WHO WE ARE
BioTalent Canada is the HR partner for Canada’s biotechnology industry. Our success relies on the power of our relationships – our team has built a dynamic network of associations, academic institutions, service providers, and employers doing incredible, leading-edge work to drive the Canadian biotechnology economy forward. Our services help that network to strengthen skills, connect job-ready talent to industry, and enable employers to create thriving workforces that support their growth.
Recently named a Great Place to Work® for 2025 and a 5-Star Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Employer by Canadian HR Reporter for 2025—marking the third consecutive year of this achievement—BioTalent Canada continues to demonstrate excellence in workplace culture. The organization has also been recognized as a Best Workplace in Healthcare for 2023 by Great Place to Work Canada®, and a Best Workplace by HRD Canada for 2024. These varied distinctions were awarded to BioTalent Canada following a thorough and independent analysis of the organization.
OUR VISION
The Canadian bio-economy is people-focused, a career of choice and a key driver of the Canadian economy.
OUR MISSION
We strengthen Canada’s bio-economy by providing valuable, evidence-based labour market information and the best job-ready human resources available.
OUR VALUES
BioTalent Canada’s values embrace diversity and inclusion, collaboration, science, transparency, and leadership to fuel curiosity for data-driven results to achieve impactful outcomes.
WHAT WE DO
We conduct Labour Market Research to provide insights for our partners into workforce availability. We deliver employer supports and facilitate career placement opportunities to help employers reduce the risk of hiring and allow biotechnology workers access to unique opportunities in their field. We provide job search and candidate search tools to connect employers with talent, and we provide professional development opportunities for workers to develop the skills they need to support Canada’s bio-economy. We are connection-creators and relationship-builders, and we thrive on opening doors and creating opportunities for the groups we serve.
Our team is the key to our success. We have a dedicated group of high-performing employees who live our values and are driven to achieve great things, but we balance our commitment and hard work with our joie-de-vivre – we prize hilarious jokes, innovative approaches, diverse perspectives, and community-mindedness.
We take pride in the work environment at BioTalent Canada, and we offer a number of unique programs and benefits to employees to enrich their experience working here. Highlights include three weeks of vacation to start, two paid volunteer days to support our communities, a day off with pay to celebrate you on your birthday and contributions to a Retirement Savings Plan.
BioTalent Canada is seeking a Chief Operating Officer (COO) to serve as the strategic and operational partner to the President & CEO. The COO will translate strategy into measurable results, strengthen financial sustainability, and ensure the organization’s continued leadership within Canada’s bio-economy.
This is a high-impact role for an entrepreneurial leader who thrives on balancing strategy and execution – from overseeing diversified revenue streams to driving organizational performance and building an inclusive, high-performing culture.
WHAT YOU WILL DO
The Chief Operating Officer (COO) is a strategic and operational partner to the President & CEO, responsible for translating BioTalent Canada’s strategic priorities into measurable operational results that secure the organization’s long-term sustainability and independence. This role drives growth across multiple streams, including federal funding, sponsorships, grants, fee-for-service and new business opportunities, while reflecting the organization’s core values. In this role, the COO champions a culture where diverse perspectives fuel innovation, collaborative teams transform vision into reality, and transparent, evidence-based decisions build trust and accountability, that drives operational excellence, financial discipline, and people leadership across the organization. This enables the CEO to focus on high-level strategy, core audience engagement, and industry leadership.
With a deep understanding of the organization’s revenue models, strategic priorities, people and culture, the COO combines entrepreneurial vision with disciplined operational management, ensuring all revenue-generating activities are financially sustainable, scalable, and aligned with BioTalent Canada’s mission. This role maintains a current grasp of the bio-economy’s national market landscape and leverages sectoral leadership skills to create compelling value propositions that attract investment, partnerships, and funding from diverse sources. The COO continuously refines and differentiates the organization’s value propositions for core audiences, spanning partnerships, federal government, industry, employers and sectoral councils, while pursuing innovative opportunities that strengthen BioTalent Canada’s leadership and financial resilience within Canada’s bio-economy.
In this role you can expect:
- Translate Board and CEO-approved strategy into integrated annual operating plans with clear KPIs, resourcing, and quarterly progress reviews, ensuring execution reflects BioTalent Canada’s values and positions the organization as a trusted, results-driven leader within Canada’s national sectoral ecosystem
- Ensure operational alignment between strategic priorities, revenue models, and project deliverables with a focus on efficiency, quality and scalability
- Lead the diversification and scaling of revenue streams, including federal funding, fee-for-service offerings and innovative partnership models, to reduce reliance on any single source of funding
- Leverage sectoral leadership and market insight to create value propositions that attract investment and partnerships, ensuring alignment with organizational priorities and the needs of Canada’s bio-economy
- Drive organizational operations as the CEO’s operational counterpart, ensuring initiatives are executed with efficiency, accountability and measurable results
- Own the execution of budgeted expenses, including tracking and implementing corrective measures for revenues not meeting targets, and organization-wide risk management that is transparent and data-driven
- Oversee the performance of all revenue-generating activities, ensuring alignment with project budgets, deliverables, and timelines
- Drive enterprise performance measurement, ensuring data-informed decision-making across financial, operational and sectoral impact metrics
- Prepare concise board materials and ensure timely execution of board directives with clarity and accountability
- Advise on organizational design and provide recommendations to strengthen operational efficiency and impact
- Optimize non-dues revenue streams (sponsorships, grants, fee-for-service) in partnership with relevant leads
- Support leaders in building operational and revenue-generating capacity across all departments
- Provide inclusive, affable leadership to all direct reports and members of the leadership team, by embedding BioTalent Canada’s values into performance expectations, decision-making, and culture-building
- Model and cultivate strategic thinking, critical analysis, and proactive initiative within the leadership team, coaching leaders to strengthen their ability to set clear direction and make data-informed decisions
- Support continuous improvement of processes, systems, and technology to increase capacity and efficiency
- Build and maintain relationships with key sectoral collaborators, government funders, partners, and industry leaders representing the organization with integrity, credibility and influence at the national level
- Leverage sectoral leadership skills to foster cross-sector collaboration, advance national workforce development priorities, and position the organization as a trusted voice in shaping policies, programs, and initiatives that strengthen Canada’s bio-economy
- Represent BioTalent Canada at external meetings, events, and forums, showcasing the organization’s value and impact
WHAT YOU WILL BRING
- An affable, congenial leadership style that promotes inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility and collaboration, consistent with the mission-driven ethos of Canada’s sector councils
- Proven ability to operate at the intersection of federal funding, sales-driven revenue models, and core audiences with proven success in designing, launching, and scaling diversified revenue models in a non-profit, association, or sector council environment
- A numbers person – strong business development, negotiation, and financial forecasting skills, with a track record of meeting or exceeding ambitious revenue targets
- Demonstrated ability to quickly grasp complex revenue models and align operational execution to strategic priorities and timelines
- Proven success in balancing people leadership with operational execution, fostering both high performance and a culture of transparency, collaboration, and mutual respect
- Strong financial acumen, with experience managing multi-stream budgets and driving corrective action to meet targets in a non-profit, association, or government-funded environment
- Exceptional interpersonal skills, with the ability to represent the organization credibly at the national level across government, industry, and investor networks
- Strategic thinker with an intuitive understanding of cross-disciplinary operational needs (federal, sales, sectoral) and a commitment to curiosity, continuous improvement, and labor market-informed decision-making
- Excellent analytical and reporting abilities, with a data-driven approach to operational and strategic decisions, including the ability to interpret and apply labour market intelligence
- 10 years of progressive leadership experience in areas including project management, human resources, IT, business development and marketing and communications, including at least 5 years in a senior operations or executive management role with a strong sectoral or national mandate
- Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Management, or related field (Master’s degree preferred)
- Proficiency in MS Office suite and experience with CRM, project management, and financial systems
- Demonstrated interest and aptitude in artificial intelligence (AI), with a commitment to continuously expanding knowledge and applying emerging AI tools and practices to enhance organizational efficiency, decision-making, and innovation
- Ability to travel up to 10-15% of the year to support organizational priorities and revenue opportunities
Preferred Qualifications
- Sectoral association experience and/or exposure to Canada’s bio-economy
- Proven fluency in both of Canada’s official languages (reading, and speaking)
- Experience in policy influence, workforce strategy development, and partnership building at a national level
BioTalent Canada offers a competitive total rewards package. Our hybrid work environment offers the flexibility to regularly work from the Ottawa office a minimum of two days per week and remotely from a designated home office.
Interested candidates are invited to submit a cover letter and resume outlining your interest and qualifications. This position will remain open until a successful candidate has been selected and the position has been filled.
BioTalent Canada prides itself on being an equal opportunity employer and encourages applications from all qualified candidates. We welcome and encourage applications from people with disabilities. Accommodations are available upon request for applications in all aspects of the selection process.
We thank all applicants for their interest in BioTalent Canada, however, only those being considered for an interview will be contacted.
