Ornge Careers

DIRECTOR, WORKFORCE PLANNING AND TRAVEL

Reference #2026-19

 
Strong. Proud. Uplifting.

At Ornge, we believe that ordinary people can do extraordinary things.

Each day, we connect communities with critical care across Ontario, Canada. In the air and by land, our teams deliver equity in emergency response, uplifting the lives of those in our care.

We are excited to onboard individuals who bring energy, enthusiasm, and professionalism to our growing group of difference-makers and life-changers. 

Discover Ontario, Canada, and an exciting career with Ornge.

The targeted salary range is supplemented by a competitive total rewards package. The salary offered to the successful candidate will consider a wide array of factors such as the individual’s skillset, level of experience applicable to the role and internal equity considerations.

Uplifting Your Career at Ornge

The Director, Workforce Planning and Travel is a newly established, enterprise‑level leadership role created to strengthen how Ornge plans, mobilizes, and sustains its most critical asset—its people.

This role offers a rare opportunity to build and shape a provincial workforce planning and travel function from the ground up, setting the strategy, systems, and standards that will support safe, reliable, and responsive operations now and into the future.

Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer & Deputy CEO, the Director will bring together workforce strategy, scheduling excellence, system enablement, and travel optimization into a unified, data‑driven approach. As a trusted senior leader and partner across the organization, this role will modernize planning capabilities, lead high‑impact teams, and drive continuous improvement across a complex, highly regulated, and mission‑critical operating environment ensuring Ornge is always ready to deliver when it matters most.

Key Accountabilities:

Workforce Planning & Scheduling Leadership

• Set and execute enterprise workforce planning strategies that optimize staffing, scheduling, and deployment across multiple operational units.
• Oversee complex scheduling environments, ensuring alignment with training, certification, compliance, and collective agreement requirements.
• Provide strategic leadership on labour relations matters related to workforce planning, including interpretation of collective agreements, cost containment, and grievance support.
• Partner with operations, HR, and finance leaders to anticipate workforce needs, mitigate risk, and support operational continuity.

Travel Strategy & Operations

• Provide strategic and operational oversight of all employee travel programs, ensuring efficiency, policy compliance, and readiness for training and operational requirements.
• Direct travel operations for front-line and operational staff, including air, accommodation, and ground transportation.
• Lead vendor strategy and contract negotiations with airlines, hotels, car rental providers, and other travel partners.
• Ensure accurate allocation, reconciliation, and control of travel-related expenditures.

Systems, Data & Digital Enablement

• Oversee the strategic direction, implementation, and optimization of workforce planning and scheduling systems.
• Lead systems integration efforts across workforce planning, HRIS, payroll, operational tracking, and related platforms.
• Ensure data quality, system integrity, and business rule governance to enable reliable analytics and decision-making.
• Champion automation and technology solutions that reduce manual effort and improve planning accuracy.

Financial & Business Management

• Develop and manage annual operating budgets for workforce planning and travel functions, monitoring performance and driving mitigation strategies as needed.
• Approve operational expenditures within delegated authority and contribute to business cases for larger investments.
• Define and track performance metrics to measure efficiency, cost effectiveness, and service outcomes.

Leadership, Culture & Change

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of managers and professionals, fostering a high-performance and accountable culture.
• Drive change management initiatives related to transformation, new systems, and process re-engineering.
• Build strong cross-functional partnerships and represent the function at leadership and labour-management forums.

Stakeholder & Partner Engagement

• Collaborate with internal partners and external stakeholders to assess needs, align processes, and resolve complex operational issues.
• Act as a senior representative in operational discussions, investigations, debriefings, and partner engagements.
• Translate highly technical or operational concepts into clear, actionable communication for diverse audiences.

Qualifications:

• University degree in Business, Health, Operations, or a related field; a Master’s degree is an asset.
• 10+ years of progressive leadership experience in workforce planning, operations, logistics, travel management, or a related function.
• Demonstrated experience leading within complex, regulated, and operationally intensive environments (e.g., healthcare, aviation, emergency services, transportation, utilities, or similar sectors).
• Strong background in workforce scheduling and planning, ideally in a multi-union and 24/7 operational setting.
• Proven experience with labour relations, collective agreements, and change management initiatives.
• Experience overseeing enterprise systems, including workforce planning, scheduling, HRIS, or operational technology platforms.
• Financial acumen with demonstrated accountability for budgeting, forecasting, and cost optimization.
• Project management expertise, particularly in system implementations or large-scale operational change.
• Strong leadership presence with the ability to influence senior stakeholders, build consensus, and lead through complexity.
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills, with a data-driven and continuous improvement mindset.

Total Rewards:

• Comprehensive Health, Dental and Vision Benefit Plan.
• 24/7 Employee and Family Assistance Program.
• Premium Defined Benefits Pension Plan Automatic Enrollment.
• Three Paid Personal Days (Pro-Rated for Year 1).
• Accrued vacation time starting at four weeks per year.
• PERKS! Employee Promotional Programs relating to personal phone plans, furniture, home/car insurance, travel, fitness, attractions and more!
• Tuition reimbursement and opportunities for learning and development.

At Ornge, we are:

• Community connectors.
• Equity in healthcare.
• Strong in our convictions.
• Proud of the services we provide.
• Uplifting in our mission, values, and services.

You can expect us to be:

• Competitive in pay, benefits, vacation time and more.
• Promoters of diversity.
• Champions of inclusivity and accessibility.
• Committed to your career advancement.
• A tight-knit, supportive culture.

A bit about you:

• You are driven by our collective desire to make a difference.
• Excited by problem solving and excels at in-the-moment decision making.
• Teamwork has always been where you thrive.
• You are ready to put your skills into action in a fast-paced environment.

What’s next:

• If you are ready to uplift lives, apply directly online.
• On apply, we’ll send you an email on how to check your application status within Jobvite.
• Ornge is committed to providing accessible accommodations in compliance with Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). Should you require accommodation through any stage of the recruitment process, please email us at [email protected].
• Ornge encourages applications from candidates identifying as a member of a traditionally underrepresented group including First Nations, Métis, Inuit, and urban Indigenous peoples; Francophone persons; Black and racialized persons; members of 2SLGBTQIA+ communities; and persons with disabilities. 
• Ornge communicates with candidates for job openings by email and does not incorporate AI technology in its recruitment process. Applicants are responsible to check their email for updates and ensure they can receive messages from unfamiliar senders. We send time-sensitive information via email; it is important for applicants to check their email frequently. If we do not receive a response from applicants, we will assume that they are no longer interested in the position, resulting in the removal of their application from the competition.

Are you ready to pursue a career that has a profound impact on communities across Ontario, Canada? Join us.

Ornge. Lives uplifted.