Head of Technology

Company Description

Torstar Corporation is a progressive media organization with a long, proud history in newspapers and a passion for capitalizing on the fluid world of digital and mobile media.  Torstar’s vision for success is driven by a deep customer-centric obsession, continued journalistic excellence, advanced data-driven competency and a culture that is selfless, focused, agile, collaborative and results driven. The successful candidate will be a champion of those priorities while keeping the customer at the heart of all the creative work that they will be doing.

Our Commitment to Diversity
We strive to be a leader in building and cultivating an employee community framed around fairness, support and opportunity. We believe that what makes us different, makes a difference. And as a team, the diversity of our backgrounds, interests and experiences is what enriches our work, and our workplaces. We welcome all, and we strive for an inclusive culture that allows individual growth and shared success.

Job Description

The Head of Technology is responsible for defining the overall technical strategy to support Torstar’s business-critical evolution into a scalable, multi-platform news media organization that serves millions of users, advertisers and subscribers on a weekly basis. Reporting to the Chief Digital Officer, the Head of Technology will identify and implement mission-critical solutions to enable the growth and profitability of the organization. This role will lead technology decisions that include but are not limited to: the company’s network of websites; all mobile apps; data and analytics infrastructure; email platforms; content management systems; subscription, payment and identity management systems. 

The Head of Technology will lead a team of software developers, QA analyst and Dev Ops engineers. As the most senior team member, the Head of Engineering will be accountable for the quality and stability of all solutions delivered, the velocity and reliability of the team and for supporting a disciplined but flexible agile process that increases transparency and accountability while providing all team members with a work environment where they can grow professionally and confidently focus on their work. 

The Head of Technology will be a critical member of the senior leadership team charting a clear digital course for TorStar. As such, the Head of Technology will be expected to support the shaping and definition of overall digital strategy and to provide organizational thought leadership on emerging technologies and trends to equip the entire company for an exciting but ever-changing future. 

Responsibilities: 

• Define overall systems-architecture to support the evolving business needs of the organization 

• Serve as the senior technical voice in the definition of new company strategies and initiatives; participate in strategic planning processes as a member of the team defining Torstar’s future 

• Research and implement complex software applications and systems 

• Monitor and report on production quality metrics and standards, analyze variances and plan remediation 

• Lead a team of developers, QA analysts and Dev Ops engineers 

• Take accountability for leading a flexible but disciplined model of agile software development 

• Translate functional and non-functional requirements into effective design and architectural guidance to delivery teams 

• Define all aspects of development from appropriate technology and workflow to coding standards 

• Conduct research to audit and improve the technological assets of the company

Salary Range $150,000 to $160,000 annually plus bonus plan and full benefits package including a Defined Benefit Plan.

Qualifications

• 7+ years leading diverse technical teams inside matrixed organizations 

• Experience working on large, consumer-facing applications is strongly preferred 

• Proven comfort with contemporary development methods and technologies, including AI, cloud computing, CI/CD etc. 

Additional Information

Torstar Group of Companies is committed to providing an inclusive and barrier-free recruitment process ensuring equal access to employment opportunities for candidates, including persons with disabilities. In compliance with Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act and Ontario Human Rights Code we will endeavour to provide accommodation to persons with disabilities in the recruitment process upon request. If you are selected for an interview and you require accommodation due to a disability during the recruitment process, please notify the hiring manager upon scheduling the interview of your requirements.