Vice President, Planning Operations (Community Capacity Building)

About UJA Federation of Greater Toronto

At UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, our vision is to lead the most vibrant Jewish community in North America — a community characterized by its diversity, unity, compassion, generosity and commitment to Jewish values. Together with our philanthropic, volunteer and professional leadership, we're changing lives.

As one of North America's leading Jewish non-profits, UJA Federation of Greater Toronto works to preserve and strengthen the quality of Jewish life in Greater Toronto, Canada, Israel and around the world. UJA advances this mission through fundraising, planning, and research focused on our strategic pillars: fighting poverty and improving well-being, growing Jewish education and identity, countering antisemitism and hate, and strengthening connections with Israel and Jewish communities worldwide.

About the Opportunity

The VP, Planning Operations is CCB’s operational anchor. Reporting to the SVP, CCB, this role owns the infrastructure, coordination systems, and shared services relationships that enable CCB’s portfolio leads to do their best work.

CCB distributes $90M+ across eight planning portfolios through deep community expertise, sustained external relationships, and strategic judgment. The VP, Planning Operations exists to support that work through three core functions: holding the cross-portfolio view and identifying where portfolios intersect or compete; managing the flow of demand to Finance, Marketing, and other shared services so planners are never the bottleneck; and owning the operational infrastructure including, granting machinery, data standards, financial reporting, that the whole division depends on.

The VP, Planning Operations leads a team that includes the Sr. Director, Project Management and PM function. This role requires real operational authority: the ability to set standards, enforce timelines, coordinate across functions, and build systems that planners and leadership can rely on. Success is measured by how well CCB operates — how consistently granting cycles run, how effectively shared services respond, and how clearly planners are freed to focus on community, strategy, and the work only they can do.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Cross-Portfolio Coordination and Planning Integration

• Hold the cross-portfolio view across CCB’s five planning portfolios, identifying intersections, collaboration opportunities, and duplication before they require planner attention


• Coordinate the sequencing of cross-portfolio work to maximize efficiency and reduce duplication of effort


• Set and enforce planning-wide operational standards that create consistency across portfolios without directing planning decisions


• Serve as the internal owner for operational work that does not require subject matter expertise, ensuring planners can focus on strategy, community relationships, and granting decisions


• Identify and flag operational risks, dependencies, and competing demands across portfolios proactively

Shared Services Coordination

• Own CCB’s interface with Finance, Marketing, and other shared services, creating visibility and sequencing demand when multiple portfolios require support simultaneously


• Own and implement a centralized system for submitting, tracking, and prioritizing CCB’s Marketing and Communications requests


• Ensure CCB content, data, and impact materials are captured once and reused effectively across campaigns and audiences


• Establish clear standards, timelines, and expectations for shared services support to CCB


• Act as the operational counterpart to Foundation Operations and Integrated Development Operations, supporting handoffs, timelines, and shared responsibilities between CCB and fundraising infrastructure

Operational Infrastructure

• Own all CCB granting processes end to end, from cycle design through execution


• Design, implement, and enforce standardized grant cycles, templates, and workflows


• Ensure granting timelines align with budgeting, reporting, and community partner needs


• Create a granting experience that is clear, disciplined, and predictable for planners and partners


• Own CCB-wide data collection standards, requirements, and compliance across all grants and planning initiatives


• Ensure consistent, timely, and high-quality data collection from funded partners


• Maintain and operate CCB’s planning data platforms, including Jewish Journey, as reliable operational infrastructure


• Ensure systems, workflows, and tools drive consistent usage and reliable data across the division

Financial Stewardship and Reporting

• Build and maintain the master Granting Report and all related operational and financial reports (e.g., JHub, THM, OJA departmental detail reports) for team visibility and budget tracking


• Coordinate with Finance to obtain general ledger data for monthly Granting Report updates and provide variance analysis on actual versus budget


• Act as liaison between CCB and Finance, communicating accounting implications, providing accounts coding instruction, and maintaining accruals and deferred revenue levels to accurately present operational and accounting results


• Lead the coordination and completion of the Annual Budget and Forecast process with teams and Finance

Team Leadership

• Lead, support, and develop the CCB Project Management team and the PM function


• Build CCB’s operational infrastructure with an eye toward scalability, consistency, and long-term sustainability

Qualifications:

• Undergraduate degree required; graduate degree (MBA, MPA, or related field) an asset


• 12–15 years of experience in operations, organizational management, process design, or grant management in a complex, multi-portfolio environment


• Demonstrated experience leading and developing direct reports


• Systems thinker with the ability to build operational infrastructure and processes from the ground up


• Strong cross-functional coordination skills and demonstrated experience managing relationships with Finance, Marketing, and Development functions


• Financial literacy including budget management, variance analysis, and annual forecasting


• Strong judgment around scope, prioritization, and sequencing in a fast-moving environment


• Experience in the nonprofit, philanthropic, or federated organization sector an asset

*This is a full-time position. Salary Range: $175,000 – $200,000 annually, based on experience. UJA supports a flexible work schedule and all of our employees engage in hybrid work. Engagement and connection are key to supporting the best employee experience and we want to ensure that this puts balance and well-being at the forefront of our approach to ways of working. In addition to a rich time off policy, UJA's offices are closed on all Jewish holy days (yom tov) and we support early office closures to observe the Jewish Sabbath (Shabbat).

Qualified applicants are invited to submit a cover letter and resume. Only those applicants invited for interview will be contacted. Please be advised that all offers of employment are contingent upon the successful completion of professional references and background checks including Social Media Account(s) and a Police Records Check/Vulnerable Sector Screening.

Commitment to Inclusion and Accessibility:

UJA Federation supports a diverse candidate and employment experience. We are proud of our dynamic professional team, which reflects the diversity of the Jewish community and general community alike in Greater Toronto. We are an equal opportunity employer and welcome applicants from all communities. We encourage you to follow us to get regular updates on open roles. We are committed to creating an inclusive and accessible workplace and believe this is essential to ensure that every member of our team can thrive.

We adhere to barrier-free and accessible employment practices in compliance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). Should you require Code-protected accommodation through any stage of the recruitment process, please notify us and we will work with you to meet your needs.