Solution Manager Product Delivery (Hybrid)

at  Workplace Safety and Insurance Board

The Solution Manager, Product Delivery is responsible for oversight of an assigned product delivery team(s), with an assigned portfolio of applications, on a day to day basis. In this role, the Solution Manager, Product Delivery will manage and coordinate the software delivery lifecycle for all work (projects, operational, etc.) associated with the applications and their backlogs.
Accountable on an ongoing basis for shaping the short and long term plans for the portfolio of applications under assignment, in alignment with the broader IT technology roadmap, IT Client Engagement, and key business stakeholders. The role is responsible for influencing the direction of both divisional and cluster strategies, including opportunities to leverage key vendor partnership to further optimize the application management of the solution portfolio.
Manage a holistic view of all the applications and their product backlogs (enhancements, defects, technical debt, etc.), inclusive of IT/Corporate projects assigned to the Product Delivery teams. Responsible for developing the delivery plans for the Product Team, managing the deliverables, financials, resourcing, challenges, and governance associated with the teams work and successful delivery of its priorities and commitments.
As the Delivery Lead for the Product Team, the role is the single point of contact for the team members on a day to day basis and is responsible for removing barriers for the team, gathering feedback, and leading improvements in the team’s way of working. In addition, the role works closely with their IT Service Delivery Manager, Client Engagement, and Delivery Director, and other ITC management and WSIB strategic vendors to build and maintain collaborative, trusting relationships.This role is on the automation team which is responsible for delivering and maintaining intelligent automation and RPA solutions to business partners across WSIB.

JOB REQUIREMENTS:

1) Education requirements:

5. Internal Stakeholders

• Engage with IT Client Engagement, Service Delivery Managers & Directors, as appropriate, to develop a positive relationship, set clear expectations, and maintain communication with clients and peer groups within the WSIB ITC organization.
• Proactively seeking client feedback on satisfaction level of services and remediate delivery gaps within the product delivery team and its committed priorities.
• Manage issue resolution and communication of results to groups within the WSIB ITC organization.
• Oversee and provide system and financial consumption information to consumers and provide recommendations on further optimization of outsourced and managed services opportunities

1. Operations & Governance Oversight

• Leading an assigned product delivery team and portfolio of applications including configuration and development, operational and governance responsibilities to deliver high level of quality, availability and reliability.
• Responsible for the overall backlog of the applications within scope (incidents, problems, service requests, and implementation of enhancements), ensuring quality and compliance to policy, standards, and oversee contractual service levels from suppliers.
• Determine and execute IT staffing capabilities and sourcing strategy based on assessment of defined IT/Corporate commitments for the product delivery team and in scope applications, based on client demand and required skills.
• Lead the internal and external audit exercises for assigned portfolios, such as compliance audits to portfolio specific services, which can include findings around risk and staff compliance gaps and remediation actions that could include further optimization opportunities such as outsourcing of existing or new services.
• Oversee the technology and people resource capacity management by performing capacity utilization assessments based on client needs, monitoring service consumption, and identifying opportunities for efficiencies leveraging current and/or new external service agreements.
• Maintain a holistic view of all BAU and ITC/Corporate projects for the product delivery team and its application portfolio involving specific services and manage ongoing priorities, challenges, resources allocation, conflicts, and govern the supplier‘s involvement in project delivery activities.
• Spearhead processes by overseeing the creation and review of documents including plans to ensure alignment business, technology and/or production requirements.
• Develop and manage project plans, financial estimates, resourcing estimates, business cases and high-level solution documents.
• Assemble and provide oversight to the product delivery teams by ensuring the appropriate capacity allocation and skillset required to meet the demands of the work owned by the team (project/initiative or BAU).
• Provide oversight of the technical solutions for high visibility projects, including removing roadblocks, managing escalations, and provide guidance and directions to assigned team.
• Oversee the collection of requirements for projects from corresponding internal clients and other IT stakeholders and make the appropriate recommendations based on input from the product delivery team and other vendor partners.
• Accountable for the negotiation and completion of supplier project delivery contracts and govern the compliance, quality and timeline.
• Ensure that new and updated components are compliant with current WSIB IT standards, that internally managed and externally provided cost, and resource estimation is executed and validated using a standardized approach and tooling.
• Develop, validate, and present resource and cost utilizing standardized methodology and tooling. Oversee the hand-off of practices and/or solutions from project mode to operational state.

1. Business and Strategy

• Accountable for shaping the short and long term plans and strategy for the product delivery team and its portfolio of applications, including responsibility for providing input into the overall divisional strategies.
• Day to day governance of strategic outsourced and managed suppliers related to continuity, service improvement and risk management including budgetary, financial, contractual obligations and resourcing capacity and attrition.
• Execution of overall vision for assigned application portfolio by creating tactical and strategic plans aligned with market conditions for outsourced and managed services, participate in business planning, allocating appropriate resources, and ensuring the team members are aligned.
• Maintain a holistic view of the broader needs of the organization and identify opportunities for continuous improvement to improve quality of the service delivery including automation and elimination of manual processes/activities.
• Identify human capital optimization opportunities, and lead the implementation to improve the delivery efficiency, which includes reduction of manual efforts for delivery team members and clients.
• Engage in proactive risk mitigation activities and actions to prevent service interruption, and degradations.
• Develop yearly budget, review monthly budget forecast, validate invoices, and track actual spent to minimize the financial variances for assigned portfolio based on existing and/or new outsourced and managed services.
• Develop business case for proposed initiatives and support the Service Delivery Manager and/or Director to obtain buy-ins from leadership team on moving forward. Support the Service Delivery Manager on an on-going basis in confidential procurement initiatives which includes strategy on technology or resources that are disruptive and positions the organization to take advantage of emerging technology and external services.
• Accountable for creation of executive reports for the product delivery team and its application portfolio on services for the management and executive teams including status, accomplishments, risks, issues, and KPI, and financial information including business case and ROI opportunities for acquisition or replacement of external services to reduce ongoing operating spend.

1. People

• Identify the capability & skills required to support the Service Delivery Manager in the recruitment process for individual contributor roles within the product delivery team.
• On-going input to the management team on staffing plans including team capacity & composition requirements, based on project and operational demands aligned with the IT roadmap and external market conditions.
• Act as a mentor by providing advice, guidance and direction to individual contributor team members’ day to day work and broader portfolio initiatives.
• Support the development of a positive, cooperative team culture by increasing collaboration with team members.
• Evaluate and improve own performance based on feedback from the management team.
• Engage in self-development activities by continuously improving personal knowledge of new technologies, business competencies, processes, and methodologies to adapt to the changing environment

1. External Stakeholders

• Govern suppliers by participating in various Management committees confirming that expectations are aligned and ensuring the supplier’s services are assembled and initiatives are delivered according to specifications and within the agreed timeline and cost.
• Hold vendors and external suppliers to service level commitments while cultivating and ensuring functional and effective relationships with WSIB
• Continuously monitor the effectiveness of the governance framework, and provide recommendation on to the management team for changes.
• Accountable for the negotiation and completion of supplier end-to-end project delivery contracts and govern the quality and timeline as per agreements.
• Monitor supplier progress on continuous improvement initiatives and compliance items to ensure adherence to contracts.
• Assess and determine capacity of planned work and initiatives for assigned portfolio which includes determining whether work should be performed by external suppliers or internal resources.

1. Internal Stakeholders

• Engage with IT Client Engagement, Service Delivery Managers & Directors, as appropriate, to develop a positive relationship, set clear expectations, and maintain communication with clients and peer groups within the WSIB ITC organization.
• Proactively seeking client feedback on satisfaction level of services and remediate delivery gaps within the product delivery team and its committed priorities.
• Manage issue resolution and communication of results to groups within the WSIB ITC organization.
• Oversee and provide system and financial consumption information to consumers and provide recommendations on further optimization of outsourced and managed services opportunities.