Position Title: Global Specifications Transformation Lead
Position Type: Regular - Full-Time
Grade: Grade 06
Requisition ID: 45409
About the role.The Interim Global Specifications Transformation Lead provides senior leadership capacity to McCain's Global Specifications organization during a critical period of transformation. This six-month assignment combines hands-on operational leadership with organizational improvement, ensuring continuity of key specification activities while strengthening governance, processes, capabilities, and the operating model needed to support future growth.
Working closely with the Senior Director, R&D Operations and global stakeholders, this role balances immediate delivery needs with future-state design, helping create a more resilient, effective, and transformation-ready Specifications organization.
What you'll be doing.- Provide day-to-day leadership, prioritization, and coordination across the Global Specifications organization.
- Drive visibility and management of key priorities, milestones, risks, resource constraints, and cross-functional dependencies.
- Support delivery of specification, PLM, product data, integration, systems, and data-quality initiatives.
- Facilitate issue resolution and escalation related to specification delivery, business continuity, data governance, and systems activities.
- Coordinate efforts across global and regional specification teams and key business partners.
- Assess organizational capacity, capability, and critical knowledge dependencies.
- Clarify accountabilities, decision rights, ownership models, and escalation pathways across the organization.
- Strengthen the Global Specifications Centre of Excellence through standards, best practices, knowledge sharing, and continuous improvement.
- Develop and implement documentation, knowledge transfer, backup coverage, and operational governance processes.
- Partner with R&D leadership to define and recommend a future-state operating model, transformation roadmap, and transition plan.
What you'll need to be successful.- Significant leadership experience in specification management, product data, PLM, technical information management, or a related discipline.
- Experience leading teams and initiatives within complex global or multi-regional organizations.
- Strong knowledge of specification lifecycle management, data governance, and system-enabled business processes.
- Demonstrated ability to influence and align stakeholders across functions, geographies, and organizational levels.
- Experience balancing strategic planning, operating model design, and hands-on execution.
- Strong change leadership, facilitation, problem-solving, and organizational development capabilities.
- Proven ability to establish priorities quickly and create clarity in ambiguous or rapidly changing environments.
- Executive-level communication skills with the ability to present risks, trade-offs, recommendations, and decision frameworks.
- Experience coaching, developing, and strengthening team capability while reducing dependency on key individuals.
- Preferred experience within food, consumer packaged goods, ingredients, packaging, or other regulated industries.
- Preferred experience with SAP PLM, ProductVision, specification management platforms, PIM solutions, or comparable product information systems.
- Experience with global process standardization, governance programs, operating model transformation, digital transformation, master data initiatives, or large-scale system implementations.
- Experience in interim leadership, consulting, or transformation assignments requiring rapid impact and measurable outcomes.
About the team.The Interim Global Specifications Transformation Lead will work closely with the Global Specifications organization, Senior Director, R&D Operations, regional specification leaders, and cross-functional partners across Digital Technology, Quality, Regulatory, Packaging, Procurement, and Manufacturing. The role serves as a key leadership partner focused on stabilizing delivery, building organizational resilience, and defining the future of McCain's global specifications capability.
Compensation Package: $102,700.00 - $137,000.00 . CAD annual base salary equivalency, paid in alignment to contract term
The above reflects the target compensation range for the position at the time of posting. Hiring compensation will be determined based on experience, skill set, education and training, and other organizational needs. This posting is for an existing vacancy.
Benefits: At McCain, we're on a mission to create a winning culture that puts employee safety and well-being at the heart of what we do, every day. We understand and appreciate that each person's needs are unique and ensure our benefits & well-being programs reflect that. Should this role hold a duration 12 months or longer, you will be eligible for our full benefits suite. This includes the following benefits: health coverage (medical, dental, vision, prescription drug), retirement savings benefits, and leave support including medical, family and bereavement. Well-being programs include vacation and holidays, company-supported volunteering time, and mental health resources. Coverages are aligned with applicable law and can vary by work level, location, and nature of the role. Additional benefit detail available during the application process.
Your well-being matters to us, and we're here to provide you with the necessary resources to support you in being your best self at work - and at home.
Job Family: Research & Development
Location(s): CA - Canada : Ontario : Toronto || CA - Canada : New Brunswick : Florenceville-Bristol
Company: McCain Foods (Canada)
