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Led by Invest Ottawa, the city’s lead economic development agency, this initiative works alongside tech companies, recruiters and search firms, and community partners to spotlight the incredible innovation happening here and help connect great people with great opportunities.

We are excited to partner with ITHQ to attract top talent for their new Country Manager - Canada.

This job posting is a new position within our organization.

Country Manager – Canada

Introduction

ITHQ’s expansion into Canada represents a significant strategic milestone for the business. This move is driven by three core objectives:

Market Diversification and Growth: By broadening our presence beyond the UK, we can diversify revenue streams, mitigate regional risk, and unlock growth opportunities in a dynamic new market. Canada’s growing demand for resilient, expert-led IT services offers an attractive landscape for our next phase of expansion.

Access to World-Class Talent: Canada is home to a thriving technology sector and a wealth of highly skilled professionals. Establishing operations locally enables us to attract and retain top talent, strengthening our delivery capability and bringing fresh perspectives to our business.

Foundations for North American Expansion: While our immediate priority is building a robust and successful Canadian business, this presence is also an essential launchpad for future North American operations. The Canadian entity will provide the expertise, brand credibility, and operational bedrock required to support eventual entry into the United States and beyond, with full consideration of regulatory and market requirements unique to those territories.

The Country Manager (Canada) will be instrumental in achieving these aims, embedding ITHQ’s high standards whilst adapting to local market needs, and laying the foundations for long-term, sustainable success across the region.

Role Purpose

·       Act as the senior accountable leader for ITHQ in Canada, responsible for establishing, scaling, and leading the Canadian business in alignment with the group strategy.

·       Build a high-performing, accountable local team and culture, embedding ITHQ’s standards of delivery, customer satisfaction, and operational resilience.

·       Drive growth through new business generation, client relationship management, and partnership development within the Canadian market.

·       Ensure full compliance with local legal, regulatory, tax, financial, and employment requirements, operating to the highest standards of integrity.

·       Serve as the primary interface between the Canadian entity and UK headquarters, ensuring strategic alignment, transparent reporting, and collaborative delivery across borders.

·       Champion ITHQ’s values, methodologies (including FIRE and VAST), and standards, adapting where necessary for the Canadian context.

Scope 

Full P&L responsibility for the Canadian entity - accountable for commercial targets, operational delivery, and local margin protection.

Direct leadership of all in-country functions: sales, delivery, operations, support, and local HR/talent. Indirect oversight of shared group services.

Ownership of local business development, including pipeline creation, bid management, and channel/partner development.

Delivery oversight across the four ITHQ practice areas (Cyber, IT Operations, Data & AI, Hybrid Cloud) ensuring consistency with group quality measures.

Talent acquisition, development, retention, and local culture-building in line with ITHQ’s accountability framework.

Risk and compliance ownership: ensure local adherence to all legal, regulatory, financial, employment, and cyber/security standards.

Local vendor, supplier, and partner relationship management, within agreed group frameworks.

Represent ITHQ locally at industry, client, and partner events; uphold and enhance the group’s reputation in the Canadian market.

Contribute to group strategy refinement by providing Canadian market insights, client feedback, and operational learnings.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Market Leadership: Develop and execute the Canadian business strategy, ensuring full alignment with group objectives and delivery standards. Identify, assess, and act on opportunities for growth, service expansion, and market positioning. Provide regular market intelligence and analysis to group leadership.

Commercial Performance: Own the end-to-end sales pipeline: lead generation, qualification, bid oversight, and closing. Achieve revenue, gross margin, and contribution margin targets set for the Canadian business. Develop and maintain senior relationships with strategic clients, ensuring ITHQ is seen as a trusted adviser.

Operational Excellence: Oversee delivery of all services and projects in Canada, ensuring quality, repeatability, and client satisfaction at or above group benchmarks. Implement and govern local operating cadence (e.g., QBRs, MBRs, WBRs) in line with group standards.

People, Talent, and Culture: Recruit, onboard, and retain high-calibre talent in accordance with local employment legislation and group capability needs. Foster a high-performing culture of accountability, well-being, results, and continuous learning. Set clear objectives, monitor performance, and address underperformance promptly and fairly.

Risk, Compliance, and Governance: Ensure compliance with all Canadian legal, financial, data, and regulatory requirements. Own the local risk register, escalation frameworks, and incident management. Liaise with group legal, finance, and HR to ensure seamless integration and compliance.

Vendor and Partner Management: Select, negotiate, and manage strategic local vendors, suppliers, and partners in collaboration with group frameworks. Lead local partner enablement (certifications, joint marketing, MDF utilisation).

Client Delivery and Success: Ensure successful delivery of projects and managed services, resolving issues promptly. Implement and govern SLAs, NPS/NES, client onboarding and success frameworks.

Reporting and Communication: Provide regular business performance updates, forecasts, and risk assessments to UK HQ/leadership. Prepare local board packs and executive presentations as required.

Brand and Market Presence: Establish and enhance ITHQ’s brand in Canada through PR, networking, industry events, and thought leadership activity.

Success Measures / KPIs

Revenue Growth: Delivery of annual and quarterly revenue targets for the Canadian business, both new logo and account growth.

Gross Margin and Contribution Margin: Achievement of gross and contribution margin targets for all Canadian service lines.

Pipeline Health: Active pipeline value, win rate for strategic deals, and average deal cycle time in line with group standards.

Client Satisfaction: Net Promoter Score (NPS) at or above the group benchmark (currently 85+); client retention and account expansion.

Operational Delivery: Percentage of projects delivered on time and on budget; adherence to group delivery governance and quality standards; SLA attainment.

Talent Acquisition and Retention: Time-to-fill for key roles, successful onboarding, employee engagement, and retention in line with group expectations.

Compliance and Risk: Zero major compliance breaches; timely closure of any audit or regulatory actions; risk register management.

Partner and Vendor Performance: Achieving partner certifications, strong local supplier performance, and maximising MDF utilisation.

Brand Presence: Brand awareness growth in target sectors measured by PR, digital engagement, and events.

Group Alignment: Timely delivery of reporting and strategic inputs to HQ; clear communication of local market insights.

Operational Efficiency and Automation: Drive measurable improvements in efficiency and cost-to-serve through the adoption of automation, AI, and optimised processes. Demonstrate year-on-year uplift in automation maturity and reduction of manual, repetitive effort.

Reporting Lines

·       Reports directly to the CEO (UK).

·       Matrix reporting relationships to UK Heads of Practice for alignment with service line development, technical delivery, and solution standards.

·       Serves as the senior ITHQ representative for statutory and compliance matters in Canada.

Delegation of Authority

·       Full autonomy to make commercial, operational, and talent decisions for the Canadian business within approved budgets and group standards.

·       P&L authority for the local entity, including investment in market development, hiring, and resource allocation within agreed financial parameters.

·       Contract signing authority for client and supplier agreements up to defined thresholds; escalates exceptions per group Delegation of Authority.

·       Vendor and partner selection within the local market (in coordination with group where global partnerships apply).

·       Adapts and enforces ITHQ’s policies to ensure compliance with Canadian law, while upholding group culture and operational standards.

·       Escalates significant risks or market issues directly to the CEO and Board.

·       Acts as the public face of ITHQ in Canada, leading on PR, networking, and industry engagement.

Role Requirements

Essential Experience

·       Senior leadership experience (GM, Country Manager, Practice Head or equivalent) in technology services, consulting, or managed services.

·       Demonstrable track record building and scaling teams, delivering commercial targets, and managing P&L in a fast-paced, high-accountability environment.

·       Deep understanding of the regulatory, commercial, and employment landscape.

·       Extensive background in client relationship management, value-based selling, and commercial negotiations.

·       Experience driving operational delivery and service excellence in line with UK/EU or North American standards.

·       Proven ability in talent attraction, retention, and building high-performance, values-led teams.

·       Hands-on experience with risk, compliance, data protection, and supplier/vendor management.

·       Direct experience deploying automation solutions, AI tools, or technology-driven process improvements to drive efficiency, reduce costs, and increase business agility.

Desirable Experience

·       Experience launching or scaling a new market/business line.

·       Existing network within the technology sector, channels, and target client verticals.

·       Familiarity with strategic consulting frameworks or similar.

Core Skills

·       Strategic planning and execution.

·       Outstanding written and verbal communication and executive presentation skills.

·       Financial acumen: budgeting, forecasting, margin management, and contract negotiation.

·       Commercially minded: pricing, deal structuring, and win strategy.

·       Strong leadership and people development.

·       High operational discipline with a focus on delivery excellence and client satisfaction.

·       Risk awareness and proactive mitigation.

·       Able to thrive with autonomy, ambiguity, and entrepreneurial challenges.

·       Strong capability in leveraging automation, AI, and technology platforms to streamline operations, minimise manual workload, and scale outcomes efficiently.

Attributes

·       High integrity; trusted leader and brand representative.

·       Entrepreneurial, agile and hands-on; delivers both strategy and practical execution.

·       Collaborative and culturally adaptive; works confidently across borders and seniority levels.

·       Results-driven, disciplined, and solutions-oriented.

·       Champions accountability and fosters continuous improvement.

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