Manager of Strategic Initiatives

About Element Event Solutions

Element Event Solutions is Canada’s premier provider of tent and event services, orchestrating over 30,000 memorable events annually in partnership with top venues, caterers, planners, corporate partners, and private hosts. Established in 1911 as Chair-man Mills, our company has grown through a legacy of excellence with renowned brands including Event Rental Group, Contemporary Furniture Rentals, Regal Tent Productions, Advanced Tent Rental, A&B Partytime, Loungeworks, MacFarlands Events, and Higgins Event Rentals.

Driven by our mission to craft engaging spaces that foster remarkable experiences and connections, we provide the infrastructure essential for Canadians to unite through social, corporate, philanthropic, and community gatherings. Proudly Canadian-owned and operated, we are committed to family values and investing in our local communities.

Position Summary

The Manager of Strategic Initiatives will own day-to-day delivery of strategic projects, from first analysis to adoption on the floor. The Director sets priorities and aligns leadership; you build the models, run the workstreams and make the change stick.

Key Responsibilities

Warehouse Efficiency and Operations

• Diagnose performance: map the full order cycle at each of our six warehouses (prep, pick, load-out, returns, wash and inspection, restock) and pinpoint bottlenecks, rework and wasted motion
• Set the scorecard: define and track core warehouse KPIs such as labour hours per order, pick and load accuracy, return-to-rentable turnaround, damage and loss rates, and on-time load-out; benchmark sites against each other
• Layout and flow: lead slotting, racking and layout redesigns that shorten travel time, protect inventory and make high-velocity items easier to reach
• Standard work: build SOPs, checklists and visual management with floor teams, then roll the best-performing site's practice across the network
• Labour planning: model staffing against the event calendar and seasonal peaks to reduce overtime, idle time and last-minute temporary labour
• Asset care and utilization: improve wash, repair and inspection throughput; identify idle or under-used inventory for redeployment between branches, resale or retirement
• Continuous improvement: run hands-on improvement sprints with warehouse crews and supervisors, so the people doing the work help shape the change

Commercial and sales effectiveness

• Pricing and margin: assess pricing, discounting and quote-to-order conversion; recommend changes that protect margin
• Revenue capture: close leakage in billing, delivery and labour charges, damage recovery and order changes
• Sales process: simplify quoting and order handoffs between sales, operations and finance to cut errors and turnaround time

Analysis and business cases

• Build the models and business cases behind pricing, cost-to-serve, product and customer profitability, and footprint decisions (capacity, consolidation and expansion)
• Evaluate capital investments in inventory, equipment, racking and automation, and complete post-investment reviews against the original case
• Turn analysis into clear recommendations and options for the Director and leadership team

Project delivery and change management

• Run two to four projects at a time, owning the charter, plan, owners, milestones, risks, status and benefits tracking
• Report progress to the Director; raise issues early with options, not just problems
• Lead change on the floor through communication, training and follow-up checks after go-live, so gains hold
• Support the Director with work across all divisions and locations.

Systems, data and technology

• Support the Director to build and maintain Power BI dashboards that give branch and senior leaders reliable, timely operating data
• Identify, pilot and scale practical AI and automation tools that save time in the warehouse and office

The Element Playbook

• Work with Leaders to create playbook standards for sales, operations and beyond.
• Keep the Playbook current, train teams on it and check that it is followed across sites

Growth and board support

• Support the Director with M&A screening, due diligence and integration of acquired businesses (systems, processes and people)
• Lead greenfield and new-market analysis
• Prepare analysis and materials for board meetings

Requirements & Qualifications

• Five to ten years in consulting, corporate strategy, operations or a PE-backed business

• A record of delivering cross-functional projects with measurable results

• Advanced Excel modelling and structured project management

• Clear, concise executive communication

• Working knowledge of BI and ERP or rental systems; practical use of AI tools

• Hands-on and biased to action; builds trust from the warehouse floor to the leadership team