Program Chief - Partnerships

Your Opportunity:

This role exists to fundamentally shift how Emergency Health Services (EHS) builds and sustains partnerships—moving from historically positional, transactional contract management toward a relationship first, outcomes driven model where trust, transparency, and shared accountability are the foundation of effective agreements.The Program Chief sets the tone, expectations, and operating culture for how partnerships are formed, governed, and sustained across EHS, ensuring that formal contracts are used to confirm and codify strong partnerships, not substitute for them. The Program Chief is accountable for the leadership, performance outcomes, and strategic alignment of all areas within their portfolio, while fostering a positive, client-focused, and collaborative work environment. They will operate with a high degree of autonomy within established strategic direction, exercising independent judgement on partnership structures, workforce models, and contract strategies.

Description:

The Program Chief provides senior leadership and strategic oversight for a province wide portfolio supporting partnerships and contracts, staffing services, and recruitment, hiring, and onboarding within Emergency Health Services. The role ensures consistent, sustainable workforce and partnership practices that support service continuity, fiscal accountability, and organizational priorities. Key responsibilities include leading and strengthening partnerships with municipalities, service providers, Indigenous partners, provincial health organizations, legal, finance, vendors, and other interest holders. The Program Chief oversees contract and procurement activities, ensures effective contract lifecycle management, and embeds structured change management practices across partnership and workforce initiatives. The role leads provincial staffing services, including scheduling, timekeeping, and frontline staffing support, and oversees recruitment, hiring, onboarding, and position management to ensure long term sustainability. The Program Chief ensures standardization and compliance across staffing, hiring, contracts, documentation, and systems, and provides financial oversight, including responsibility for the ground services contract agreement budget. The Program Chief resolves complex operational, workforce, and partnership issues, provides people leadership including performance management and discipline, and plans and manages a diverse province wide workforce aligned with strategic, operational, and budget priorities. In collaboration with the Chief of Transformation, Assets and Partnerships, the role leads development and execution of partnership portfolio plans and directs resolution of high risk, high impact issues.

Baccalaureate degree in health sciences, public safety, leadership, public administration, or business administration.

Minimum seven years of progressive leadership experience with accountability for system level strategy, change execution, and performance across multiple programs. Proven leadership experience in complex, multi stakeholder and regulated environments. Demonstrated success leading organizational change, including service redesign, workforce transformation, and changes to operating or governance models. Strong understanding of provincial contract management and procurement, including contract lifecycle management, financial oversight, compliance, and risk. Working knowledge of regulatory and legislative environments, collective agreements, and staffing, scheduling, timekeeping, and hiring practices in unionized or regulated settings. Strong analytical, problem solving, and communication skills, with the ability to present complex issues clearly, exercise sound judgment, and make decisions in high risk or politically sensitive environments. Demonstrated ability to lead through influence, build trust-based partnerships, and maintain a strong focus on consistent, high quality service delivery.

Master’s degree in health administration, leadership, public safety, public administration, or business administration. Senior leadership experience in healthcare, emergency services, public safety, or government adjacent systems is preferred. Experience overseeing or working closely with contract management functions in service delivery settings is an asset.