General Manager, Fort William Historical Park

Bringing Life to History, Strengthening Relationships, Shaping the Future.

The Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Gaming is seeking a forward thinking people leader to serve as General Manager of Fort William Historical Park, one of North America's largest living history attractions and a cornerstone of Northwestern Ontario's tourism, heritage, education, and cultural landscape. Fort William Historical Park welcomes visitors from around the world through immersive historical experiences, major public events, educational programming, conference and hospitality services, the renowned David Thompson Astronomical Observatory, and campground. The Park is also committed to fostering meaningful relationships with Indigenous communities and sharing histories that reflect the enduring cultural contributions, perspectives, and experiences of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Peoples.

As General Manager, you will provide strategic leadership for this multifaceted enterprise, driving innovation, operational excellence, community partnerships, financial sustainability, and organizational performance while advancing reconciliation and strengthening relationships with Indigenous partners, and fostering collaboration with stakeholders, government ministries, and the broader community. You will play a pivotal role in preserving and enhancing the Park's significant historical, cultural, educational, and economic contributions to Ontario and ensuring it continues to deliver exceptional experiences for visitors today and for future generations.

Learn more about Fort William Historic Park: Fort William Historical Park | Bringing Life to History

A career in the Ontario Public Service is driven by a passion for creating a stronger Ontario.

About the job

Reporting to the Assistant Deputy Minister, the General Manager, Fort William Historic Park will:

• Direct, coordinate and control the delivery of services at a tourist attraction and facilitate the development of Fort William Historical Park's strategic directions and corporate values
• Expand tourism experiences in the region and increase the profile of the area as a tourism destination
• Provide strategic leadership and direction for operational liaison and relationship management within the ministry's tourism agencies and attractions portfolio
• Establish and maintain effective relationships and communications to represent the interests, needs and opportunities of heritage attractions with key stakeholders and public.
• Advance reconciliation and build and maintain collaborative relationships with Indigenous partners to incorporate Indigenous cultural contributions, perspectives, and experiences into attraction and its experiences.
• Champion collaboration, engagement, equity, inclusion, accessibility, excellence and employee well-being

What you bring to the team

You are a seasoned people leader with proven abilities in:

• balancing strategic direction-setting with the right level of operational oversight, ensuring strong outcomes
• inspiring, motivating, and developing high-performing, multi-functional teams in a fast-paced operational environment
• leading through transformational change, championing modernization and innovative service-delivery approaches, and taking measured, appropriate risks to advance meaningful improvement
• creating a culture of diversity, inclusion, accessibility, anti-racism, equity, and psychological safety, while strengthening staff stability, morale, and well-being among a diverse team.

Relationship Management and Political Acuity

You are an effective communicator, negotiator, and consensus builder with proven abilities in:

• demonstrating strong political acuity while delivering strategic, confidential, and time-sensitive advice to senior leaders, ministry executives, and government officials
• managing complex, politically sensitive, and high-profile issues involving diverse and sometimes competing interests
• bringing in diverse perspectives, to inform decision-making, innovation, and continuous service improvement
• working collaboratively to advance shared priorities and navigate issues requiring diplomacy, tact, and sound judgement

Job Knowledge

You are a dynamic operational leader with proven:

• understanding of theories, principles, design and practices of heritage conservation and planning, education and tourism experiences
• experience leading the operation of a large cultural attraction or similar facility
• knowledge of current trends and Indigenous and stakeholder interests in the tourism industry and other related sectors
• knowledge of marketing practices, methods and techniques to enhance and attract public events and exhibits and boost visitation/revenues
• knowledge of government priorities, processes and legislation pertaining to the oversight and accountability of attractions
• HR and labour relations experience, including navigating complex workforce issues, workplace challenges, and supporting long-term leadership talent development and retention.

How we support diversity, inclusion and accessibility

We are building an inclusive workforce that reflects the communities we serve. We encourage everyone interested in working with us to apply, including people with disabilities, Indigenous, Black and racialized individuals, as well as people from all ethnicities, cultures, sexual orientations, gender identities and gender expressions.

Our hiring process is accessible, consistent with Ontario's Human Rights Code and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005. We are working to prevent and remove barriers in our hiring processes and can offer accommodation to address specific needs related to Code-protected grounds such as disability, family status and religion. For more information about accommodation during the hiring process please contact ExecutiveAccommodations@ontario.ca. All information discussed related to accommodation will be kept confidential.

Learn more about the work the OPS is doing to create an inclusive, anti-racist, accessible and diverse workplace:

• diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives

#J-18808-Ljbffr