THE COMPANY

The OCS operates the largest legal and centralized wholesale cannabis organization in the world. They provide Ontario adults, aged 19 and older, with safe access to tested and traceable recreational cannabis products. As a Crown agency solely owned by the Province of Ontario, the OCS is mandated to provide a competitive alternative to the illegal market, champion a socially responsible cannabis industry and return its profits to the people of Ontario. Their mission is to enable a vibrant cannabis marketplace through great customer experiences, rooted in selection, service and quality.

The OCS connects Ontario’s network of more than 1,700 Authorized Cannabis Stores – all privately owned and licensed by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) – to thousands of unique cannabis products from Licensed Producers authorized by Health Canada. They also operate OCS.ca, the Province’s online cannabis retail store, which provides consumers in every corner of Ontario with access to legal cannabis products and cannabis education.

THE OPPORTUNITY

Reporting to the President & CEO, the CIO will be a driver of transformation within the OCS – helping to further scale up foundational technologies that enable the continued growth of the legal cannabis marketplace in Ontario.

The CIO is accountable for leading a team of internal and external resources in establishing, maintaining and evolving a network of critical IT applications and infrastructure that support day-to-day functions of the organization – including wholesale, e-commerce, enterprise data & business analytics, and social responsibility. With rapid changes expected to continue in the legal cannabis marketplace in Ontario, the CIO will need to be forward looking in planning and ensuring all systems necessary to support the OCS in its mission of enabling a vibrant cannabis marketplace are in place.

As a relatively new organization, the CIO will give particular attention to developing and nurturing the leadership capabilities of the IT team across all leadership levels. It will also be vital that the CIO continuously strengthen the level of partnership and alignment between the broader IT team and other departments within the OCS to ensure technology integrates effectively with people and processes within the organization.

The CIO will be responsible for keeping up to date with advancements in the field of technology and within the broader cannabis industry - incorporating this knowledge into the planning and execution of IT team.

This is an amazing opportunity to join a passionate, growing, organization responsible for building the infrastructure that will be foundational to the growth of a new legal cannabis industry for years to come.

THE IDEAL CANDIDATE

You are an experienced IT leader and executive with a passion for putting in place and maintaining highly efficient and customer-centric technology systems that drive business outcomes. You thrive in setting clear strategic vision for your team, cultivating talent and leading through change, and driving results from planning through to execution. As a seasoned leader, you’re excited about the opportunity to bring your experience and knowledge to an organization with an ambitious mandate that contributes to the well-being of our province. Your personal values align to the OCS public sector values of pride in service, fiscal responsibility, value for money, service orientation, collaboration and inclusion.

You have a strong background in setting up or transforming an organization’s technology infrastructure – including expert capabilities in developing technology infrastructure strategies to meet business needs, competitively procuring and evaluating technology options, implementing new platforms or replacing platforms, and the exceptional ability to manage technology vendors.

You are highly responsive to the needs of the business and are a proven relationship builder. You have a strong ability to drive results that improve operations and efficiencies – resulting in measurable value creation for your business partners and the organization’s customers and stakeholders. You have a successful track record of hiring top talent and developing highly productive teams.

You are humble but confident, curious, decisive, and transparent. You have high integrity; you build trust and quickly win and sustain credibility in relationships with others. Most importantly, you can act as a trusted, honest partner and advisor to the CEO and Executive Team.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategic Leadership and Planning

• As a member of the executive team, make key contributions to the formulation of the company’s annual Business Plan and supporting technology and digital strategies.
• Proactively advise the executive team on the emerging technologies and digital trends that are most relevant to the organization’s plan.
• Develop and oversee the execution of transparent and competitive IT procurements, along with effective vendor management of existing IT vendors, aligned with the policies and directives of the public sector – including particular attention to the principles of fiscal responsibility and value for money.
• Help determine capital investment parameters, priorities, and risks for enterprise-wide IT initiatives to maximize the return on investment.
• Measuring and tracking the impact of IT projects and initiatives on the organization’s overall performance.

Technology Leadership

• Maintaining and proactively communicating a clear IT vision, strategy, and roadmap, and lead the IT team and its business partners in effective execution.
• Ensure, on an ongoing basis, that current and planned technical architecture, investments and solutions are aligned with company business objectives.
• Prepare and monitor IT operational budgets that meet prevailing objectives and constraints.
• Maintain a comprehensive enterprise cyber and information security program to ensure the integrity, confidentiality, and availability of relevant OCS data.
• Implement best-practices for effective IT organizational design that engages and delivers for all business areas within the organization.
• Establish and oversee strategic outsourcing partnerships ensuring strong ROI and service standards are met.
• Develop transparent and comprehensive reports for the SLT and Board of Directors on the progress of key technology initiatives and areas of relevance.
• Ability to collaborate with business partners to guide project teams in the deployment of agile, waterfall or hybrid practices as best suited to meet the objectives and risk tolerance of the organization.

People Leadership

• Hire, develop, evaluate, reward, and retain a highly qualified team of leaders IT professionals.
• Foster a culture of rapid execute, value for money, fiscal responsibility, innovation, transparency, and accountability in IT.
• Promote a “business-first” mentality at all levels of the IT organization that is clear on the outcomes the team is enabling for internal and external customers and stakeholders.
• Ensure that the organization has strong systems analysis and project management skills, and the ability to execute business-critical projects.
• Develop and maintain a plan that provides for succession and continuity in the most critical IT management positions.

PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE

• 20+ years of senior level experience including a minimum of 5 years at Executive level.
• Experience leading an agile development organization.
• Excellent knowledge of IT systems and infrastructure.
• Experience managing a sizeable outsourcing partnership and robust vendor management.
• A strong strategic and business mindset with proven experience in consumer packaged goods, wholesaling, retailing or cannabis.
• Solid understanding of data analysis, budgeting, and business operations.
• Superior analytical and problem-solving capabilities.
• Excellent organizational and leadership skills.
• Outstanding communication and interpersonal abilities – with a particular attention to drafting and presenting reports and presentations appropriate for executive and Board audiences.

EDUCATION

• BSc/BA in computer science, engineering, or relevant field
• Advanced degree in a related field, such as computer science, engineering and/or business (MBA) would be an asset.