Skilled Trades Ontario (STO) is a provincial Crown agency responsible for modernizing training and certification and promoting the skilled trades as a rewarding and essential career pathway. Communications and stakeholder engagement are central to STO’s mandate, ensuring clear public understanding, strong industry partnerships, and trust across Ontario.
Skilled Trades Ontario is seeking a hands-on, strategic, and operationally focused leader to serve as its Director, Information Technology.
Director, Information Technology
Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer/Deputy Registrar, the Director, Information Technology will lead STO’s technology operations in a secure, cloud-first environment. The role is accountable for delivering resilient, compliant, and scalable IT services while enabling digital innovation and supporting apprenticeship, certification, and regulatory operations.
This is an important leadership role for a technology leader who can balance strategic planning with hands-on operational oversight. The Director will champion a secure-by-design and digital-by-default approach, embedding cybersecurity, privacy, risk management, and compliance into technology initiatives while fostering innovation, continuous improvement, and the responsible adoption of emerging technologies. The role will also oversee the modernization of STO’s technology platforms and enable a modern digital workplace that supports business agility, automation, collaboration, and client-centred digital services.
Key Responsibilities:
- Execute an IT and digital strategy aligned with STO’s organizational priorities and transformation goals
- Serve as a trusted advisor to executive leadership on technology trends, risks, opportunities, and investment decisions
- Lead IT governance, budgeting, workforce planning, performance management, service planning, and team development
- Ensure compliance with applicable legislation, OPS I&IT directives, GO-ITS standards, organizational policies, and industry best practices
- Oversee enterprise applications, integrations, interoperability, system development lifecycles, platform services, and vendor-supported solutions
- Lead cybersecurity, IT risk management, vulnerability management, incident response, disaster recovery, and business continuity planning
- Establish data governance and data quality frameworks to support secure, compliant, and effective data management practices
- Oversee the design, implementation, modernization, and management of cloud-first environments, including Microsoft Azure
- Drive excellence in IT service management using ITIL-aligned practices across application development, infrastructure, cloud services, service desk, and end-user support
- Establish service levels, KPIs, operational metrics, reporting, and continuous improvement processes
- Manage vendor performance, support procurement and contract management, and ensure value from third-party technology services
- Assess, adopt, and govern AI-enabled tools and automation opportunities that improve productivity, service quality, and risk management
About You
You are an experienced IT leader with strong strategic, operational, cybersecurity, cloud, and service delivery experience. You are comfortable advising senior leaders, managing complex technology environments, leading teams, and ensuring secure, reliable, and compliant IT services in a fast-paced organization.
You bring:
- A collaborative and accountable leadership style, with the ability to build, coach, mentor, and lead a high-performing IT team
- Progressive IT leadership experience in digital, technology-driven, public sector, broader public sector, or similarly complex environments
- Experience leading cloud transformation, cybersecurity, IT operations, enterprise applications, service delivery, governance, vendor management, and modernization initiatives
- Strong knowledge of cloud platforms, particularly Microsoft Azure, with familiarity with AWS or other enterprise cloud services
- Experience with cybersecurity frameworks and best practices, including NIST, COBIT, Zero Trust, identity and access management, and data protection
- Knowledge of ITSM/ITIL processes and tools
- Experience with compliance standards and controls related to privacy, security, records, procurement, and payment environments
- Strong understanding of enterprise systems, networking, infrastructure, automation, endpoint management, monitoring, and modern workplace technologies
- Strong strategic thinking, execution, communication, stakeholder management, and influencing skills
- Experience managing budgets, roadmaps, cross-functional initiatives, vendors, MSPs, and technology partners
- Candidates will typically bring post-secondary education in education, public relations, strategic communications, social services, public administration, business, workforce development, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
Why Join Skilled Trades Ontario
This is an opportunity to play a meaningful role in strengthening Ontario’s skilled trades and apprenticeship system. As Regional Manager, Apprenticeship Services, you will help support apprentice success, build strong regional partnerships, and contribute to a service model that supports employers, apprentices, and communities across Ontario.
Skilled Trades Ontario is committed to building a diverse, inclusive and accessible workplace. Accommodation is available upon request throughout the recruitment process.
Compensation: The salary range for this position is $123,534 to $167,781 to commensurate with experience and qualifications. Starting salary will be based on relevant skills, experience, and internal equity.
Please apply by August 5th, 2026
We thank all applicants for their interest. Only those selected for further consideration will be contacted. If you have questions or require accommodations, please contact Margaret Murphy at 416-237-1500 x.234 or at margaret.murphy@hra.on.ca.
