Senior Policy Advisor

at  Ministry of Transportation

The Province is recruiting top talent to deliver on the government’s ambitious transit policy mandate that includes delivering on strategic governance and policy oversight of Metrolinx, the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission, the Owen Sound Transportation Company, and building and maintaining strong relationships across the agencies, ministry and partner ministries. Consider joining our team in this exciting role in the Metrolinx and Agencies Oversight Branch where you will have a direct impact in influencing transit and transportation across the province.
You will provide strategic advice and recommendations to the ministry’s senior management in a fast-paced and changing environment. You will conduct research and provide analysis on the development and implementation of policies and programs in relation to provincial agency oversight and governance.

POLICY AND PROGRAM KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS

• You have the ability to lead all aspects of policy and program development, implementation and evaluation, including options and recommendation, legislative documents, Cabinet and Treasury Board/Management Board of Cabinet submissions, and stakeholder consultations
• You have a good understanding of government decision making and policy development processes
• You have the ability to analyse and interpret legislation, evaluate governance issues, and develop innovative approaches to governance, oversight and policy development
• You can provide strategic advice, expertise, and technical support to senior management on a broad range of contentious and technical issues and related economic impacts and develop strategies and recommendations.

RESEARCH, ANALYTICAL AND PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS

• You can plan, develop, provide strong analysis, and execute transportation policy advice, legislation and regulations
• You know techniques for managing issues and risks and can use political acuity to work towards effective resolution of potentially critical and sensitive issues
• You can evaluate competing interests of stakeholders to identify issues and provide options
• You can identify and prioritize complex issues and concerns

COMMUNICATION AND INTERPERSONAL SKILLS

• You have consultation skills to identify areas of concern and discuss and resolve problems
• You have partnership and consensus building skills to develop effective partnerships with stakeholders
• You have oral and written communication skills to provide expert advice, prepare reports, present advice and to discuss policies and directions with senior management

PROJECT MANAGEMENT SKILLS

• You have project management and planning skills to plan, organize and execute transportation projects with multi-disciplinary project teams
• You can lead projects, including determining human resource and financial requirements and supervising staff
• You can effectively manage multiple projects and deadlines within a high-demand work environment

In this role, you will:

• Lead all aspects of policy and program development and evaluation and provide advice on strategic, policy and corporate oversight of Metrolinx, the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission and other provincial agencies
• Lead development of legislation and regulations and advise on provincial transportation and agency governance policies and issues, in support of provincial transit priorities
• Work collaboratively across the ministry to plan, lead and execute strategic cross-agency initiatives that strengthen accountability, communication, and decision-making processes, bolstering ministry oversight.
• Develop and maintain strong relationships across the agency and ministry
• Regularly provide policy advice to senior management and staff through briefings reports and presentations