Focus Area Information

Project Management

Project Management in the Ontario Public Service

The Ontario Government has made a commitment to provide simpler, faster, smarter and more connected public services. The Ontario Public Service (OPS) has also made a commitment to consistently manage and produce successful project outcomes by providing in-house expertise, building internal capacity, sharing best practices, managing knowledge, and reducing reliance on external consultants.

As an intern in the project management focus area, you may participate on teams that are leading projects across the government and/or with inter-jurisdictional partners on priority government initiatives. Interns may participate on project teams to identify requirements, establish clear and achievable objectives, support implementation, monitor progress and evaluate deliverables, manage any risks, and/or share best practices.

Project management is recognized as a core competency within the OPS. A project’s successes are dependent on having the right people who are following the right processes and using the right mix of tools and technology to get the job done.

Skills and Abilities

We are seeking candidates who can demonstrate a variety of skills and abilities including:

  • Communicating effectively to prepare and present research in a clear, concise and accurate manner to senior staff
  • Planning, organizing (and coordinating) work to ensure time is used effectively to complete tasks and projects on time
  • Problem solving to identify the complexities of an issue and identify and evaluate approaches/opportunities towards recommending a workable solution
  • Thinking strategically to understand the big picture/long-term vision of the organization and the external impacts/trends on current/proposed program policies and processes
  • Working in a team environment to support collaborative efforts and share in the responsibility of the outcome of the project activities/organizational goals
  • Applying at least one of the project management process groups: initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing (The OPS has adopted these process groups with the following changes: concept and definition (aligning with the initiating process), implementation (aligning with executing, monitoring and control), and close-out (aligning with closing)
  • Applying generally accepted project management concepts and terminology, e.g., project management’s triple constraint: time, scope/quality, and cost

What to Expect

As a Project Management intern, your work could include activities that enable you to:

  • Recognize the value of project management to enable large-scale changes towards a more modern, more efficient and effective organization and public service
  • Gain hands on knowledge of and understanding in at least one of the project management process groups: initiating (concept/definition), planning, executing, monitoring and controlling (implementation), and closing (close-out)
  • Work in project teams and with stakeholders to identify requirements, and meet scope, time, cost, and quality goals of projects
  • Gain valuable insights into and obtain transferable skills from participating in the project management phases such as planning and implementation
  • Network with colleagues in the OPS project management community of practice as well as with external project practitioners as part of formal and on-the-job learning opportunities

Looking Ahead

An internship is an opportunity for hands-on experience to develop your project management skills in the public service. It is intended to be the start of a public service career to prepare and develop you for job opportunities in the Ontario Public Service. An internship in this area can prepare you for many OPS careers. A sample includes:

  • Project Analyst
  • Project Control Analyst
  • Business Analyst
  • Project Schedule Analyst
  • Project Officer
  • Project Coordinator

Project Management Intern Profile

In 2007, the Ontario Internship Program hired 10 Project Management interns. The Project Management interns’ assignments are distributed throughout Ontario. The majority (83 per cent) of 2007 assignments were in Toronto. Assignments were also available in select regional locations across the province.