurement of service-management, digital-workflow, and portfolio-governance tools; and steward multi-year planning for platform sustainability and service-delivery evolution.

 

Minimum Qualifications

 

EDUCATION

University degree in a relevant field, (e.g., Business, Computer Science, Engineering), or equivalent combination of education and experience, with formal project management training.  Certification and formal training in recognized service methodologies such as ITIL, Service Design, and project management are an asset. MBA, PMP designation or similar accreditation is an asset. 

 

EXPERIENCE

Minimum 10 years direct related work experience in a high-volume, client-focused/client-success environment. Management experience over diversely skilled unionized and non-unionized staff in addition to an understanding of human resources best practices. Proven ability to translate technical requirements into business language and client requirements into technical language. Strong competency in service desk management and  ITSM software in academic and administrative offices, project management methods, PC AND Mac environments, popular mobile devices, configuration issues, protocols for securing information, awareness and understanding of current institutional academic environment.  Knowledge and experience with standard project methodologies and tools .  Experience at working both independently and in a team-oriented, collaborative environment is essential.  Experience negotiating with service providers, establishing and monitoring service level agreements.  Experience with data analysis, business process analysis and optimizing business processes an asset.  Sound knowledge of information technology security management and risk management an asset. Experience leading and managing staff, preferably in a unionized environment, and building and maintaining effective working relationships with diverse groups. Experience with developing and monitoring budgets, and forecasting cost. Knowledge and understanding of ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) preferred.  Experience with construction projects an asset.  Experience within a higher education environment is preferred.

 

SKILLS

Exceptional analytical, evaluative and technical problem-solving skills; excellent research, presentation and report writing skills.  Excellent team leadership and conflict resolution skills.  Strong interpersonal skills.  Excellent oral and written communication skills and the ability to deal effectively with a wide range of contacts and to write effective documents, proposals and reports.   Proven IT project management skills including:  project management methodology, research, planning and organizational skills, budget preparation and stewardship.

 

OTHER

Negotiating ability for working with resources from within the I&ITS department as well as leveraging assistance and knowledge of Central and Divisional Information Technology units. Ability to anticipate resource shortages and proactively engaging with clients to prevent crisis situations.  Proven people and relationship manager able to build an exceptional and dedicated support team, and a strong communicator who will establish regular and consistent communications with stakeholders advising on projects, performance, and opportunities for advancing services.  Demonstrated leadership qualities, ability to develop and carry out new initiatives and pilots, with a strong customer service ethic, handle multiple tasks simultaneously, work within budget.  Knowledge of customer service and support principles and practices.  Can conform to shifting priorities, demands and timelines through analytical and problem-solving capabilities.  Ability to elicit cooperation from a wide variety of sources, including upper management, clients, and other departments.  Adept at conducting research into project-related issues and products.  Must be able to learn, understand, and apply new technologies. Ability to effectively prioritize and execute tasks in a high-pressure environment is crucial. 

 

 

Closing Date: 03/23/2026,11:59PM ET
Employee Group: Salaried 
Personnel Subarea:PM
Appointment Type: Budget - Continuing 
Schedule: Full-Time
Pay Scale Group & Hiring Zone: PM 6 -- Hiring Zone: $132,351 - $154,409 -- Broadband Salary Range: $132,351 - $220,587
Job Category: Information Technology (IT)

Diversity Statement

The University of Toronto embraces Diversity and is building a culture of belonging that increases our capacity to effectively address and serve the interests of our global community. We strongly encourage applications from Indigenous Peoples, Black and racialized persons, women, persons with disabilities, and people of diverse sexual and gender identities. We value applicants who have demonstrated a commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion and recognize that diverse perspectives, experiences, and expertise are essential to strengthening our academic mission.

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Accessibility Statement

The University strives to be an equitable and inclusive community, and proactively seeks to increase diversity among its community members. Our values regarding equity and diversity are linked with our unwavering commitment to excellence in the pursuit of our academic mission.

The University is committed to the principles of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). As such, we strive to make our recruitment, assessment and selection processes as accessible as possible and provide accommodations as required for applicants with disabilities.

If you require any accommodations at any point during the application and hiring process, please contact uoft.careersutoronto.ca .

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