Manager, Innovation (18-month Contract)

Job Description

McCarthy Tétrault is a leading Canadian law firm offering a full suite of legal and business solutions to clients in Canada and around the world. With offices in Toronto, Montréal, Québec City, Calgary and Vancouver, we provide challenging and rewarding career opportunities across the country. Recognized as one of Canada’s Top 100 Employers for eleven consecutive years and one of Canada’s Best Diversity Employers for fourteen consecutive years, our culture is guided by The McCarthy Way—our shared approach to working with clients and with each other.

The McCarthy Way is built on four core elements: Excellence, through attracting and developing top talent committed to delivering on our Client Commitment; Collaboration, through seamless, integrated teamwork; Inclusion, through eliminating barriers to belonging and success; and Innovation, through delivering maximum value by embracing leading-edge technologies and approaches. Together, these principles shape how we work, lead, and grow—every day.

We are recruiting for a Manager, Innovation to join our team in our Montreal, Toronto, Calgary or Vancouver office. The successful candidate will be responsible for leading business and technology initiatives, managing projects from planning through implementation, enhancing digital platforms and business applications, driving process improvement and automation opportunities, and supporting stakeholder engagement, training, and change management activities. McCarthy Tétrault employees benefit from a hybrid work environment.

As an Innovation Manager, you will :

Platform Development and Process Improvement

• Lead requirements gathering, business analysis, process mapping, QA, and solution design initiatives to support process improvement and digital transformation across the firm.
• Collaborate with business stakeholders and development teams to document requirements, user stories, acceptance criteria, and testing activities for platforms including ServiceNow, Salesforce, SharePoint, Microsoft 365, Kontent.ai and other firm technologies.Support the design, implementation, enhancement, and governance of business applications and technology-enabled solutions.
• Develop and maintain training materials, SOPs, user guides, and other supporting documentation.
• Lead change management, communication, and adoption activities to support successful implementation of new tools, processes, and technologies.
• Provide training, troubleshooting, and ongoing support for business applications and innovation tools.
• Manage content, data quality, and platform configurations, ensuring accuracy, consistency, and compliance with firm standards.
• Monitor project deliverables, manage risks and issues, and remove roadblocks to support successful outcomes.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to identify opportunities for process optimization, automation, and continuous improvement.

Project Planning and Management

• Lead and manage multiple concurrent projects and initiatives from requirements gathering through implementation and transition to support.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to define project scope, objectives, requirements, timelines, budgets, and success measures.
• Develop and maintain project plans, status reports, risk logs, and governance documentation.
• Facilitate project meetings, workshops, and stakeholder discussions to drive alignment and decision-making.
• Identify, assess, and manage risks, issues, dependencies, and change requests with a high degree of transparency.
• Track project progress, adoption metrics, and business outcomes to support effective decision-making and continuous improvement.

As our ideal candidate, you will distinguish yourself by the following profile:

• Undergraduate degree in Information Technology, Business, or a related field, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 4+ years of relevant experience.
• Demonstrated expertise with legal innovation tools, platforms, and technology-enabled business solutions.
• Demonstrated experience delivering projects using Agile, Waterfall, and hybrid methodologies.
• Demonstrated experience leveraging AI-enabled tools and technologies to improve productivity, business processes, user experience, and operational efficiency. Interest in emerging technologies and continuous learning related to AI and digital innovation.
• Excellent written, verbal, communication, and presentation skills. Bilingualism (English and French) is considered an asset. Proven ability to influence, collaborate with, and lead stakeholders across all levels of the organization.
• Tech-forward mindset with a strong curiosity for process improvement, automation, and digital transformation.
• Energetic, proactive, and positive approach to all responsibilities, with a demonstrated commitment to delivering results efficiently and effectively.
• Self-starter who takes ownership of projects and initiatives and can work independently with minimal supervision.
• High attention to detail, exceptional organizational skills, and the ability to manage multiple competing priorities while maintaining a high level of accuracy.
• Proven problem-solving and analytical skills with the ability to assess complex challenges and develop creative, practical solutions.
• Demonstrated ability to adapt to changing priorities, navigate ambiguity, and support organizational change initiatives successfully.
• Strong interpersonal, stakeholder management, and relationship-building skills, with the ability to work effectively across cross-functional teams.
• Strong analytical and reporting capabilities, including experience developing dashboards, metrics, and performance reporting to support data-driven decision-making.
• PMP, CBAP, PMI-PBA, Prosci, Agile, Scrum, or related certifications are considered an asset.

As a member of the McCarthy team, you will have access to:

• Outstanding benefits from day one, including insurance premiums paid by the Firm.
• Competitive compensation.
• A commitment to professional development and growth opportunities for our people at all levels, supported by a culture that fully embraces and encourages two-way feedback.
• Strong community involvement and a commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion.
• A collaborative, cohesive culture that connects lawyers and business teams through collective purpose.

How to Apply:

We encourage external candidates to apply online and internal applicants must apply directly through our internal careers portal on Espresso. We look forward to receiving your application.

We thank all applicants for their interest in McCarthy Tétrault; however, only chosen applicants will be contacted. We regret that we are unable to respond to individual inquiries about application status. McCarthy Tétrault is an equal opportunity employer that fosters an inclusive, equitable, and accessible environment. Please notify us if you require accommodation at any time during the recruitment process.