Director, Program Development and Impact

Do you want to be part of a mission driven organization shaping Canada’s innovation future? Do you thrive in collaborative environments where creativity, continuous improvement, and strategic thinking are valued? Are you motivated by work that strengthens Canada’s competitiveness and delivers meaningful impact for communities and businesses?

At Mitacs, we take a talent first approach to building Canada’s innovation capacity. We connect researchers with organizations across every region of the country to help solve pressing challenges and accelerate economic growth. By enabling business academic collaboration and supporting the development of highly skilled talent, we contribute to a resilient, future ready Canadian economy.

Guided by our values — Impact, Integrity, Collaboration, Excellence, and Talent — we work with partners nationwide to advance research, commercialization, and innovation.

At Mitacs, you become part of a team committed to empowering Canadian talent, fostering meaningful partnerships, and driving innovation that supports Canada’s long-term competitiveness. If you’re inspired by big ideas and passionate about creating national impact, we encourage you to apply.

Mitacs is seeking a Director, Program Development & Impact to lead program development, strategy, performance measurement, evaluation and economic impact. Reporting to the Vice President, Policy, Program Development and Government Relations, the Director will ensure Mitacs’ programs are strategically aligned, evidence-based, high-performing, and positioned to deliver measurable impact for Canada’s research, innovation, and talent ecosystem.

Position Summary The Director will lead program design and continuous improvement, oversee evaluation and impact measurement, provide insights to inform strategic and investment decisions, and manage the overall program portfolio. The role will also provide strategic leadership to teams and foster cross-functional collaboration to maximize program effectiveness and organizational impact.

Key Responsibilities: Lead the development and design of programs aligned with organizational strategy and stakeholder priorities. Translate strategic objectives, government priorities, and ecosystem needs into effective program models. Lead the identification of emerging opportunities for new programs, partnerships, and funding models. Ensure programs are designed with clear objectives and measurable outcomes. Establish program development standards, processes, and governance frameworks across the organization. Translate evaluation findings into actionable recommendations for program design and strategic decisions.

Evaluation, Performance Measurement & Economic Impact Provide strategic leadership for the organization’s evaluation function, ensuring rigorous assessment of program effectiveness, outcomes, and impact. Develop and oversee evaluation frameworks that measure program performance, outcomes, and return on investment. Develop program frameworks, theories of change, logic models, implementation plans, and performance expectations. Lead economic impact assessments, including analysis of economic growth, productivity, commercialization, talent outcomes, and ecosystem benefits. Ensure evaluation methodologies are credible, evidence-based, and aligned with best practices. Oversee the development of impact reports, performance dashboards, and evidence-based narratives for executives, Board members, government partners, and stakeholders. Build organizational capacity to use data and evidence to drive continuous improvement.

Systems leadership, monitoring and assessment Ability to see and manage the full lifecycle from strategic need and policy challenge through program design, implementation, outcomes, evaluation, and continuous improvement. Monitor the performance and strategic alignment of the organization’s program portfolio by assessing program effectiveness, relevance and value creation. Ability to translate evidence, stakeholder insights, economic and policy priorities, and evaluation findings into effective program models and interventions. Ability to clearly define the problem Mitacs is trying to solve and determine whether a new program is required, an existing program should be adapted, or improvements to delivery would be more effective. Ability to identify emerging opportunities, assess where Mitacs can uniquely add value, and shape a program portfolio that responds to evolving economic, innovation, talent, and policy priorities.

Leadership & Team Management Lead and develop a multidisciplinary team responsible for program development, evaluation, and economic impact analysis. Establish priorities, operating plans, and performance objectives for the function. Foster collaboration between program, evaluation, policy, and operational teams. Build a culture of evidence-based decision-making, innovation, and continuous improv