About Open North

Founded in 2011, Open North is Canada’s leading not-for-profit organization specialized in open data and open government, community engagement, and open smart cities. Our mission is to drive research, capacity-building and network collaboration across and within sectors to advance the responsible and effective use of data & technology in order to achieve our vision of data and technology that empower transparent, accountable and inclusive communities. With a multidisciplinary team of 15 staff (+ expert advisors) and an annual budget of $1M+, we work with the most innovative and connected communities in Canada and internationally. Through our service offering, we are called upon to support our partners develop and implement data governance models, lead collaborative data sharing initiatives, develop strategic plans and operational roadmaps, and train communities on a range of open smart city topics (eg. data management, open procurement, digital inclusion, and ethical AI). As an established international leader, our research and practitioners networks extend across the country and globally.

The Opportunity

OpenNorth is looking for a Program Officer with program management, evaluation and capacity development experience related to urban issues and data systems. Experience working on the use of data and technologies in municipal contexts is considered an asset.
Funded by the Government of Canada, Evergreen, working in partnership with Open North, their Future Cities Canada collaborative platform and numerous non-profit institutions, foundations and stakeholders across Canada, is leading capacity development and advisory service activities for the Community Solutions Network (CSN). The funding supports capacity-building services on the topic of Open Smart Cities for communities of all sizes nationwide, including the establishment of a national advisory service for open and smart communities and cities. Open North is the Lead Technical Partner of this consortium responsible for the advisory services.
The Advisory Service provides high-value advice to our municipal audience: we connect communities of all sizes with a diverse roster of leading Canadien and international expert advisors. The Advisory Service also offers communities access to workshops and webinars, in addition to a learning management system with e-learning courses across various domains. Given the changing working conditions under Covid-19, our online platform allows communities to access learning opportunities remotely.

• Data (sample courses: implementing an open data policy and open contracting data standards for procurement)
• Governance (sample courses : protecting resident data and privacy, assessing smart city infrastructure for privacy and security and social procurement solutions)
• Hardware and Software (sample courses: fundamentals of open source policy, introduction to AI)
• People and engagement (sample courses: fundamentals of resident engagement in open smart cities and digital literacy for residents)

As part of the Open North team and working in close coordination with Evergreen and program partners, the successful candidate will be responsible for the successful delivery of Open North’s advisory services intake. Under the supervision of Manager of the Advisory Services, the successful candidate will lead Open North’s in-take activities, collect and analyse data on Canadian communities, and coordinate with the Evergreen team on select program activities such as communications. The Program Officer is expected to be located in Montreal.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Coordinate intake of the Advisory Service, resulting in successful handover and onboarding of clients by Open North’s Montreal team and between communities and advisors
• Develop and deliver questionnaires and surveys to communities to gather and analyze data for program reporting and evaluation
• Supervise tracking and reporting of program metrics
• Contribute to the development, improvement and delivery of online learning materials (courses, guidelines, and templates) on ON and CSN platforms
• Contribute to the creation and review of program support documentation with AS team and stakeholders: structure of the AS and document processes and methodology
• Evaluate needs, make appropriate diagnostics and action plans for select communities using a standard program framework (this responsibility is always collaborative work)
• Track communities’ progress across a set of KPIs throughout Program’s duration
• Create content to guide cities and communities on key open, smart city issues, delivered through: written guides, workshops, webinars and more
• Support and review the delivery of webinars, presentations, workshops and more
• Coordinate project planning and communications between Open North’s team and stakeholders
• Contribute to program-wide reporting
• Communicate program risks and opportunities
• Maintain and strengthen high-quality service delivery standards
• Support engagement with ON team and external stakeholders

The successful candidate must have the following skills and experience:

• Four to six years of experience in Program Management, evaluation and capacity development experience related to urban issues (eg. housing, mobility and food systems) and data systems.
• Experience working on the use of data and technologies in municipal urban and/or rural contexts is considered an asset.
• Experience working with open approaches (eg. open data, open source and open procurement) to smart city solutions is considered a strong asset.
• Perfectly bilingual in French & English (mandatory requirement for the position)
• Ability to communicate effectively to various audience (both verbally and in writing)
• Client relationship management experience
• Graduate degree in a relevant field (eg. political science, public administration, business) required.

The most competitive candidates will also demonstrate one or more of the following skills:

• Problem-solver, oriented towards results and focused on quality
• Work both independently and as a strong team player with an aptitude for working in a collaborative environment
• Experience working with APIs and conducting urban data analysis; programming knowledge is considered an asset
• Exceptional interpersonal, oral and written communication skills
• Strong political sense and the ability to liaise with clients and assist in the definition and articulation of their needs
• Creative, innovative, curious and critical thinker
• Ability to work in fast paced environments, juggling multiple cases with a range of complex situations and needs
• Ability to lead knowledge and capacity building processes in organisations
• Ability to synthesize information from multiple domains of knowledge, outside the candidate’s area of expertise
• Ability to think critically on issues of technology, civic problems, and data, and apply thinking to program delivery
• Process-oriented with a mindset for continual improvement throughout all program activities
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, diplomatic

Work Conditions

• Currently, the whole team is working remotely
• Full-time position (37.5 hours per week), open-ended contract
• Group health insurance (medical and dental, after 3 months)
• Cell phone allowance (after 3 months)
• Option to participate in Group RRSP Plan (after 3 months)
• A great team of smart and dedicated people!

Send your resume and a cover letter to jobs@opennorth.ca before September 7th. Application without a cover letter will not be considered.

Open North is committed to achieving equitable participation in the workforce. We recruit, employ, compensate and promote regardless of race, religion, colour, national origin, sex, disability, age and all the other fascinating characteristics that make us different.