Program Consultant, Innovation & Insights

Position Title: Program Consultant, Innovation & Insights
Term: Permanent, Full Time
Division/Branch: Information and Information Technology Division/ Business Optimization and Insights Branch

Application Deadline: July 14, 2025

Level: Level 9
Pay Range: Min: 84,154 to Max: 105,195
Position Location: AGCO Head Office; Toronto, Hybrid

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) isn't just a regulatory agency; we're the heartbeat of Ontario's vibrant alcohol, gaming, horseracing, and private cannabis retail sectors. As a dedicated organization reporting to the Ministry of the Attorney General, we uphold the highest standards of honesty and integrity while championing public interest and safety. Here, innovation thrives, ideas flourish, and passion drives us to new heights of excellence.
At the AGCO, we believe in harnessing the power of teamwork, embracing diversity in all its forms, and creating an environment where every voice is heard and valued. The AGCO Innovation Hub, known as Innovation + Insights (I+I), is an extension of that vision. The AGCO Innovation Hub is dedicated to cultivating digital innovation by identifying, promoting, and executing activities that ensure the organization can adapt to new challenges and regulatory and business landscapes.
Are you interested in driving impactful change in the areas of business, technology, and policy through innovation? The Business Optimization and Insights Branch is seeking a dynamic Program Consultant, Innovation & Insights (Program Consultant), to help shape the future of how the AGCO conducts business, delivers its services, and achieves its mandate.
As a Program Consultant, reporting to the Manager, Innovation & Insights, you will oversee initiatives that prototype and test new methods for delivering programs and conducting agency activities. In this role, you will oversee innovation initiatives, conduct business and regulatory research, develop internal reports and briefings, and collaborate with data experts to uncover insights that support AGCO's strategic resilience. This role strongly involves working closely with various business areas, transforming research findings into communication projects and data products tailored to diverse audiences.
Seize this exciting opportunity to join our forward-thinking team and drive impactful change, helping create a modern, agile, and innovative AGCO that delivers exceptional value for the government and the people, communities, and organizations of Ontario.
About the AGCO Innovation Hub
The AGCO Innovation Hub, known as the Innovation + Insights unit, is a team dedicated to cultivating digital innovation at the AGCO. Our mission is to drive the AGCO's innovation agenda by identifying, promoting, and executing activities that ensure the organization can adapt to new challenges and regulatory landscapes. We strive to support the vision of a digital-oriented AGCO that delivers programs and services in sustainable, modern, efficient, and effective ways. Our core values include embracing learning through failure, exploring new ideas, challenging the status quo, leveraging strategic insights, and prioritizing long-term sustainability. The Innovation Hub is essential in enhancing organizational agility, augmenting capacity, and fostering collaboration, all aimed at future-proofing the AGCO.

The successful candidate will:
Conduct Applied Research

• Lead applied research to identify opportunities for innovation across AGCO’s business, regulated sectors, and operational areas.
• Scan for emerging trends (e.g., technologies, policies, sector developments) and bring forward insights that could shape future approaches.
• Analyze internal activities and their processes, data, and performance to proactively uncover gaps, challenges, and improvement opportunities.
• Develop clear, compelling, actionable research products (e.g., reports, briefings) that inform senior leadership and support decision-making.
• Connect research findings to innovation priorities — helping to proactively trigger innovation cycles.
• Present research findings to a variety of internal audiences in an accessible and compelling manner.

Support the Delivery of Innovation Initiatives

• Collaborate with business areas to identify challenges, surface opportunities, and explore new ways of working.
• Scope and support the design and delivery of innovation initiatives, including pilots, prototypes, or small-scale tests (executing the innovation cycle).
• Develop business cases to explore the feasibility of ideas, including conducting cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analyses.
• Facilitate ideation events and co-design workshops to foster, develop, and refine ideas.
• Define learning goals and performance measures to guide experimentation, success determination, and decision-making.
• Share insights and outcomes of ongoing innovation initiatives to inform future improvements and opportunities to scale those that work.
• Foster strong relationships with stakeholders to facilitate the creation and support of internally generated ideas and secure buy-in for testing and implementing new practices.

Support Stewardship of Innovation Program

• Maintain the agency’s innovation framework, tools, and processes.
• Manage a centralized portfolio of innovation ideas and initiatives.
• Monitor and document the impact of the innovation program in alignment with the I+IT strategy.
• Coordinate with internal partners to align innovation with agency strategic priorities.
• Support knowledge sharing, documentation, and continuous improvement of the program.

The ideal candidate will have:

• 3+ years of experience in identifying, researching, or supporting initiatives within a public sector, consulting, or cross-functional environment.
• Demonstrated ability to analyze complex challenges using both qualitative and quantitative methods, and to translate insights into actionable business opportunities.
• Strong communication skills to prepare and present clear and compelling reports, briefing notes, presentations, or data products for both executive and operational audiences.
• A university degree in a relevant field (e.g., Public Policy, Business, Economics, or related fields), or an equivalent combination of education and experience that demonstrates strong critical thinking, research, and strategic insight.
• Experience working in or with complex organizations; able to navigate ambiguity, build relationships, and move ideas forward collaboratively.
• Proven ability to contribute to the design, development, and delivery of innovation projects, pilots, or experiments that improve public services or operations.
• Knowledge of public-sector innovation practices (e.g., human-centered design, lean experimentation, behavioural insights, agile methods), and/or the ability to quickly apply new tools and methodologies.
• Experience facilitating or supporting co-creation activities (e.g., workshops, discovery sessions, design sprints) with internal or external stakeholders.
• Experience with evaluating outcomes of initiatives through performance measures.
• Proficiency with business intelligence tools (e.g., Power BI, Excel, SQL, R), with willingness to adopt and learn new tools.
• Strong organizational and time management skills; able to prioritize and deliver in a fast-paced, evolving environment.
• The successful candidate must be eligible to work in Canada and will be subject to a criminal background check.

The AGCO is an inclusive and equal opportunity employer.

The AGCO has the responsibility to lead by example in advancing racial equity and to build a diverse, inclusive, accessible and respectful workplace where every employee has a voice and the opportunity to fully contribute. To this effect, you are encouraged to reflect upon the diversity you would bring to the role within your application including, but not limited to, individuals identifying with one or more of the under-represented groups identified within Ontario’s Human Rights Code.

Disability related accommodation during the recruitment process is available upon request.