Employment : Innovation + Job News

Many Canadian entrepreneurs, both anecdotally and in industry surveys, lament the lack of funding for early-stage ventures that's available here, relative to what they can find south of the border. 

One new development that may at least begin to help with those concerns: late last month Premier Kathleen Wynne announced that the province, in conjunction with the federal government and several private sector partners, has launched a new venture capital fund. The Northleaf Venture Catalyst Fund had a total of $217 million in commitments at its first closing, and is aiming to hit $300 million in short order.

In order to raise the starting pool of money the provincial and federal governments are matching private investor contributions (one dollar for every two the private sector invests), up to a total of $50 million each. The fund takes its name from Northleaf Capital Partners, the Toronto-based firm that is managing it. It is a "fund of funds"—a fund that invests in other funds—and is in addition to (not a replacement for) the existing Ontario Venture Capital Fund. The latter launched in 2008 and has, according the provincial government, "attracted $872 million in private sector capital while creating and retaining 1,500 jobs in the province."

The Northleaf Catalyst Fund is the first provincial fund launched under the federal governments Venture Capital Action Plan, which was announced a year ago, and which will distribute $400 million over the next 7-10 years.

Writer: Hamutal Dotan
Source: Office of the Premier

The most interesting of the opportunities we've seen this week:

There are a number of organizations looking for fundraising and development help right now. The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) Foundation needs a senior development officer with a specific emphais on major gifts.

In the arts sector, theatre company Canadian Stage is also looking for a senior development officer, to focus on corporate sponsorships and philanthropic partnerships. The Literary Review of Canada—a charitable organization that publishes a books, culture, and politics magazine of the same name—is looking for a development manager with at least three to five years of experience. Also, the Glenn Gould Foundation, a non-profit that promotes music and creativity, needs an administrative and development coordinator for a full-time temporary contract.

In related news, the National Speakers Bureau, an agency that represents public figures in news, sports, arts, and politics, is looking for someone to join their business development team—and in particular, someone with experience in sales and lead generation.

Zeidler Partnership Architects is looking for a proposal and marketing coordinator to work on that firm's visual identity, website, and marketing collateral.

Canada's public broadcaster, the CBC, is looking for two mobile developers with a focus on iOS, to layer new features into existing news and sports apps.

For the arts lovers, the Art Gallery of Ontario is hiring a manager of young audience engagement to oversee all programming for families, school groups, and other young visitors. It's a full-time contract, for up to one year. Also in youth engagement, the Toronto Public Library is hiring a project manager to work specifically on spoken word programming for youth as part of the build-up to the Pan Am Games.

Finally, in senior hires, regional transit agency Metrolinx is looking for a manager of sustainability. Candidates should have at least eight years of experience in a strategy development role.

Do you know an innovative or creative job opportunity in Toronto? Let us know!

We all know that the shift to digital technology in general, and more recently the shift to mobile technology in particular, is remaking many businesses and economic sectors.

In an attempt to better understand some of these changes, the Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC) has just released a new report looking at the role of mobile app development in Ontario's creative industries: books and magazines, film and TV, and music. Collectively, these industries generate $14.5 billion in annual revenue.

Among their findings, which are based on surveys completed by industry representatives in the summer and fall of 2013:

• Half of all respondents already use mobile apps in their businesses; another 31 per cent plan to incorporate them "in the near future." 


• Mobile app use isn't evenly distributed within the sector: as expected, a very high percentage of those in the digital media industry have incorporated apps into their businesses (64 per cent), compared to magazines (55 per cent); books (47 per cent); film and tv (39 per cent); and music (32 per cent).


• A large majority (68 per cent) of respondents use their apps as content distribution channels. Of all respondents, 43 per cent have so far seen an increase in sales and revenues in response to incorporating apps into their businesses. This is counterbalanced, however, by the reality that total benefits are right now very hard to measure: only 7 per cent of the respondents who have adopted mobile apps in their businesses reported "any measurable benefits," though the report's authors caution that this "may well be the result of difficulty in measuring the return on investment of mobile apps adoption…as opposed to not getting any discernible benefits from adoption."


• About half (48 per cent) of respondents who have adopted mobile apps report that their operating costs stayed the same; 35 per cent said their operating costs went down, and the average operating cost reduction was 9 per cent.


• As far as building the apps goes, 17 per cent of creative industry businesses do their development in-house, 44 per cent contract development out, and 39 per cent do a combination of both.


• The report estimates that 3,300 new jobs have been created in Ontario's creative businesses as a result of mobile app development and adoption: 55 per cent are full-time, 21 per cent part time, and 24 per cent contract. Toronto, predictably, is the centre for this activity: 40 per cent of the province's mobile app jobs overall are located here.

ICTC's report also looked at the barriers to mobile. "Currently, the biggest hindrance to adoption of mobile apps," the report, says, "appears to be lack of monetization of adoption benefits, with a third (37 per cent) of the enterprises stating that they are aware of the functionalities of mobile apps, but not yet convinced of their value. Other hesitations stemmed from respondents being unfamiliar with the industry, the technology options available to them, previous bad experiences with app development, and concerns about their clients' readiness to use mobile."

Writer: Hamutal Dotan
Source: Mobile Apps: Generating Economic Gains for Creative Media Industries in Ontario

The most interesting of the job opportunities we've spotted this week:

If you're a developer with an interest in media, The Walrus has a great opening. The national magazine is looking for a digital production developer to work on content creation, tablet production, and its user account system. Meanwhile, small publisher Coach House Books is looking for a new publicist to handle all facets of its marketing and promotions. Also in promotions, the Centre for Social Innovation is seeking a new communications animator to tell the organization's story, tackle social media, and keep an eye on analytics.

Over at TIFF, they're on the hunt for a manager of cinemas to oversee all front of house operations at the Lightbox. It's a position for someone with at least five years of senior front of house experience, and will include hiring and training as well as customer service and internal liasing.

For those with an interest in environmental issues, the Canadian Environmental Law Association (CELA) needs a new librarian and administrative assistant, for tasks ranging from archive management to preparing reports. And Toronto Park People, which is trying to build community engagement around local parks, is filing the brand new position of director of operations. They're looking for someone with at least three years of non-profit management experience.

The Ontario Trillium Foundation awards 1,500 grants a year in the arts, social services, environment, and health sectors, and is seeking to fill two key posts. One is a program manager with a particular focus on the environment. The other is vice-president of community investments, to lead their new impact investment strategy.

Finally, in executive seaches, Imagine Canada, a national umbrella organization for charities, is looking for a president and CEO to head up their 35-person team.  The position is primarily based in Toronto, but some travel to their Ottawa office is also expected.

Do you know of an innovative job opportunity? Let us know.

It's one of those ideas that seems entirely obvious in retrospect: provide a forum for medical professionals to share clinical images, so they can have a large pool of resources to draw on when seeking to learn more about certain conditions, and a large pool of expertise to draw on for insight into particular cases.

Three Torontonians came up with just such a forum—a mobile app called Figure 1, the product of a startup of the same name. Figure 1 recently announced that it has raised $2 million in seed funding, to support its next stage of growth.

Figure 1 was started about a year ago by a practising physician, a senior developer, and a Ryerson communications professor. They launched at Ryerson's DMZ—"Ryerson's just really great with innovation and entrepreneurship and flexibility," says co-founder Gregory Levey (he's the communications prof)—and currently have nine full time staff. With the help of the seed funding they hope to double in size within the year.

The new financing will allow Figure 1 to grow in a variety of ways. Their first goal is to expand onto different platforms: they're planning to launch on Android within four or six weeks, and will then move onto a desktop version of Figure 1. They're also looking to expand into other countries; the app is available in Canada, the U.S., Ireland, and the UK at the moment, and Australia and New Zealand are next. (Because the app is for licensed professionals, there are costs involved when they expand to each new country as they need to accommodate a new set of medical regulations.)

Levey's quick to admit they don't have a business model quite yet—Figure 1's focus right now is on building the service and user base. This isn't, right now, worrying anyone: their investors are on board with that strategy. Many of those investors are based in America, though there are some Canadians in the mix as well, and that's reflected in the approach a bit: "I do think there's something of a difference," Levey says of the investment culture in the two countries. "The American ones, especially on the west coast, are really swinging for the fences. The Canadian ones are a little more cautious, a little more risk averse—but that's changing."

Writer: Hamutal Dotan
Source: Gregory Levey, co-founder, Figure 1

Happy new year! Here are the most interesting of the opportunities we spotted coming back from winter break—a cultural sector special bonanza:

Some great cultural organizations are looking for technology help right now. Postmedia is hiring a tablet producer to work on titles across the company; they need someone with a particular aptitude for editorial design. And Jane's Walk, the organization that runs hundreds of public walking tours in cities across the globe, needs a PHP web developer to administer their site, refine their designs, and handle analytics.

More in the culture sector! Manifesto—organizer of the annual Manifesto Festival, and creator of youth-focused arts programming throughout the year—is seeking a new managing director. Responsibilities include overseeing all day-to-day operations, including both finance and programming. Artscape, which revitalizes historic buildings and transforms them into new community-oriented spaces, is looking to fill the newly created position of capital project manager. Reporting to the executive vice president, this role is for someone to handle initial project negotiations, manage ongoing design, and tackle project-specific stakeholder relations.

Local governments are also looking for help in this area. The City of Mississauga is hiring a supervisor of events services for Celebration Square, a post for someone with three to five years of experience. And the City of Toronto needs a new director of arts and culture services—a key senior management role.

Finally, two local public relations companies that focus on the arts scene have openings right now. Flip Publicity is hiring a publicist and publicity coordinator; they need someone with at least three to six years of experience specifically in the arts and entertainment industry. Knot PR, meanwhile, whose clients include Luminato and the Canadian Opera Company, is looking for an account coordinator with some publicity experience. And for those with an interest in storytelling, the Centre for Social Innovation is hiring a part time "reporter," to profile its member organizations.

Know of an innovative job opportunity? Let us know. 

In the waning days of 2013, when most of us were distracted by holiday shopping and trips back home, some promising information was released about a new set of economic programs for southern Ontario. The Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) announced details of the Southern Ontario Prosperity Initiatives (SOPIs), which collectively will provide $530 million in the region.

There are four separate initiatives that have been launched:

• Business Innovation, for young ventures. This program targets new enterprises, providing them with business support to help increase their odds of success in the marketplace. Funding in this stream is available for non-profits that offer support to new businesses, early stage businesses that have less than 50 employees, and angel investor networks.

• Business Growth and Productivity, for established businesses. This stream of funding aims to help companies that are already developed expand further and create new jobs. Small- and medium-sized enterprises with at least 15 employees, and non-profits that provide productivity support services to those enterprises, are eligible.

• Commercialization Partnerships Initiative, which targets collaborative projects between businesses and researchers. This program aims to help major institutions work closely with business partners to help translate research innovations into market success. Among those eligible: post-secondary institutions and industry associations.

• Regional Diversification Initiative, which targets underdeveloped sectors of the regional economy. This stream of funding is open to non-profits with an economic development focus, and that have private sector or community partnerships that work on capacity-building initiatives.

For more information, visit FedDev Ontario.

Writer: Hamutal Dotan
Source: FedDev

The most interesting of the opportunities we've seen this week:

This is a good week for event organizers and cultural outreach workers, especially. The Toronto Botanical Garden is looking for a special events coordinator to plan all development-related events, including fundraisers. The University of Toronto's sustainability office, meanwhile, needs a campaign event coordinator to work on environmental initiatives at the St. George campus. And the Rogers Centre is on the hunt for a community relations coordinator to do outreach for the Toronto Blue Jays, including overseeing the Blue Jays Jr. Jays Club.

In cultural organizations, the corporation that runs Roy Thomson and Massey halls is looking for a programming coordinator to provide support for events, and handle some other administrative tasks. The Sony Centre for the Performing Arts needs to fill the newly created post of education and outreach manager. The successful candidate will create and manage outreach programs for both youth and adults.

Also hiring right now: innovative building redeveloper Artscape, which needs a development associate for a 12-month maternity leave contract, to work and cultivate relationships with major donors.

Ryerson University's program in Modern Literature and Culture needs a part-time digital image archivist; some research work will also be involved.

Finally, the Canadian Diabetes Association has two interesting opportunities open right now. They are looking for a manager of digital media and web design to develop and manage a comprehensive online strategy across all platforms. They are also seeking a new head of human resources—a senior post for someone with 15 years of progressive experience.

Do you know of an innovative job opportunity? Let us know.

Women have made significant strides in the workplace in recent decades, of course; just how far we still have to go as a culture in closing the gender gap isn't always as clear. A new study out of non-profit Catalyst sheds light on one aspect of that gender gap: what happens to Canada's MBA graduates. The news is concerning.

"Across job settings, women in Canada fare worse than men from the start. Women working in Canada each made $8,167 less than men in their first post-MBA job," the report finds. Moreover, "at 72 per cent, the majority of women started out in an entry level position, compared to just 58 per cent of men."

That gap persists among MBA graduates who are assessed to have high potential. Catalyst research also examined the drivers that lead to post-MBA success—who advances rapidly, and attains the most senior positions. Among the factors that lead to this success are being given critical work early on (generally understood as work with direct profit and loss impacts) or international travel opportunities. On both counts, male MBA graduates are given more opportunities than their female counterparts. For instance, of this so-called "high potential" cohort, 29 per cent of men and 19 per cent of women were given an international assignment.

One consequence of this: "women in Canada were more than twice as likely as men to choose a non-corporate employer following completion of their MBA." The report finds that "corporate Canada is experiencing a talent drain, especially among women, into non-corporate firms at rates higher than in other regions around the world."

Which is why, also, the report concludes with this: "These findings profile a wake-up call for Canadian organizations: the time to act is now."

Writer: Hamutal Dotan
Source: High Potential Employees in the Pipeline: Maximing the Talent Pool in Canadian Organizations

The most interesting of the opportunities we've seen this week:

There are currently some major cultural institutions looking for help. The Design Exchange, which hosts exhibitions and runs events out of its historic Bay Street building, is looking for an intermediate graphic designer with three to five years of experience. The Canadian Opera Company is on the hunt for a chief communications officer to lead the development of a new strategic marketing plan. Waterfront Toronto is looking for a public art program manager to manage the commission of multiple public art projects, as well as cultural programming at key venues. Finally Hot Docs, the home of documentary film in Toronto, needs a new publications coordinator to manage the production of all industry and general interest materials.

Also in need of assistance: a couple of entrepreneur education programs. The York Entrepreneurship Development Institute, a non-profit education program for innovators and entrepreneurs, is looking for a project director. This is a full-time contract position for someone to take on the Institute's start-up and non-profit incubator.

In related openings, innovation centre MaRS Discovery District is looking for a facilitator of entrepreneurship programs to design and deliver client workshops.

For programmers with an interest in education, George Brown is in need of a programmer analyst with at least five years experience to assess statements of work and troubleshoot as problems arise.

In new media, liveblogging platform ScribbleLive is hiring two editors: one for news and business, and a second for sports and entertainment. Both posts call for someone with three to five years of experience, one to two of which are in "live storytelling."

Know of any innovative job openings in Toronto? Let us know!

The Ontario Bridge Training Program assists skilled immigrants by providing support while they get their credentials, licenses, and professional certifications settled in their new home, and helping them find jobs in their fields once they have.

Recently, the provincial and federal governments announced that they will be "expanding and enhancing" the program over the next three years.

Details are right now scarce—representatives for Ontario's Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration could not spell out any of the particulars—but we're told that more announcements are coming soon. What we do know is that the province is putting $63.6 million into the program over three years, and the federal government is kicking in another $16.6 million; of that pot $15 million of provincial money is "additional support."

Mamdouh Shoukri is president of York University, which runs a certification program for skilled immigrants, and which hosted government officials for the announcement. "These important programs are helping to build a globally connected economy and to support diversity in our communities," he said, addressing an audience of dignitaries and skilled immigrants.

Representing the federal government, Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander chimed in: "We need to remind ourselves of that economic logic of immigration, of the desire of immigrants themselves to work in their fields, to build lives, to provide for their families, and to contribute."

Writer: Hamutal Dotan
Source: Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration

The most interesting of the opportunities we've seen this week:

This is a particularly good week for environmental jobs—a number of organizations are hiring in that sector. First off, the University of Toronto has a one year maternity-leave coverage position available, for a project coordinator in their sustainability operations division. The post involves working on resource and energy conversation within the institution.

Next up is the Toronto Atmospheric Fund, which works on climate change issues for the municipal government and has two vacancies right now. They are looking for a new communications manager for a one year contract (with a "strong possibility" of renewal), and for a new permanent grants program manager, to administer their $850,000 budget.

The Primitive Integrated Naturalist Education (P.I.N.E.) Project is a non-profit that tries to foster relationships with nature for city-dwellers.They are looking for seasonal instructors, to help with a variety of daytime and after school educational programming. And LEAF, a non-profit which supports the urban forest in particular, is hiring a new volunteer and stewardship coordinator. Finally, Fresh City Farms, an urban farm in north Toronto, needs a technology and innovation manager, to help them make their operations as efficient as possible.

Crossing the environment with the urban affairs sector, think tank Pembina is looking for a director of transportation to lead their strategic planning and policy development in that area.

Also in city-building, non-profit 8-80 Cities, which works on creating more vibrant and livable urban spaces, is hiring an event coordinator with at least two years of experience.

For those with a financial background, innovation centre MaRS is looking for an investment manager to develop their accelerator fund, which makes investments in early-stage Ontario tech companies.

And last but not least: the Art of Time Ensemble, which creates interesting interdisciplinary performance pieces that blend theatre, concerts, and other genres, is looking for its first ever full-time communications and marketing manager.

Do you know of an innovative job opportunity? Let us know!

Immigration isn't just a matter of navigating clearly defined legal and employment constraints: getting your paperwork in order, re-credentialling, and so on. There is also a host of soft skills—cultural conventions and communication best practices, social insight and networking capacity—that anyone needs to successfully make a transition to a new country.

Helping skilled immigrants do just that: the mentors of the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC), who assisted 1,000 immigrants this past year via a program called The Mentoring Partnership. Mentors offer sector-specific advice (mentees and mentors are matched by occupation), but also help with the ephemeral, essential task of getting settled in a new work environment.

Those mentors and their successes were celebrated recently, at an annual reception.

Indra Maharjan was a mentee with the program in 2010; he returned in 2013 to act as a mentor to two new skilled immigrants; he was one of the program participants honoured at TRIEC's reception. Like many new immigrants Maharjan had done a lot of research and planning when it came to logistical issues, but it was the Mentoring Partnership, he says, that "helped me to get lots of other information which is not publicly available: how to deal with people, how to make sure your boss is happy," and other similar matters.

The Partnership helped him learn about Canadian work culture and communication styles, which allowed him to find and flourish in new work more quickly. "The crux of success lies in how you communicate with people," Maharjan says, and there's is no better guide to that than another person who can answer real-life questions about it, and help you work through situations as they arise. Years later he and his mentor are still in touch.

This year Maharjan's two mentees each found jobs within two months, he says with pride. "Most people are hardworking, but if they can't express themselves that creates a bottleneck."

Writer: Hamutal Dotan
Source: Indra Maharjan, The Mentoring Partnership
Photo: Camilla Pucholt

Ontario is a growing force in medical technology research, and now the provincial government wants to bolster the sector further. Last month Queen's Park launched the new Ontario Health Innovation Council to help support the commercialization of medical innovations and new technologies. The council's task: identify growth opportunities and strategies for market-oriented development.

The council is specifically focused on small- and medium-sized businesses, and has a mandate to create the conditions for job growth in this sector.

The provincial government estimates that Ontario's health technology sector generates $9.1 billion a year. In job terms, the medical devices sector employs more than 17,000—49 per cent of the total nationwide.

The 15 council members represent academic institutions, hospitals, private companies, and non-profits. (Toronto-based members include the heads of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, MaRS Innovation, UofT's Institute for Health Policy, and the University Health Network.)

Deb Matthews, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, said via a written statement that, "Ontario’s capacity to provide the best care and get value for our precious health dollars depends on harnessing our strengths in health research and innovation. The Ontario Health Innovation Council will help us improve the quality of care while creating valuable new jobs."

Catherine Zahn, president of CAMH, echoed those sentiments in her own comments, writing that "OHIC is an opportunity to ‘think big’ and broadly about health innovation in Ontario and make it real for patients, people and communities.”

The council's members will be looking at a range of issues beyond commercialization, too. They'll be examining ways to lower health care costs in the province, and try to focus on new ways to improve patient care.

Writer: Hamutal Dotan
Source: Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care
Photo: Courtesy of the University Health Network.

The most interesting of the job opportunities we've seen recently:

This week is a particular bonanza for culture-fiends, and especially anyone with an interest in the performing arts. Queer theatre company Buddies in Bad Times has two positions open: one is for a fundraising manager and the other a public relations coordinator. Both are new positions—part-time contracts that run through June, 2014, and have an option for renewal if things go well.

The Factory Theatre is hiring a development and partnerships manager; it's a permanent, full-time position for someone with at least five years experience, who can spearhead the company's efforts as they build up to their 50th anniversary later this decade. Another stalwart of the theatre scene, Canadian Stage, is hiring too: they are looking for a marketing and communications manager to create and implement communications materials for each show in their season.

Also in culture, the Luminato Festival is looking for some help with government relations and communications. It's a senior position for someone with at least five years of experience working with government, and reports directly to the CEO. The Toronto Symphony Orchestra is filling a vacancy for a senior communications manager, to oversee the creation of all their development communication materials. Finally, the Canadian Film Centre is hiring an events manager with at least five years of relevant experience.

There's also a great opportunity available right now for history buffs: Historica-Canada (formerly the Historica-Dominica Institute) is hiring a billingual program officer. Duties include communications, event organizing, outreach, and classroom assistance.

If getting your hands dirty is more appealing Fresh City Farms, a six-acre farm in Toronto with a local grocery delivery program, is looking for a farm manager. They are seeking someone with at least three seasons of organic growing experience, as well as experience managing staff.

Finally, the Ontario Land Trust Alliance, a conservation-oriented charity, is hiring a program and communications officer. It's a junior position for someone with at least one year of work experience, excellent communication stills, and a capacity to multitask.

Do you know of an innovative job opportunity in Toronto? Let us know.