Senior Program Administrator / Product Lead

Job Description

Senior Program Administrator / Product Lead

Location: National Capital Region (NCR) – Remote, with occasional on-site attendance in Ottawa

Compensation: $50.00–$80.00 per hour, based on qualifications, experience, additional certifications, and final contract pricing.

Contract Term: September 28, 2026 to August 27, 2027, with a 48-week initial term.

Scope of Work / Tasks

Join a federal public sector initiative supporting the development and modernization of enterprise data capabilities within a defence environment. The successful consultant will provide senior-level program administration, product leadership, stakeholder coordination, and Agile delivery oversight across multiple concurrent data initiatives.

The role will work closely with senior leadership, technical teams, product teams, and other stakeholders to coordinate priorities, manage dependencies, support delivery, and ensure effective governance across the data product lifecycle.

• Define, refine, and communicate strategic product vision and long-term roadmaps for enterprise data platforms and associated data initiatives.
• Translate complex operational and business requirements into actionable, prioritized work plans and delivery activities.
• Coordinate multiple concurrent lines of effort involving data engineering, cloud data platforms, analytics, and related technical teams.
• Provide administrative direction, task allocation, and operational guidance to cross-functional product and technical teams.
• Facilitate Agile delivery practices, remove operational impediments, and support continuous improvement and team velocity.
• Engage with senior leaders, command teams, and director-level stakeholders to gather requirements and manage expectations.
• Provide transparent reporting on program progress, scope, costs, risks, dependencies, and delivery priorities.
• Act as a primary administrative point of contact for the enterprise data platform and help resolve competing priorities across concurrent initiatives.
• Administer and maintain enterprise Azure DevOps (ADO) Boards, including user stories, epics, features, test plans, and related delivery information.
• Develop progress reports and dashboards using Azure DevOps data to monitor sprint metrics, defects, risks, and delivery performance.
• Identify and mitigate strategic risks related to cloud data architecture dependencies, vendor integrations, data ingestion, and security requirements.
• Support product validation and testing activities to ensure deliverables meet established acceptance criteria.
• Develop and execute change management, communications, and user onboarding strategies to support adoption of data products.
• Coordinate with technical, business, and senior government stakeholders throughout the product lifecycle.

Mandatory Qualifications

M1

Valid Project Management Professional (PMP) certification from the Project Management Institute (PMI).

M2

A Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA), Public Administration (MPA), Management, Managerial Economics, or a closely related graduate business/management discipline from a recognized Canadian university.

M3

An active, advanced Agile Product Owner certification, such as:

• Advanced Certified Scrum Product Owner (A-CSPO)
• Certified Scrum Professional Product Owner (CSP-PO)
• Professional Scrum Product Owner II or III (PSPO II/III)
• SAFe Product Owner/Product Manager (POPM)

M4

Minimum five (5) years of continuous experience within the past eight (8) years operating as a Senior Product Owner or Agile Delivery Lead managing a cross-functional defence data team that includes Data Engineers and Business Intelligence Analysts.

M5

Demonstrated experience managing project dependencies and feature releases within the Government of Canada, specifically within National Defence or National Security/Intelligence environments, across multiple concurrent lines of effort involving products at the Protected A level or higher, using an enterprise Azure DevOps (ADO) environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working within the Government of Canada or federal defence environment.
• Experience leading large, cross-functional teams spanning product management, data engineering, data architecture, and business intelligence.
• Strong knowledge of Agile product management and delivery frameworks.
• Advanced experience with Azure DevOps, including Boards, epics, features, user stories, test plans, sprint metrics, and reporting.
• Experience managing complex data platforms, data lakes, cloud data environments, or enterprise analytics initiatives.
• Experience working with senior executives, military leadership, directors, and other high-level stakeholders.
• Experience with enterprise change management, communications, and organizational adoption.
• Knowledge of Government of Canada policies, procedures, governance, and security requirements.
• Experience managing multiple concurrent technical workstreams and competing priorities.
• Additional relevant certifications or specialized education will be considered an asset.

Security & Work Location

Security Clearance: Secret

The successful candidate must hold or obtain the required Secret personnel security screening. The engagement may involve access to Protected or classified information and occasional attendance at classified briefings.

The role is primarily remote from the National Capital Region, with occasional attendance required at National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa.

English: Advanced proficiency required.

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