Manager, Strategic Initiatives, Family Medicine

Primary Purpose: The Manager, Strategic Initiatives provides project and implementation management for priority initiatives within the Department of Family Medicine. Reporting to the Director, Operations Administration, the Manager supports the implementation of approved departmental priorities by translating organizational direction into structured implementation plans and coordinating the activities required to move initiatives forward. The Manager may serve as the operational implementation lead for selected departmental initiatives such as new residency training sites, program expansion, implementation of new systems, operational transitions, and other priorities requiring coordination across multiple academic and operational areas. The position provides the structure, coordination, monitoring, and follow-through required to keep complex initiatives on track. The Manager works closely with academic and operational leaders to coordinate responsibilities, timelines, dependencies, risks, and implementation requirements and to ensure that issues requiring leadership direction or decision are identified and escalated appropriately. Nature of Work: The Department of Family Medicine operates within a complex, provincially distributed academic and clinical environment involving multiple programs, training sites, operational portfolios, and internal and external partners. The Manager, Strategic Initiatives works across these areas to support the coordinated implementation of departmental priorities. The work is varied and frequently involves multiple stakeholders, interdependent activities, competing priorities, and defined implementation timelines. The position provides project and implementation leadership for assigned strategic initiatives but does not assume ongoing ownership of the operational functions involved. Functional accountability remains with the appropriate academic or operational portfolio, with initiatives transitioned to the responsible portfolio once implementation is complete. The position requires a high degree of organization, initiative, judgment, and follow-through, with the ability to manage multiple initiatives, maintain momentum, identify risks and barriers, and escalate matters requiring leadership direction. The Manager works independently within established priorities while maintaining close collaboration with the Director, Operations Administration, academic leadership, operational managers, and organizational partners. Accountabilities: Strategic Initiative Implementation Coordinate the implementation of priority departmental initiatives, including new residency sites, Direct Entry, program expansion, operational transitions, new systems, and other initiatives approved or assigned by Department leadership. Develop and maintain implementation plans, timelines, responsibilities, milestones, and dependencies and coordinate activities across academic and operational portfolios to support successful implementation. Project Planning and Coordination Provide project management and coordination for assigned departmental initiatives. Develop project charters, work plans, implementation schedules, and supporting documentation; coordinate project meetings and working groups; monitor deliverables and action items; and ensure appropriate follow-up across project participants. Operational Readiness Coordinate operational readiness for new programs, sites, systems, and operational changes. Work with responsible portfolios to identify and coordinate administrative, human resource, financial, infrastructure, technology, policy, communication, and other implementation requirements. Identify gaps or barriers, coordinate resolution with the responsible portfolio, and support transition to ongoing operational ownership following implementation. Monitoring, Risk and Reporting Monitor the progress of assigned initiatives, including timelines, milestones, dependencies, risks, issues, and outstanding decisions. Provide regular implementation updates to the Director, Operations Administration and identify matters requiring leadership direction, decision, or escalation. Research and Implementation Support Conduct research, environmental scans, implementation assessments, and analysis required to support the planning and implementation of assigned initiatives. Prepare project documentation, process maps, briefing materials, reports, and other supporting information required by the Director, Operations Administration and Department leadership. Collaboration and Transition Work collaboratively with academic leaders, operational managers, project teams, and internal and external partners to coordinate implementation activities and maintain alignment across participating areas. Support the transition of completed initiatives into ongoing operations by confirming responsibilities, outstanding actions, documentation, and handoff to the appropriate academic or operational portfolio. Qualifications Education: Completion of a relevant undergraduate degree in business administration, health administration, project management, public administration, education, or a related discipline. A combination of education and experience may be considered. Additional education or certification related to project management or change management is considered an asset. Experience: A minimum of five years of related experience in project management, operational implementation, program administration, or organizational initiatives within a complex environment is required. Experience within a post-secondary, healthcare, or medical education environment is considered an asset. Experience coordinating complex initiatives involving multiple stakeholders, operational areas, or organizational partners is required. Knowledge of the University of Saskatchewan and Saskatchewan Health Authority policy and procedures is required. Requires a high degree of understanding of University and Saskatchewan Health Authority structure, policies and processes. Experience working in diverse and inclusive environments is required. Skills: This position requires strong project-management, organizational, analytical, facilitation, and communication skills. The successful candidate will demonstrate the ability to organize complex initiatives, establish clear implementation plans, coordinate multiple workstreams, monitor timelines and deliverables, identify risks and dependencies, and maintain consistent follow-through. The role requires strong interpersonal skills and the ability to establish effective working relationships with academic leaders, operational managers, faculty, staff, and internal and external partners. The successful candidate must demonstrate sound judgment and the ability to identify issues requiring escalation, communicate project risks clearly, and provide accurate and timely information to leadership. Strong written communication skills are required, including the ability to prepare project plans, reports, briefing materials, implementation documentation, and status updates. The position requires a proactive, self-directed approach and demonstrated ability to manage multiple initiatives with competing priorities and deadlines. The successful candidate must be comfortable working in an environment where priorities evolve and must demonstrate flexibility, problem-solving ability, attention to detail, and a strong commitment to completing assigned work. Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications and experience using project-management, collaboration, data visualization, or workflow tools is considered an asset. Travel may be required to support implementation activities across the Department's distributed training sites. Inquiries regarding this position can be directed to Jaclyn Randall at <[email hidden]> .