Senior Vice President, Transformation

Context

At Make-A-Wish Canada, we're redefining how the world perceives wishes through our transformative new brand platform: Wishes Are Medicine. Grounded in research, this platform recognizes what we've long known to be true — that wishes have measurable healing power. When prescribed alongside medical treatment, wishes reduce stress, elevate endorphins, limit emergency room visits, and deliver lasting health benefits.

With more than 3,500 children still waiting and a new child diagnosed with a critical illness in Canada every two hours, our mission has never been more urgent — and there are many more prescriptions to fill.

To meet this challenge, we've launched our new three-year strategic plan — Wishes Are Medicine: One Team, One Mission — focused intentionally on financial sustainability, mission impact, and operational excellence.

When a child is facing a critical illness, a wish isn't just a moment of joy — it's a medically supported turning point. Studies show that children who receive a wish are 2.5 times less likely to have unplanned hospital visits and 1.9 times less likely to need the ER, with 100% of physicians agreeing that a wish can be a pivotal moment in treatment.

At Make-A-Wish Canada, you can play a lead role in bringing these powerful prescriptions to life. Where Wishes Are Medicine, transformation becomes a pathway to healing at scale — and this role is your opportunity to architect that future.

The next phase of our journey calls for a visionary leader ready to chart the course, strengthen the structure, and guide us higher as we scale the impact of Wishes Are Medicine across Canada. As Senior Vice President, Transformation, you will lead Make-A-Wish Canada's enterprise-wide evolution — championing innovation, digital integration, and operational excellence to unlock sustainable growth and deepen mission impact. This leader will serve as a catalyst for change — aligning people, processes, and technology to bring our strategic vision to life and elevate outcomes across every corner of the organization.

At Make-A-Wish Canada, you'll join a team united by a shared mission and an unwavering sense of possibility. Every role — whether advancing fundraising, brand, operations, or technology — helps fuel the same trajectory: transforming how hope and healing come to life for children and families nationwide.

If you're ready to help build a future where every eligible child receives the wish that helps them heal, we invite you to read on.

Role Overview

Reporting to the Chief Executive Officer, we're seeking a Senior Vice President, Transformation — a visionary and strategic leader ready to transform the future of our organization. This is more than a leadership role; it's an opportunity to redefine how we operate, innovate, and grow.

As a key member of our executive leadership team, you will lead enterprise-wide digital transformation that fuels innovation, drives efficiency, and enhances the experience of everyone we serve — from our people to our partners to our volunteers and our Wish Families. This role oversees the People & Culture and Technology teams, managing two direct reports (Vice President, People & Culture and the Vice President, Technology).

You'll connect strategy to action across Finance, Technology, Salesforce, and People & Culture, ensuring every initiative moves us closer to our shared vision of scalable, sustainable growth. If you're energized by possibility, inspired by challenge, and driven to make an enduring impact, this is your moment to lead real change — and leave your mark on our organization's next chapter.

This is a full-time, permanent, hybrid role. This role can be performed from anywhere within Canada, and remotely if not located near a Make-A-Wish Canada office.

What You Will Do

As our SVP, Transformation, you'll be the architect of a bold, enterprise-wide evolution — guiding people, processes, and technology toward a shared vision of excellence and growth.

• Lead with Vision: Define and drive a comprehensive digital transformation strategy aligned with our long-term business goals and organizational mission. Operating on a 2–5 year time horizon, the SVP, Transformation sets both in-year execution plans and multi-year strategies to drive sustainability, efficiency and impact.
• Deliver Impact: Oversee a dynamic portfolio of transformation initiatives, establishing the frameworks, governance, and performance metrics that ensure measurable success.
• Innovate and Integrate: Champion the adoption of emerging technologies — AI, automation, analytics, and beyond — to modernize systems, streamline operations, and unlock new efficiencies.
• Empower People and Culture: Build organizational transformation capabilities through training, engagement, and thoughtful change management. Inspire teams to embrace innovation with confidence and purpose.
• Engage and Inspire: Communicate a clear, compelling transformation vision to internal and external stakeholders, including board members, partners, and teams across the enterprise.
• Guide and Develop Talent: Lead a high-performing team, including two Vice Presidents, supported with a team of professionals across the country within the Technology and People & Culture portfolios.
• Embody a "One Team, One Mission" mindset — Leads with purpose and unity, embodying a deep commitment to our mission and shared goals while fostering a "One Team" culture that elevates our impact across every market we serve. Builds belonging by celebrating wins, encouraging collaboration, and leading with empathy, inclusion, and purpose.
• Partner for Success: Build and manage strong external relationships with vendors and strategic partners to ensure alignment, accountability, and value creation in every initiative.

What You Bring

You're a visionary strategist and hands-on leader who thrives at the intersection of business, technology, and transformation. You combine the curiosity of an innovator with the discipline of a strategist — and you know how to turn bold ideas into measurable impact.

• Proven Leadership: 10–15 years of progressive experience driving enterprise-wide change, with at least five years leading large-scale digital transformation or strategic initiatives at the senior level. Deep knowledge in technology, culture transformation, change management and stakeholder management.
• Strategic Insight: A strong academic foundation in Business, Technology, Engineering, or a related field — an MBA or advanced degree preferred — equipping you to connect strategy, data, and execution.
• Transformation Expertise: Demonstrated success leading complex, multi-year programs that modernize systems, elevate customer experiences, and deliver sustainable growth.
• Operational Excellence: Deep experience with agile and waterfall methodologies, enterprise system implementations, and the people-centered art of change management.
• Digital Fluency: Mastery of enterprise content management, analytics, UX/CX, SEO, and omnichannel strategies that drive seamless, data-informed engagement.
• People & Culture Leadership: Previous experience leading or partnering closely with People and Culture (HR) portfolios is a strong asset — reflecting your belief that true transformation begins with people.
• Inspiring Leadership: A collaborative spirit that motivates teams, breaks down silos, and brings others along on the journey toward something extraordinary.

Our Commitment to IDEA

Make-A-Wish Canada (MAWC) is committed to Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access (IDEA). We believe that it is essential to our mission that we build a diverse, balanced, and vibrant workforce that reflects the diversity of the communities we serve and seek to serve. Research has shown that candidates from underrepresented groups often only apply when they feel 100% qualified. Therefore, we ask that even if you do not see yourself fully reflected in every job requirement listed on this posting, to still apply.

Recruitment process

Once applications are reviewed, we will contact our shortlisted candidates. Our typical process for this level of role includes two to three interviews, a final coffee chat, and reference checking, followed by an offer and a criminal background check for the successful candidate.

We would like to thank all applicants for their interest in working with us