Job Description

Senior Special Advisor (SSA) – Capability Management & Technology Lifecycle Program

Location: Ottawa (Onsite)
Duration: 3 Months + Possible Extension
Clearance: Secret (Mandatory)

We are seeking a Senior Special Advisor (SSA) to provide enterprise-level leadership in designing and initiating a comprehensive Capability Management Program that spans the full technology and operational lifecycle.

This mandate is ideal for senior professionals with deep experience in Technology Lifecycle Management (TLM), capability development, sustainment governance, and multi-stakeholder defence environments.

Role Overview

The SSA will architect the strategic foundations for a full Capability Management Program, including governance structures, operating models, lifecycle processes, and documentation required to oversee complex C5ISRT portfolios from development → integration → sustainment → end-of-life/disposal.

You will lead stakeholder engagement, operational analysis, governance design, sustainment frameworks, integration strategies, and disposal planning culminating in a unified, executive-ready 5-Year Capability Roadmap.

Key Responsibilities

Orientation & Stakeholder Engagement

• Conduct targeted engagements with operational, technical, and support communities.

• Map business functions, interdependencies, risks, gaps, and systemic vulnerabilities.

• Extract strategic themes and lines-of-effort to inform program design.

Program Governance, Organizational Design & Framework Development

• Design governance architecture for an enterprise Capability Management Program.

• Define authorities, oversight functions, decision pathways, and KPIs.

• Build organizational and process foundations to support multi-year capability oversight.

• Ensure alignment with departmental governance and inter-agency collaboration structures.

Capability Sustainment & Operational Management

• Develop processes for sustaining mission-critical C5ISRT capabilities.

• Define workflows, documentation standards, and lifecycle oversight models.

• Support prioritization, resourcing, and risk management across legacy and new portfolios.

Capability Development & Integration Frameworks

Development Framework

• Establish governance checkpoints and integration criteria for new capability initiatives.

• Define cross-stakeholder coordination mechanisms.

Integration Strategy

• Develop a Capability Integration Framework governing acceptance, validation, transition, and sustainment readiness.

Stakeholder Integration Plan

• Map external dependencies and clarify decision authorities across the lifecycle.

• Define roles for engineering, operations, sustainment, procurement, and joint partners.

End-of-Life (EOL) & Disposal Strategy

• Develop disposal strategy for legacy systems.

• Establish processes, timelines, resource estimates, and governance touchpoints.

• Enable controlled transitions from sunset systems to emerging capabilities.

Strategic Documentation & 5-Year Roadmap

• Synthesize program elements into an executive-ready, strategic 5-Year Capability Management Roadmap.

• Produce senior-level briefings for leadership and governance boards.

• Ensure documentation supports long-term planning and investment prioritization.

Mandatory Qualifications

• Valid Secret Clearance (required at submission).

• Strategic Advisory Experience:
  Minimum 5 years within the last 8 delivering strategic advisory services for large, multi-year federal programs.
  Demonstrated experience developing governance structures, policy frameworks, and long-term strategic planning documents (e.g., 5-year roadmaps).

• Technology Lifecycle Management (TLM) – Defence/Security/C5ISRT:
  Minimum 5 years within the last 10 designing and implementing TLM strategies in defence, security, or high-complexity operational technology environments.
  Must include hands-on experience in:

  • Capability Development

  • Capability Integration

  • Sustainment / Operational Management

  • End-of-Life / Disposal Planning

• Experience working across multiple departmental or inter-agency environments.

What Will Make You Stand Out

• CAF Signals, CELE, CIS, or senior NCM backgrounds with capability oversight responsibilities.

• Experience supporting G6/J6/A6 or equivalent capability management directorates.

• Hands-on experience in capability development, readiness governance, sustainment, or force development.

• Familiarity with C5ISRT or other mission-critical, high-complexity systems.

Ideal Candidate Profile

• Strategic thinker with proven experience structuring enterprise-level governance and lifecycle programs.

• Skilled at navigating classified, multi-agency environments and command structures.

• Able to synthesize complex information into crisp, executive-level documentation.

• Deep understanding of full capability lifecycle concepts, development through disposal.