Deputy Chief, Paramedic Services (NU 12.26)(PFT)(2)

Located in the heart of Southwestern Ontario, Norfolk County is where big vision meets unlimited potential.

As one of Ontario’s largest single-tier municipalities and home to over 70,000 people, Norfolk is bold, diverse, and proudly local - a municipality that thrives on innovation, collaboration, and connection. Here, you’ll find endless opportunities to grow your skills, expand your ideas, and shape your career.

As one of the Deputy Chief, Paramedic Services, you will provide strategic and operational leadership that shapes how emergency medical services are delivered across the community. You’ll drive system performance, lead people and programs through change, and ensure safe, compliant, and innovative care for residents when it matters most.

Big vision. Real opportunities. Unlimited potential. That’s Norfolk.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Provide leadership, strategic direction and operational oversight for Norfolk County Paramedic Services, ensuring safe, effective, compliant and sustainable emergency medical services aligned with County strategic priorities.

Strategic Leadership and Governance

• Assist the Chief with setting the vision, strategic priorities and long-term direction of Norfolk County Paramedic Services through environmental scanning, analysis of service demands, legislative frameworks, and best practices in paramedicine and emergency services.
• Direct, through subordinate management staff, all activities of assigned portfolios, delegating authority while retaining accountability for outcomes, performance and compliance
• Operate within a collaborative, team‑based leadership model, contributing to division‑wide policy development, business planning and corporate initiatives
• Act for the Chief as assigned, providing corporate, political and community leadership on behalf of Paramedic Service

Operational Command and System Performance

• Ensure overall responsibility and accountability for the deployment, utilization and performance of paramedic resources, staffing models and operational policies to maintain reliable response capacity and legislated performance standards
• Provide shared on‑call coverage, assuming command of Paramedic Services during assigned rotations and serving as Incident Commander for major or complex incidents
• Lead and direct Paramedic emergency preparedness, special event, contingency and disaster response planning, including multi‑agency coordination and Emergency Operations Centre activations
• Direct division‑wide projects and initiatives involving multiple functional areas such as response time improvement, system redesign, hospital offload mitigation, quality improvement and service innovation

Compliance, Quality and Medical Oversight

• Ensure Paramedic Services maintains compliance with all applicable federal, provincial and municipal legislation, Ministry of Health requirements, Base Hospital standards and County policies
• Protect service accreditation and certification status through oversight of quality management, reporting requirements, documentation standards, certification and readiness for inspections and audits
• Direct the development, implementation and continuous improvement of operational policies, procedures, performance standards, training and certification consistent with legislative and regulatory requirements
• Ensure confidentiality, privacy and secure handling of personal and health information in accordance with MFIPPA, PHIPA and related legislation

Financial Stewardship and Resource Management

• Recommend and administer annual operating and capital budgets, ensuring fiscal accountability and expenditures remain within approved limits
• Monitor financial performance, trends and pressures, making informed adjustments to ensure sustainability and service effectiveness
• Recommend external funding opportunities and specialty funding programs to offset operational costs and enhance service delivery
• Maintain accountability for divisional properties, assets, fleet, equipment and infrastructure, including lifecycle planning and capital forecasting

People Leadership and Labour Relations

• Lead, mentor and motivate a diverse, unionized workforce through subordinate leadership, fostering a culture of professionalism, accountability, learning and innovation
• Provide oversight of labour relations, including interpretation and administration of collective agreements, grievance resolution and participation in collective bargaining
• Ensure fair, transparent and consistent handling of service complaints, investigations and disciplinary processes in collaboration with Human Resources and corporate risk
• Promote employee health, safety and wellbeing, ensuring compliance with the Occupational Health and Safety Act and providing leadership to workplace safety programs and joint committees

Stakeholder, Community and Intergovernmental Relations

• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with municipal leadership, Council, provincial ministries, Base Hospitals, dispatch, hospitals, emergency services and community partners
• Represent Norfolk County Paramedic Services professionally in inter‑municipal, regional, provincial and public forums
• Lead or support the development of mutual aid agreements and cross‑border service arrangements
• Address escalated concerns from the public, partners and stakeholders, working toward timely, fair, transparent and consistent investigative processes to ensure constructive resolution

Programs, Innovation and System Development

• Provide leadership to special programs and initiatives such as community paramedicine, professional standards, education, and system integration projects
• Oversee research, data analysis and performance reporting to inform evidence‑based decision‑making and continuous improvement
• Support innovation in service delivery, workforce models and technology while ensuring alignment with regulatory and funding requirements
• Prepare, present or oversee the preparation of, Council reports, briefing notes, business plans and strategic documentation

Perform other duties as assigned.

Requirements

Knowledge and Experience:

• Must possess valid AEMCA, meet all qualifications as an Ontario Paramedic under the Ontario Ambulance Act.
• Post-secondary education in Business, Emergency Management, or a discipline pertinent to the job functions.
• Current base hospital certification as a Primary Care Paramedic or above.
• Minimum of five (5) years of paramedic field experience, involving technical use of emergency vehicles and equipment, administering therapeutic care to patients, and experience in Community Paramedicine. 
• Minimum three (3) years of management or leadership experience, within a complex paramedic, healthcare, or emergency services environment, with accountability for operations, community programs, service quality, logistics and support systems.
• Must possess and maintain a valid Province of Ontario Class “F” driver’s license and comply with the driving record requirements outlined in the Ambulance Act throughout employment.  Access to a reliable vehicle including the ability to provide a drivers abstract when requested during the recruitment process.
• Willingness to attain Health and Safety Certification and Incident Management System (IMS-300) Certification

Skills and Abilities:

• Comprehensive knowledge of high-performing paramedic service systems and a thorough understanding of applicable legislation, including Ontario Ambulance Act, Occupational Health and Safety Act, Employee Standards Act, Highway Traffic Act, Coroner’s Act and associated regulations, standards and policies of Paramedics in Ontario.
• Proven experience initiating, leading, and implementing significant organizational and service delivery change, including redesign of business processes, policies, and strategies to achieve measurable improvements within critical timeframes.
• Extensive experience leading and supporting a diverse, unionized workforce, with responsibility for labour relations, including collective agreement interpretation, mediation, grievance management, and performance management.
• Advanced analytical and problem solving experience, including the ability to identify trends, assess risk, and implement effective operational or system level solutions.
• Ability to provide strong, visible leadership in a complex, high risk, and highly regulated service environment, setting clear expectations and modelling organizational values.
• Advanced strategic judgement with the ability to synthesize operational, clinical, financial, and political considerations into balanced and defensible decisions.
• Highly effective relationship building skills, with the ability to establish trust, credibility, and collaboration across all levels of the organization and with external partners.
• Exceptional communication ability to clearly convey direction, expectations, and rationale for decisions, and to present complex issues in a clear, concise manner to varied audiences.
• Demonstrated capacity to lead teams through uncertainty and transformation, maintaining staff engagement, morale, and service continuity during periods of change.
• High level decision making capability under pressure, including the ability to assess risk rapidly, remain composed, and act decisively in time sensitive or critical situations.
• Strong systems thinking skills, with the ability to see interdependencies across portfolios and anticipate downstream impacts of operational or strategic decisions.
• Excellent organizational discipline, including prioritization, delegation, and follow through across multiple concurrent responsibilities and complex portfolios.
• Demonstrated commitment to ethical leadership, service excellence, equity, safety, and continuous improvement, with the ability to embed these principles into daily leadership practice.
• Superior analytical and problem-solving skills to enable rapid assessment and resolution of issues or situations. Capability of identifying trends, core needs and potential issues relevant to Paramedics.
• Computer expertise in corporate standard software (Microsoft Office) and department specific software, including electronic patient care report system(s) and scheduling software program(s).
• Must be aware of safe work practices as they relate to job responsibilities and work environment and have the basic understanding of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

Benefits

Posting #: NU 12.26

Position: Deputy Chief

Position Code: 3EMFLS

Status: Permanent Full Time

Number of Vacancies: 2

Employee Group: Non-Union

Wage: $100,528 - $130,687 per annum

Hours Worked per Week: 35

Division: Emergency and Social Services

Department: Paramedic Services

Reports to: Chief, Paramedic Services

Location: Delhi, ON (combination of in-office and off-site work required based on operational requirements of the role)

Posting Period: April 8, 2026 to April 23, 2026

How to Apply:

• If you are electing to include a cover letter, the cover letter and resume must be uploaded as 1 file.
• Ensure the file extension for your resume document is .doc, .docx or .pdf
• Find out more information about Norfolk County here: Employment at Norfolk County - NorfolkCounty.ca

The Corporation of Norfolk County is an equal opportunity employer. Accessibility accommodations are available for all parts of the recruitment process. Applicants need to make their needs known in advance.

The Corporation of Norfolk County does not use Artificial Intelligence for the purpose of screening, assessing, or the selection of candidates.

Successful applicants are required to provide the Employer with a current Criminal Record Check, including a Vulnerable Sector where required and verification of education.

Thank you for your interest in this position. Only those to be interviewed will be contacted.