Finance Education & Communication Advisor

Job Title : Finance Education & Communication Advisor

Position Type: Temporary, Full Time - approx. duration: 18 months

Department : Corporate Services

Division : Financial Management & Planning

Location: Thorold, ON

Standard Hours : 35.00 / week

Salary : $ 78,810.00 - $ 92,710.00

Hybrid: Work Arrangement : Yes

Job Summary

Reporting to the AD, Corporate Accounting and Reporting Services, the Finance Education & Communication Advisor provides supports for education and communications for the Finance, Procurement, and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) teams (including Niagara Region and its agencies, boards and commissions, and external shared services partners). This role leads the learning and instructional design process for the ERP system and processes as well as finance and procurement initiatives, including conducting learning needs assessments, design, development, delivery program evaluation, project manages tasks, and fosters change readiness while promoting a learning organization aligned to corporate strategies. This role is also responsible for development and execution of effective communications strategies and products; including administration of the applicable areas of Niagara Region’s corporate intranet site and collaborating with other teams such as Procurement Services and Human Resources (HR) on their intranet sites.

Education

• Post-secondary degree in Business Administration, Adult Education, Human Resource Management or other related discipline.
• Post-graduate in Training and Development or Adult Education is preferred.
• Formal training in Instructional Design, Curriculum Development or e-Learning (e.g. Certified Training Professional, Certified Training and Development Professional) is preferred.
• 5 years of experience in curriculum/instructional design, implementation and facilitation of learning programs/projects in a corporate learning environment, preferably in a public sector/municipal environment.
• Minimum of 3 years of demonstrated knowledge of adult learning principles and a strong familiarity with design and development principles/methodologies.
• Experience designing and developing instructor-led content with technical subject matter content and documenting or explaining the use of functional application courseware, preferably related to developing ERP and/or software solutions training for large audiences on Finance and/or Procurement subjects.
• Practical experience with current learning technologies used for authoring and deploying e-Learning such as authoring tools, learning management systems and multi-media environments; with Articulate 360 experience preferred.
• Experience designing and developing technical training curriculum and documentation targeted to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Experience in document management, including reviewing, uploading and archiving documents, managing user access and permissions, designing and updating web parts, and/or managing communication sites; with SharePoint site experience preferred.
• Proficiency in applying brand governance and tone-of-voice guidelines to develop resources and/or communications that reflect an organization’s brand and communication style.
• Demonstrated project management experience with the ability to take initiative and lead projects. Project Management certification is preferred.
• Previous experience working with finance and/or procurement ERP modules (i.e. PeopleSoft Financials) is preferred.
• Knowledge of financial principles, policies and procedures, and aptitude for understanding finance and procurement processes, systems and policies is preferred.
• Experience guiding employees and/or clients through change by developing, implementing, and delivering detailed action plans that support employees and achieve business goals. Change Management certification is preferred.
• Experience with technologies and administration to facilitate onboarding and enrolment; PeopleSoft HCM and Absorb are preferred.
• An equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered

Knowledge and Responsibilities Designs, develops, implements, and maintains learning program and solutions for Finance, Procurement, ERP, and Regional ERP clients (40% of time).

• Plans, develops, reviews, project manages, and prioritizes the ongoing strategy of the Finance learning program and solutions, ensuring alignment with the corporate learning strategy for Finance, Procurement, ERP, and Regional ERP clients using a blended learning approach.
• Conducts needs assessments to determine business, performance and learning requirements.
• Consults with project teams, cross functional user groups, technology groups and business participants to define learning objectives and content.
• Establishes and maintains strong relationships with interested parties and employee to ensure programs and processes are aligned with priorities.
• Designs, delivers and maintains learning solutions and content to meet the diverse learning and development needs of our employees and shared service partners, including: instructor-led and online learning, presentations, self-study, simulations, lab exercises, and user guides.
• Establishes the learning (system) environment approach and guides data population activities with support from the Senior ERP Business Specialists and ERP Business Analysts.
• Partners with subject matter experts (SMEs) and key participants to ensure learning content is accurate and reflects current processes and industry/regulatory standards.
• Motivates, guides, and oversees assigned task owners on collaborative initiatives.
• Works with the ERP system directly to understand changes or upgrades; develop applicable courseware.
• Manages learning projects (often blended solutions) from analysis to implementation.
• Creates, owns and manages the learning project plan and all elements of execution, including design, delivery, communication and evaluation.
• Responsible for the creation and issue of the corporate learning calendar and learning and development intranet site design, ensuring it is relevant and up to date. Ensures digital objects meet Regional technology standards and accessibility requirements.
• Delivers instructor-led and online training to employees and partners in alignment with the corporate learning calendar and other ad hoc needs.
• Mentors and trains subject matter and technical experts to support the delivery of training and workshops.
• Actively collaborates with operational teams to collect feedback, research best practices and proactively recommend solutions for continuous improvement in learning and performance.
• Acts as a trusted learning advisor to clients and as subject matter expert for Finance learning program and solutions, resources, tools and activities.
• Continually researches and implements approved multimodal learning methods.

Provides advice, formulates, and implements strategic internal communications plans to support Finance, Procurement, ERP, and Regional ERP clients (30% of time).

• Assesses gaps in corporate/department competencies and performance, developing and executing methodologies to address concerns.
• Plans, develops and delivers internal communications and strategies to support Finance and Procurement initiatives as well as ERP system updates, upgrades and features to support employee adoption.
• Promotes the positive features and aspects of the ERP programs and services and drives adoption and usage of the system.
• Provides advice and counsel on Finance, Procurement, and ERP related communications.
• Anticipates potentially contentious issues impacting the end users, advising on best methods of proactively and positively addressing them to encourage change readiness.
• Plans and leads change management activities related to communications by developing and delivering resources.
• Develops and implements communications plans and strategies for internal audiences and shared service partners, as well as measures results accordingly.
• Researches, analyzes, plans, develops and implements communications plans and strategies designed to assist in building positive relations between Financial Management and Planning (FMP) and operating departments.
• Prepares and implements internal communications campaigns and communications related to Finance, Procurement, and ERP systems and processes, including training, deadlines/calendars, system availability, process changes, etc.
• Plans, develops and maintains the Finance and Procurement pages of the Region’s corporate intranet site (the Vine), ensuring site content is current, relevant and accessible to all participants.
• Approves, edits, or declines content prepared by staff for posting on the corporate intranet site, ensuring accuracy, correctness and clarity.
• Collaborates with Corporate Communications, HR, and Information Technology Solutions on broad scope initiatives, exercising indirect influence on strategy and deliverables.
• Collaborates with Regional ERP clients on communication needs to support new initiatives and changes.

Assesses and evaluates overall effectiveness of the Finance learning program and solutions for Finance, Procurement, ERP, and Regional ERP clients (20% of time).

• Develops objectives and learning evaluation strategies to ensure Finance, Procurement, and ERP learning programs support organizational performance.
• Identifies measures of success through project management of costs, work efforts, timelines, forecasting and deliverables.
• Reports on expected business impact/return on investment (ROI).
• Designs learning evaluation strategies and develops detailed evaluation plans.
• Designs evaluation methodologies, testing instruments and on-line test environments as required.
• Conducts and reports on qualitative and quantitative learning evaluation at the individual, project and product levels and reports on results.
• Conducts post-learning assessments to measure levels of understanding and retention.
• Develops and maintains metrics for Finance, Procurement, and ERP learning program and solutions.
• Reviews Finance, Procurement, and ERP learning program and solutions to ensure the highest standards are maintained, content remains current, and instruction is proficient.
• Prepares and presents reports on learning initiatives and performance indicators.
• Advises on the effectiveness of the learning programs to Regional management and Shared Services Interested Parties as well as cross functional user groups for Regional ERP clients.

Performs learning program support and logistical activities for Regional ERP clients (10% of time).

• Acts as primary resource and contact for training delivery and coordination for all aspects of the Region’s ERP system, in alignment with the corporate learning calendar.
• Ensures course availability and reporting through the Region’s learning management system.
• Ensures timely delivery and electronic storage of instructional tools and resources.
• Maintains relevant participant assessment documentation and records.
• Identifies and recommends additional learning instructors/facilitators (where required) for specific learning sessions/content.
• Coordinates Teams sessions for virtual training.
• Works with key stakeholders in IT Solutions, HR and FMP to develop procedures and practices to ensure all end user inquiries or issues are received, routed and addressed by the appropriate resources.
• Develops strategies to incorporate content into communications or training for frequent issues and requests.
• Ensures IT Service Desk, ERP Support, and HR team have access to materials required to effectively and efficiently answer basic inquires or route more complex inquiries to appropriate resource.

Perform other related duties and responsibilities as assigned or required.

Special Requirements

• In accordance with the Corporate Criminal Record Check Policy, the position requires the incumbent to undergo a Criminal Records Check and submit a Canadian Police Clearance Certificate.
• Regional staff strive to enable the strategic priorities of council and the organization through the completion of their work. Staff carry out their work by demonstrating the corporate values.

To view the full job description and requirements, visit our Careers page at niagararegion.ca. Applications will be accepted to Finance Education & Communication Advisor (JO #46491) up to 11:59 p.m. on November 15, 2026.