Job ID: 65820
Job Category: Policy, Planning & Research
Division & Section: Employment & Social Services, E&SS Strategic Program Management
Work Location: Metro Hall, 55 John St, Toronto, ON. M5V 3C6
Job Type & Duration: Full-time, Temporary (12 month) vacancy
Salary Range: $105,241.00 - $160,649.00
Shift Information: Monday to Friday, 35 hours per week (Hybrid)
Affiliation: Non-Union
Number of Positions Open: 1
Posting Period: 22-Jul-2026 to 06-Aug-2026
Job Description
Toronto Employment & Social Services provides employment supports, financial benefits, and social supports to people living in Toronto. Our vision is to strengthen the social and economic well-being of Torontonians in their communities.
As a Policy Development Officer, you will provide strategic policy leadership and expert advice to divisional senior management and a broad range of TESS stakeholders, including operational leaders, program and project teams, and community partners, on complex social policy issues, emerging trends, program design, service modernization, and government relations.
As a member of the Strategic Planning, Research, and Engagement unit, you will lead and support projects;; advance the goals articulated in the City’s Poverty Reduction Strategy; engage with residents, staff, researchers, and stakeholders; monitor, analyze and develop policies impacting low-income residents; recommend innovative service design approaches; and facilitate strategic planning processes – all with the goal of improving the supports and services available to Toronto residents facing poverty, financial hardship, and barriers to economic inclusion.
Policy analysis and development
- Leads strategic policy analysis and development processes by formulating and recommending new policies and approaches and detailed implementation plans to support the delivery of programs and services.
- Applies an equity lens to policies, programs, and strategies, ensuring strategic alignment with actions outlined in the Reconciliation Action Plan and the Toronto Action Plan to Confront Anti- Black Racism, and assesses the impact of proposed changes on various community groups including Indigenous, Black, racialized, newcomer, 2SLGBTQ, and low-income residents.
- Provides expert interpretation of federal, provincial, and municipal strategies, policy, and legislation, identifies the impact of changes or new initiatives, and recommends opportunities for improved service planning and delivery.
- Monitors and analyzes provincial and federal policy developments and maintains effective relationships with government partners to support advocacy and system transformation opportunities.
Engagement/consultation
- Undertakes consultation with stakeholders and leads public consultation processes.
- Fosters strategic partnerships and builds effective working relationships with service providers, Indigenous organizations, Black-mandated/Black-led/Black-serving organizations, organizations serving other equity-deserving groups (i.e. refugees, newcomers, 2SLGBTQ+ residents, youth,
- etc.), community and social sector stakeholders, City divisions, other orders of government, and elected officials.
- Plans and carries out presentations and consultations with community and sector stakeholders, technical consultants, members of the public, and other groups, as appropriate, to develop new policies and programs, and ensure awareness of existing and emerging issues and concerns.
- Liaises with cluster and corporate partners to maintain strategic alignment and oversight across all areas that impact divisional work, priorities, and clients.
- Participates in various committees and acts as a divisional representative.
Research, writing, and evaluation
- Researches, analyzes and evaluates policies/programs.
- Leads and directly conducts ongoing research (qualitative and quantitative) and analysis of trends and activities related to poverty, homelessness, income security, and related services to provide information and identify emerging issues and opportunities to senior management.
- Leads the interpretation and synthesis of administrative, demographic, and socio-economic data to identify trends, evaluate outcomes, and support evidence-informed decision-making.
- Embeds the collection, analysis, and reporting of disaggregated socio-demographic data into projects to inform divisional projects.
- Applies evaluation best practices to develop targets, criteria, and outcomes to measure the effectiveness and outcomes of programs and policies.
- Monitors the implementation of policies and programs and evaluates their ongoing impact through identifying and operationalizing metrics, targets, and outcome measures using a human- centered design, and data-informed approach.
- Develops and interprets research and analysis tools and databases to support evidence-informed decision-making.
- Prepares & present Council reports, research analysis, major funding requests, briefing notes, presentations, and other policy reports/recommendations, as required, by senior management and consistent with unit, divisional, and corporate priorities and strategic directions.
Project management/implementation
- Manages project teams to research, prepare, and develop strategies for integrating programs and services.
- Collaborates with project team members, ensuring effective teamwork, high standards of work quality and organizational performance, continuous learning, and encouraging innovation in others.
- Applies project management skills in the leadership of staff teams on projects related to policy development, implementation, and evaluation.
- Champions the implementation of policies and programs leading to positive outcomes for equity- deserving groups and applies an intersectional, equity-driven analysis to project planning and evaluation.
- Develops and manages project budgets, requests for proposals, and service contracts with external consultants and other partners.
Key Qualifications:
Your application must describe your qualifications as they relate to:
- Post-secondary education in public policy, public administration, social science, or related discipline or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
- Considerable experience with research methodologies (quantitative and qualitative) and using evidence to support policy and program development, and evaluation.
- Considerable experience in policy and strategy development including experience advancing knowledge translation between research, policy, and operations.
- Considerable experience with project management including project design, development, and implementation.
- Considerable experience in community engagement/consultation processes, including relationship-building, facilitation, consensus-building, and conflict resolution.
- Experience using data analysis and visualization tools to support policy development, program evaluation, and strategic planning.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
- Ability to communicate with a broad range of internal and external stakeholders, senior management, and political representatives through preparing reports, and delivering effective presentations.
- Able to work independently, and collaboratively in a team environment to produce high-quality work.
- Highly developed strategic, organizational, analytical, and conceptual thinking skills with the capacity to understand complex operating and policy issues, and performance measures, as well as the ability to respond to emerging issues.
Note To Current City of Toronto Employees
City of Toronto employees are eligible to apply for the posted job opportunity, but cannot hold two different jobs. To be considered for this job posting, you must indicate that you are a "Current City of Toronto employee" on the on-line application form, and provide your "Employee Number".
The City is an equal opportunity employer, dedicated to creating a workplace culture of inclusiveness that reflects the diverse residents that we serve. Learn more about the City’s commitment to employment equity.
The City of Toronto is committed to creating an accessible and inclusive organization. We are committed to providing barrier-free and accessible employment practices in compliance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). Should you require Code-protected accommodation through any stage of the recruitment process, please make them known when contacted and we will work with you to meet your needs. Disability-related accommodation during the application process is available upon request. Learn more about the City’s Hiring Policies and Accommodation Process.
