Manager, Alignment

The Opportunity

The Manager, Strategy & Alignment plays a critical leadership role in building alignment, clarity, and engagement across McDonald’s Canada’s national operator community. This role is accountable for planning, executing, and communicating complex strategies, initiatives, and large‑scale system events that support priority outcomes for the Canadian Senior Leadership Team and national leadership forums.

This role requires a high‑performing leader who can operate independently, thrive under tight timelines and high expectations, and confidently partner with senior leaders, operators, and cross‑functional teams to drive alignment and execution across the system.

Duties

In addition to following McDonald’s policies and procedures, principal accountabilities include, but are not limited to:

Strategy, alignment & communication leadership

• Lead the development and execution of system‑wide communication and alignment strategies that support national priorities, operator engagement, and leadership forums.
• Translate complex strategies, decisions, and initiatives into clear, compelling, and actionable narratives for diverse operator and leadership audiences.
• Act as a trusted thought partner to senior leaders, anticipating communication and alignment needs in advance of key milestones and decisions.

National leadership forums & large‑scale events

• Lead end‑to‑end planning and execution for large national meetings and leadership forums, including agenda design, content development, speaker readiness, logistics coordination, and post‑event communication.
• Manage multiple workstreams simultaneously, ensuring on‑time, high‑quality delivery under tight timelines and evolving priorities.
• Conduct post‑event analysis and drive continuous improvement across format, flow, content, and impact.

Stakeholder & operator engagement

• Build and maintain strong, credible relationships with national operators, forum chairs, senior leaders, and cross‑functional partners.
• Serve as a connector across departments, aligning inputs, resolving dependencies, and ensuring cohesive execution.
• Proactively identify and address alignment risks, bottlenecks, or competing priorities across the system.

Program & project leadership

• Own and drive complex project plans, including scoping, milestones, resource coordination, risk management, and delivery against outcomes.
• Co‑lead the development and ongoing management of the national calendar, balancing system capacity, leadership priorities, and operator experience.
• Ensure disciplined execution while remaining agile in a fast‑paced, ambiguity‑rich environment.

Senior leadership support & operational excellence

• Provide high‑impact support to the Director, Strategy & Alignment and members of the Canadian Senior Leadership Team, including briefing materials, executive communications, and strategic preparation.
• Demonstrate strong judgement, discretion, and professionalism when working with confidential or sensitive information.
• Model leadership behaviours aligned with McDonald’s values, fostering accountability, clarity, and trust.

• Performs administrative and coordination duties in support of the team and leadership, as required.

Qualifications

The ideal candidate will bring a combination of leadership capability, judgement, and experience working in complex, fast‑paced environments. We recognize that strong leaders develop through different paths, and we welcome candidates with diverse backgrounds and experiences.

• Demonstrated experience leading or playing a senior role in large, high‑visibility initiatives or events, gained through corporate, field, restaurant, or operator environments.
• Experience contributing to strategy, communications, program delivery, or alignment‑focused work within a matrixed or system‑based organization.
• Field, restaurant, or operational experience, including direct exposure to operators and their day‑to‑day realities, is a strong asset and highly valued.
• Strong leadership presence with the ability to engage, influence, and partner effectively with senior leaders, operators, and cross‑functional teams.
• Proven ability to work independently under tight timelines and high expectations, balancing multiple priorities with sound judgement.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to simplify complex ideas into clear, relevant, and engaging communication.
• Highly organized and detail‑oriented, with disciplined execution and follow‑through.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office tools (PowerPoint, Word, Excel, Outlook), with the ability to produce executive‑ready materials.
• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field (e.g., business, communications, strategy, marketing) or equivalent experience gained through progressive responsibility.
• Comfortable working in a fast‑paced environment with evolving priorities and ambiguity.
• High integrity and comfort working with sensitive and confidential information.
• Willingness to travel within Canada as required (approximately <15%).
• Ability to read and write in French is considered an asset.

Salary Range

The expected salary range for this role is $89,599 - $127,998 per year
 
The above represents the expected salary range for this job requisition. Ultimately, in determining your pay, we may also consider your experience, and other job-related factors.  This posting is for an existing role.