Job Description

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.

We're looking for a highly skilled and experienced Head of Digital Technology to lead our engineering team. This is a senior-director-level position for a dynamic and hands-on leader who can drive technical innovation, manage a team of talented engineers, and align our technology strategy with business goals.
The ideal candidate will possess deep expertise in software development and architecture, a proven track record of managing and mentoring high-performing teams, and a strategic mindset to build scalable and robust technology solutions. This role requires a blend of technical depth, people leadership, and business acumen.
The Head of Digital 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 Product Officer, the Head of Digital 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 Digital Technology 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

• You'll champion agile methodologies, ensuring our development processes are efficient and effective. You'll manage project timelines, resources, and budgets, and you'll work closely with product managers and other stakeholders to deliver high-quality solutions.
• You'll evaluate, select, and manage relationships with external technology vendors and contractors, ensuring they deliver on their commitments and provide value to our organization.
• 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

Full time role that includes a 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.
• The ability to think strategically about technology and its role in achieving business objectives.
• A track record of successfully leading and mentoring engineering teams. You're a great communicator who can inspire and motivate others.

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.

Skills Required