The Opportunity
The Business Manager is responsible for leading and growing the company’s Canadian defence business, with a primary focus on Department of National Defence (DND) and Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) customers.
This position manages Canadian government contracts throughout their lifecycle, develops strong customer and partner relationships, coordinates internal delivery teams, and provides financial oversight of assigned contracts and business opportunities. The successful candidate will understand Canadian defence procurement, contracting practices, operational requirements, and the expectations associated with delivering products or services to DND.
Military experience is strongly preferred. Experience with Canadian Special Operations Forces Command (CANSOFCOM), CANSOF-supported programs, or comparable special operations environments is considered a significant asset.
Key Responsibilities (Principal Duties and Accountabilities *Essential Functions)
Business and Customer Management
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Serve as a primary business contact for DND, CAF, and Canadian government stakeholders.
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Develop and maintain trusted relationships with customers, industry partners, subcontractors, and internal teams.
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Identify and qualify new Canadian defence business opportunities.
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Support business development strategies, capture planning, proposals, negotiations, and contract awards.
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Represent the company at customer meetings, industry events, demonstrations, and program reviews.
Contract and Program Management
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Manage Canadian government contracts from award through delivery, acceptance, invoicing, and closeout.
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Ensure contractual obligations, deliverables, milestones, reporting requirements, and customer expectations are understood and achieved.
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Coordinate engineering, operations, logistics, finance, legal, supply chain, and other functions involved in contract delivery.
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Monitor program schedules, risks, issues, dependencies, and corrective actions.
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Manage contract amendments, change requests, statements of work, deliverable requirements, and supporting documentation.
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Prepare and lead customer status meetings, contract reviews, and internal program reviews.
Financial Management
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Develop and maintain contract budgets, forecasts, revenue projections, cost estimates, and cash-flow plans.
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Monitor actual performance against budget, schedule, and contractual milestones.
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Review project costs, labour usage, subcontractor expenses, purchase commitments, margins, and financial risks.
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Coordinate invoicing, payment milestones, financial reporting, and accounts-receivable follow-up.
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Provide management with accurate forecasts and timely explanations of financial variances.
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Support pricing, proposal development, basis-of-estimate preparation, and contract negotiations.
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Identify opportunities to improve contract performance, profitability, and cost control.
Leadership Governance
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Lead cross-functional teams responsible for Canadian contract execution.
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Establish clear priorities, responsibilities, and performance expectations.
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Communicate effectively between Canadian customers and company leadership.
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Maintain accurate records and ensure sensitive government and company information is appropriately protected.
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Promote ethical conduct, accountability, operational security, and compliance with all applicable policies and regulations.
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Eligible to obtain and maintain a Government of Canada secret security clearance
Work Eligibility
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Must be legally authorized to work in Canada
Language Requirement
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English required
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French considered an asset
Education
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Bachelor’s degree in business, finance, engineering, project management, defence studies, or a related discipline; an equivalent combination of military service, education, and relevant professional experience will be considered.
Required Skills, Experience & Abilities
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Eight (8) or more years of relevant defence, military, government-contracting, program management, or business experience.
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Five (5) or more years supporting or managing Canadian federal government contracts, including meaningful experience with DND.
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Three (3) or more years of budget, forecasting, pricing, cost-control, or contract financial-management responsibility.
Preferred Qualifications
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Previous CAF service preferred
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CANSOF experience is preferred
Physical Demands
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met to successfully perform the essential duties of this role. These requirements are considered bona fide occupational requirements. Reasonable accommodations are available upon request.
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Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
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Ability to lift up to 15 pounds on occasion (e.g., transporting laptop, presentation materials, or small equipment).
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Ability to travel within Canada and the United States up to 10% of the time, which may include extended periods of standing, walking, or navigating airports and government facilities.
Work Environment
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Initially fully remote role; Ontario-based for employment standards purposes.
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Ottawa, Ontario preferred for future office transition.Standard business hours with flexibility to support employees across time zones.
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Frequent travel to Ottawa may be required during office establishment.
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Work involves regular handling of sensitive information.
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Once the new office is established, periodic in-office presence will be required for visitor and physical security responsibilities.
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Hybrid position - working hours are generally within standard daytime hours of operation Monday – Friday
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The pay scale for this position in Ottawa, ON is $130,000 to $160,000 CAD per year based on experience and qualifications.
Exciting opportunities like this are better when shared. Send this role to someone you know: Business Manager
Employment Equity & Accessibility
We are an equal opportunity employer and consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national or ethnic origin, citizenship, marital or family status, disability, genetic characteristics, or any other protected ground under applicable law. In accordance with the principles of the Employment Equity Act, we encourage applications from women, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, and members of visible minorities, and will consider qualified applicants with criminal records consistent with applicable laws and role requirements.
Accommodations are available throughout the recruitment process. Applicants requiring accommodation may contact [email protected]
