Director, Information Technology

The Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO) is seeking one (1) Director, Information Technology. We have one permanent position available to start immediately.

About RECO

The Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO) regulates real estate agents and brokerages in the province, protecting the public interest through a safe and informed marketplace. RECO holds real estate agents to professional standards and enhances consumer confidence in the real estate profession. In addition, RECO strives to educate consumers to ensure they understand the benefits of a regulated real estate sector. 

RECO is a not-for-profit corporation that is delegated by the provincial government to administer and enforce the Trust in Real Estate Services Act, 2002 (TRESA) and associated regulations. RECO was established in 1997 as a delegated administrative authority (DAA) under the Safety and Consumer Statutes Administration Act.  This was the result of a mutual desire between the government and the real estate industry to enhance professionalism, increase consumer protection and provide an effective and responsive regulatory framework. The Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery continues to be responsible for TRESA and associated regulations, as well as general oversight of RECO.

With more than 170 employees, RECO is a small but dynamic work environment where quality work/life balance is valued. A career at RECO is a challenging, satisfying and rewarding experience, an opportunity to work with a collegial team of employees that welcomes new people and new ideas with enthusiasm and warmth. RECO employees enjoy attractive benefits plans, education and training programs, advancement possibilities, and the opportunity to contribute collectively to the regulation of the real estate industry and the protection of the Ontario consumer.

Hybrid work environment

RECO has adopted a ‘hybrid’ environment, which will typically include a minimum attendance in the office of one day per week, with some teams requiring more frequent in-office attendance.

RECO’s commitment to diversity and inclusion: They aren’t just words to us!

RECO is committed to promoting an equitable, diverse, and inclusive environment that includes awareness, education, and engagement-building opportunities for all employees.

The role

Under the direction of the Chief Operating Officer, responsible for the strategy, design, development and implementation of organizational information systems, software applications, and IT support and infrastructure systems. Direct and manage resources, IT plans, schedules, policies, and programs for RECO’s data processing, network communications, business operations, computer services and information systems, according to established goals and objectives. As the Director of Information Technology, serve in a leadership role to drive the implementation of technology best practices throughout the organization and to identify emerging technologies to be analyzed and integrated into the existing infrastructure.

Key responsibilities

• Provide strategic management of technology and innovation. Engage in operational and budgetary planning for the department as well as all technology capital expenditures for the organization.
• Manage all IT resources. Provide resource allocation, project/task prioritization, coaching and career guidance for all direct reports.
• Plan, coordinate, direct, and design information systems (IS)-related activities of the organization, as well as provide direction and support for daily operational activities of the IT department. 
• Evaluate and analyze business processes, projects, and initiatives, and provide technology recommendations and solutions to be integrated into the organization. 
• Develop and implement all IS/IT policies and procedures; establish IS standards and best practices (security, backups, communications, disaster recovery (DR), and Business Continuity Planning (BCP).
• Negotiate vendor contracts and facilitate relationships with vendors, partners, and service providers. Coordinate purchasing requirements for IS equipment and services within established guidelines.
• Provide regular communication to executives, managers, and end users regarding pertinent IS activities in user-friendly language. Ensure effective change management principles are applied in the roll-out or change of all services.
• Ensure that the IT department provides system security, data access control, and physical and logical safety of the systems and data. In addition, ensure that all information systems are compliant with the Payment Card Industry (PCI) standards. 
• Set the strategy and provide oversight of the installation, configuration, maintenance, and upgrades of the technical infrastructure. Ensure that the IT department provides support and administration of all network systems, servers, workstations, and databases as required to meet the current and future technology needs of the organization.

Decision-making and authority

• Day-to-day decisions related to management of the department and all assigned staff.
• Hiring staff for existing positions.
• IT procedures, process, and workflow.
• Resolution of IT-related issues.
• Network structure and server platform.
• Implementation of technology best practices throughout the organization.
• Capital expenditures for new hardware and software solutions, replacement hardware and software upgrades.

Skills/knowledge/experience/education required

• 10+ years working with infrastructure and application development technologies.
• Capacity and experience to lead team of four direct reports and 14 staff.
• Significant experience in the management of structured IT departments (greater than five years).
• Extensive experience with Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) and IT Project Management methodologies.
• University degree in Computer Science or related field.
• Exceptional organizational and decision-making skills.
• Strong communication, analytical, problem solving and troubleshooting skills.
• Ability to work with deadlines and under pressure.
• Strong interpersonal skills, positive and friendly manner, and ability to establish credibility with other department managers and executives.
• Excellent negotiation and influencing skills.

Required technical competencies

• Experience managing Azure and Microsoft 365 environments.
• Disaster Recovery design, testing, reporting, recommendations. 
• Backup Architecture (design, best practices, archiving, multi-tier storage levels).
• Understanding and familiarity with many programming languages such as VB, .Net, ASP, ASP.Net, PHP and SQL, as the Director IT is ultimately responsible for all code developed and deployed.
• System Administration (Active Directory Windows, VMWare, vSphere, vCenter, Site Recovery Manager, Veeam, patch management, server monitoring, software/imaging deployment, hardware deployment).
• Email Administration. 
• Storage Management.
• Database Administration. 
• Network Administration. 
• Security Administration. 
• Telephone System Administration.

To apply

To express interest in this exciting opportunity, email your cover letter and resume to:

Patrick Rowan, Partner, Feldman Daxon Partners
45 St. Clair Avenue West, Suite 700, Toronto, ON M4V 1K9
Tel: 416-515-3302 | Email: prowan@feldmandaxon.com

About Feldman Daxon Partners

Feldman Daxon Partners is Canada’s longest-standing national provider of executive search, career transition, and coaching/leadership development services. For over 30 years, we have been at the forefront of innovation in human resources consulting by integrating these three services. Our Executive Search practice has been locating top talent for senior executive and managerial positions on a retainer-fee basis since our firm was founded in 1991. Our unwavering set of core values and dedication to client service has allowed us to build and maintain relationships with hundreds of clients in every market sector, and across Canada. Regular communication, high-quality candidate shortlists, industry knowledge, judgment, and expediency in our retainer search services are all reasons Canada’s leading companies choose to partner with the professionals at Feldman Daxon.