Principal Lead - Portfolio Management and Program Implementation

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The Principal Lead – Portfolio Management and Program Implementation plays a strategic leadership role within the IT, Data and Digital Solutions (IDS) team. The person chosen for this position is responsible for advancing technology portfolio management and enabling the rigorous execution of complex programs and projects. This position provides senior management with integrated, decision-making-oriented visibility into demand, investments, roadmaps, execution performance, risks, dependencies, capabilities, and business results.

Depending on organizational priorities, the incumbent in this position may lead a portfolio management function, supervise a team of program and project implementation professionals, personally lead one or more large-scale strategic programs, or assume a combination of these responsibilities.

Acting as a trusted advisor, integrator, and people manager, the incumbent aligns technology investments and delivery priorities with management goals and measurable business value.

They work closely with high-level stakeholders from IDS, Finance, Strategic Procurement, and corporate directions, and require a strong presence, good judgment, and the ability to influence in complex, cross-functional environments.

Responsibilities:

Strategic Portfolio and Investment Management

• Lead and evolve portfolio management practices in alignment with the IDS strategy and the product and platform operating model.
• Provide an integrated view of demand, investments, roadmaps, dependencies, implementation health, resource capacity, and business results across all Product, Platform, and Engineering teams.
• Shape a decision-oriented approach that supports decisions regarding prioritization, sequencing, funding, and trade-offs among competing initiatives.
• Supervise the integration and triage of requests to promote transparency, consistent evaluation, and alignment with strategic priorities and available capabilities.
• Collaborate with Finance and business stakeholders for investment planning, forecasting, business cases, investment governance, and benefit realization.
• Establish practical frameworks and guardrails to clarify which initiatives require program management support versus those requiring product-scale execution.

Program Implementation and Project Delivery Leadership

• Provide guidance and direction throughout the project lifecycle, ensuring initiatives are well-defined, properly planned, and executed with rigor.
• Depending on assignments, personally lead one or more complex, large-scale technology or transformation programs by establishing governance and bringing business and technology leaders together to achieve expected outcomes.
• Define project structures, delivery models, governance forums, and team structures tailored to needs, ensuring clear roles, responsibilities, decision-making authorities, and resource needs from start to implementation.
• Support project budgeting and financial planning, including cost estimation, funding assumptions, resource forecasting, vendor expenditures, and ongoing monitoring of budget performance against approved plans.
• Direct and supervise program managers, project managers, project analysts, and other implementation professionals by providing guidance, coaching, and escalation support.
• Provide hands-on supervision and advisory support to program and project managers, including reviewing steering committee materials, senior management updates, implementation plans, RAID logs, and decision-making to ensure issues, risks, and recommendations are clearly articulated for the leadership team.
• Participate in key governance forums, steering committees, and senior management readiness discussions as needed, providing an independent implementation perspective as well as challenge and escalation support.
• Establish clear success criteria, key performance indicators, and delivery metrics, and track progress against scope, schedule, budget, quality, values, and result commitments.
• Perform risk assessments, determine interdependencies and constraints, and promote timely risk mitigation and escalation with responsible stakeholders.
• As needed, apply Agile, waterfall, and hybrid delivery approaches while ensuring compliance with IDS team standards and evolving working methods.

Governance, Performance, and Continuous Improvement

• Present concise portfolio and program reports to senior management, highlighting achievements, decisions required, risks, dependencies, financial performance, and corrective measures.
• Implement uniform governance practices, health checks, quality assurance, and performance management across all assigned portfolios and programs.
• Promote the use of project-adapted tools, dashboards, and Jira-based reporting to improve visibility, data quality, and decision-making.
• Promote benefit realization and value tracking so investments remain linked to expected operational results.
• Ensure continuous improvement of portfolio and delivery processes by using metrics, feedback, and lessons learned to improve predictability, speed, and quality.
• Stay abreast of relevant regulatory, audit, security, and compliance requirements and ensure they are integrated into governance and execution.

Stakeholder, Financial, and Partner Management

• Establish collaborative, trusted relationships with senior managers, Product, Platform, Engineering, Finance, and Strategic Procurement teams, as well as business partners and external vendors.
• Act as a strategic advisor to senior managers, program sponsors, and decision-making forums by translating complex information into clear choices and recommendations.
• Facilitate alignment across teams when initiatives involve multiple products, platforms, operating structures, or investment horizons.
• Support vendor governance and coordination to enable mixed team efficiency, clear division of responsibilities, and high-quality results.

People Leadership and Skill Development

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of approximately four to six portfolio, program, or project management professionals, fostering a collaborative, accountable, and high-performing environment.
• Establish consistent methods, tools, expectations, and working methods while maintaining the flexibility needed to meet the needs of different portfolios, products, and programs.
• Develop organizational capabilities through coaching, knowledge sharing, succession planning, and targeted development of core portfolio and implementation skills.
• Promote a culture of curiosity, innovation, accountability, continuous improvement, and results-driven execution.
• Regularly conduct performance and development discussions, provide constructive feedback, and support career growth.

Qualifications

• Bachelor degree in business administration, technology, finance, engineering, or a related field. Graduate degree is an asset.
• At least 10 years of progressive experience in technological transformation, portfolio management, enterprise program implementation, or related leadership roles.
• Proven success in leading complex, large-scale cross-functional initiatives or portfolio management functions within a dynamic organization.
• Strong portfolio management and financial management skills, including demand prioritization, investment planning, business cases, forecasting, resource planning, and benefit tracking.
• Proven ability to establish and improve governance frameworks, delivery methodologies, management practices, reporting standards, and reusable tools.
• Experience in leading and building multidisciplinary teams, as well as creating clarity within ambiguous or constantly evolving operational environments.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to synthesize complex information to derive clear insights and recommendations for management.
• Exceptional stakeholder management, facilitation, and communication skills; proven leadership presence and ability to influence without direct authority.
• Practical knowledge of Agile, waterfall, and hybrid delivery methods; PMP, Agile/Scrum, PROSCI, or equivalent certifications are an asset.
• Experience in the airline industry, technological vendor management, or operating model transformation is an asset.
• Demonstrated punctuality and reliability to support the overall success of the team in a fast-paced environment.

Employment Conditions:

Candidates must be eligible to work in the concerned country at the time a job offer is presented and are responsible for obtaining necessary work permits, visas, or other authorizations. Proof of eligibility must be provided prior to the start date.

Language Requirements

Equal skills permitting, preference will be given to bilingual candidates.

Diversity and Inclusion

Air Canada is firmly committed to diversity and inclusion and aims to create a healthy, accessible, and rewarding workplace that highlights the unique contribution of our employees to our company success.

As an equal opportunity employer, we encourage diverse applications to build a varied workforce representative of our customers and the communities where we live and offer our services.

Air Canada thanks all applicants for their interest, but only those selected for an interview will be contacted.