Innovation Solutions Lead (Hybrid)

at  Workplace Safety and Insurance Board

Under the direction of the Innovation Lab Manager, the Innovation Solutions Lead manages and mentors multidisciplinary teams within the Innovation Lab and internal WSIB teams to drive forward the deployment of innovative ideas, new technologies and advanced solutions that drive the Innovation vision and agenda of the WSIB. The Innovation Solutions Lead supervises a team of co-op students employed for 4-to-16-month terms and employed into a specific discipline (Full Stack Developers, UX/UI Designers, Communication and Engagement Specialists).
To enable the innovation vision, the Innovation Solutions Lead integrates a strong business acumen, knowledge of innovation trends, emerging technologies, and expertise in either design or development related areas.
Using their skills in one of the two distinct technical areas of the Innovation program this role can; act as a Development Lead for the Lab overseeing technical development and data operations and projects or act as a Design Lead for the Lab to be the advocate of the various users of a solution and overseeing the solution design process to meet client needs.
Both roles work hand in hand to promote the cumulative success of Innovation projects and to ensure the Innovation Centres maintain relevancy for the WSIB. The Solutions Lead collaborates, as required, to steer the Innovation Centres towards creative, disruptive and valued solutions for WSIB while developing and maintaining business and communication linkages, acting as a trusted advisor both internally with leaders in the business and IT delivery teams, operational teams, and externally with WSIB stakeholders and vendors.
This role is responsible for brainstorming, researching, designing, architecting and developing prototypes and assisting the WSIB Innovation program in the creation of innovative solutions, while utilizing emerging technologies. With these technical capabilities, this role spans from exploring and designing human-centered innovations all the way to implementing these ideas with hands-on expertise around software development, data science and technology innovations for the benefit for all WSIB employees and customers.
This role has authority over the planning, development, delivery, and management of Innovation enterprise programs, products, and services. As well as supporting the Innovation Lab Manager on defining both the short-term and long-term strategy for WSIB’s Innovation program.

JOB REQUIREMENTS:

1) Education requirements:

1. Innovation Practice

• Establish standards for the Innovation program work and approaches to developing human-centered and advanced full-stack solutions. Identify gaps in the current approach and actively work to refine technology models to ensure inclusive and participatory design practices are being met. Proactively seek out new methods and best practices to ensure the Innovation program is at the forefront of new practices to be able to influence the future state of technology solutions and user interactions.Guide how design or development is conducted in the Lab and how co-op students operate through projects that provide user experience or software development expertise to the business and influence behavior shifts. Serve as a subject matter expert via workshops, particularly through ideation, and problem defining. Co-lead cross-functional teams to create concepts and prototypes, which can go through the process of testing these outputs to enable further iteration and idea validation.Ensure the Lab solutions meet Digital Service and Performance Standards and apply principles that help to maximize the usability and value for users while pushing the design to leapfrog outdated designs and technology stacks.
• DESIGN PRACTICE:Develop an expert understanding of the various users’ needs and champion these in the delivery of PoCs by engaging with leadership, customers, project teams, and stakeholders through a range of channels to gain necessary insights to inform the end solution. Advocate for users by acting as their liaison to the Lab, ensuring their needs are brought forward.
• DEVELOPMENT PRACTICE:Develop an in-depth technical understanding of WSIB’s best practices, solutions, architectures, and roadmaps and be able to analyze the approach from the Lab’s external viewpoint to see the opportunities for collaboration and disruption. Drive the technical operations and developments of Innovation projects or technical innovation capabilities.

1. Innovation Consultation & Facilitation

• Lead the effective planning, development, and implementation of Corporate Proof of Concepts (PoC), Lab Research and Development, and other initiatives involved with development and design consultation which can include:
• Creating a vision and proposal for solutions that understand the user’s technical needs and present this proposal for business buy-in
• For the Design practice this also includes Innovation expertise around
• Developing and facilitating custom design-thinking workshops enabling the business to accurately identify their problem space
• Collaborating with key stakeholders to gather and prioritize requirements
• Developing and facilitating user research plans that support Corporate PoCs and Labe R&D initiatives
• Analyzing data and findings to produce system and user experience themes and trends
• Architecting new PoCs that resolve the business’s problem space and improve the user experience
• For the Development practice this includes Innovation expertise around
• Architecting new PoCs that resolve the technical challenges for the business and meet designs vision for the solution
• Developing RFP and PoC evaluations of technologies, tools, and services that are shared with business and IT stakeholders
• Researching and evaluating emerging technologies working in collaboration with Enterprise Architecture and vendors to inform suggestions and proposals for new PoCs
• Build and sustain various relationships within IT, business, external vendors and forge new partnerships for the Lab. Ensure the vendor community is familiar with the innovation team and its capabilities, repository of work, and technical expertise. When required, leverage these vendor relationships to lead and manage the execution of projects which will advance their outcomes.

1. Strategy & Execution:

• Participate with the Innovation Lab Manager in developing short and long-term business plans and setting goals and objective for the Innovation Strategy which support and align with WSIB’s strategic direction.
• Utilize design thinking approaches and architecture and software design methods to inform the strategic direction and priorities for the Innovation Lab against the Innovation Vision set by the Innovation Activator. Provide recommendations, advice, analysis, and briefings to the Innovation Activator to promote a human-centered innovation strategy and a software development innovation strategy for the user of the solution explored, as well as, the stakeholder experience with the Lab.
• Assist with supporting the growth of an innovation culture at the WSIB. Maintain effective working relationships developed through these engagements internally with stakeholders across the organization to identify needs, discuss various initiatives that would benefit from engaging with the Innovation Lab. Present these proposed initiative spaces to the Innovation Lab Manager to help inform the composition of the yearly Innovation Lab plan.
• Support the overall maturing of the innovation vision and research and development focus through actively presenting the direction of the Lab and project outputs to influence WSIB stakeholders from the C-Suite level to implementation across the WSIB.

1. Leadership

• Plan, manage and control the day-to-day work of the team within the Innovation Lab which includes annual planning of team projects and priorities, ensuring each team is adequately staffed, identifying resource requirements, conducting the hiring process for co-op / temporary staff, establishing and monitoring performance objectives, conducing performance reviewing and providing guidance and expertise to staff.
• Work with the other Innovation Lab Leads to develop an innovative and supportive team culture to allow for the co-op students to grow into their roles and perform at the quality and pace the Innovation Lab expects its staff to operate at.

1. Innovation Research & Analytics

• Research external trends and links to external practices, recommend industry best practices and methods, and contribute to and attend forums to maintain and promote the professional practice and methodology to all those interesting in innovation consulting.
• Create a center of expertise for Innovation knowledge. This includes:
• Gathering industry wide research and best practices to share and communicate
• Influence the work processes and programs across the WSIB.