Director of Operations, Vocational Services

Location: Canada (National Scope)

Full-Time | Hybrid |

Position Overview

The Director of Operations, Vocational Services provides national leadership and operational oversight for vocational rehabilitation, career, and employment services across Canada. This role is responsible for translating strategy into execution, ensuring services are delivered consistently, compliantly, and at scale while meeting funder, regulatory, and organizational expectations.

Reporting to the National Director, Vocational Services, the Director of Operations works closely with national and regional leaders to drive service quality, workforce sustainability, performance optimization, and growth. This role balances strategic leadership with hands-on operational accountability, ensuring vocational services are positioned for long-term success across multiple regions, contracts, and service models.

We are seeking a results-driven, systems-oriented leader with deep experience in vocational rehabilitation and employment services, strong operational discipline, and the ability to lead complex, geographically distributed teams.

Key Responsibilities

1. Strategic & Operational Leadership

• Execute the national vocational services strategy in alignment with corporate objectives, funder requirements, and regulatory obligations.
• Serve as a senior subject matter expert and operational advisor on vocational rehabilitation, career and employment services, and complex contract or client issues.
• Partner with executive and senior leaders to align operations, workforce planning, and growth priorities.
• Provide leadership support to provincial leaders, regional directors, clinic leaders, and national vocational services teams.

2. Operational Execution & Governance

• Oversee national vocational service operations to ensure consistent, high-quality service delivery across regions, clinics, and contracts.
• Establish and maintain standardized service delivery models, workflows, governance frameworks, and escalation processes.
• Ensure compliance with professional standards, organizational policies, and applicable federal, provincial, and municipal legislation.
• Monitor referral pathways, file management, and service flow, resolving complex operational or stakeholder issues as required.

3. Performance, Growth & Financial Accountability

• Drive growth initiatives and service expansion across vocational, career, and employment services.
• Develop, monitor, and analyze KPIs related to service quality, outcomes, referral volumes, capacity utilization, and financial performance.
• Maintain fiscal accountability for vocational services, allocating resources strategically to support sustainability and ROI.
• Participate in RFPs, contract renewals, and funder presentations, contributing operational insight and service design expertise.

4. Continuous Improvement & Data Analytics

• Lead continuous improvement initiatives to enhance efficiency, service quality, and client/program outcomes.
• Champion data-informed decision-making, leveraging analytics to identify trends, risks, and opportunities.
• Inform workforce planning, capacity management, and service optimization through performance data.
• Foster a culture of accountability, innovation, and operational excellence across teams.

5. Workforce Capacity, Onboarding & Development

• Oversee national onboarding processes to ensure consistency, quality, and timely integration of vocational services staff.
• Develop and implement training and professional development frameworks that support competency, engagement, and retention.
• Lead workforce sustainability strategies in collaboration with provincial and regional leaders, including recruitment and retention planning.
• Provide leadership support to build resilient, high-performing, multidisciplinary teams.

6. Collaboration, Partnerships & Representation

• Build and maintain strong relationships with internal stakeholders (Operations, HR, Finance, Health & Safety, Strategy).
• Cultivate partnerships with insurers, funders, Workers’ Compensation Boards, employers, and external service partners.
• Represent vocational services internally and externally through strategic engagement, relationship-building, and leadership presence.
• Support cross-functional alignment to ensure vocational services integrate seamlessly within broader organizational offerings.

Qualifications & Experience

Required

• Senior-level leadership experience (Senior leader or Director level).
• Minimum 5+ years’ experience in vocational rehabilitation, career development, or employment services.
• Demonstrated experience managing multi-site, geographically distributed operations.
• Strong background in operational leadership, performance management, data analytics, and project management.
• Proven ability to lead through complexity, manage competing priorities, and drive execution.
• Exceptional communication, stakeholder engagement, and relationship-building skills.

Preferred Assets

• Registration (member in good standing) with the College of Vocational Rehabilitation Professionals.
• Experience working with Workers’ Compensation Boards, insurers, government-funded programs, and employer-based services.
• Business development, contract management, and RFP experience.
• Undergraduate or Master’s degree in Business Administration or a related field.
• Experience working within multidisciplinary rehabilitation or employment services environments.
• Demonstrated commitment to professional development and continuous improvement.

Why This Role Matters

This role is critical to ensuring Lifemark’s vocational services deliver on their promise - consistently, compliantly, and at scale. The Director of Operations plays a central role in shaping how services are experienced by funders, partners, and clients, while enabling teams across the country to perform at their best.

This is a leadership role for someone who thrives at the intersection of strategy and execution, and who understands that operational excellence is foundational to growth, credibility, and long-term impact.

Why Lifemark:

We live our values in everything thing we do - striving for simplicity, doing the right thing, being inclusive and welcoming, and having fun! We go the extra kilometer by offering our employees:

• Competitive wages with benefits package
• Annual continuing education allowance with a variety of internal training opportunities
• Collaborative and innovative work environment
• Possibility of growing your career within our Company