Why N-ableAt N-able, we’re not just helping businesses be secure - we’re redefining what it means to be cyber resilient. Our end-to-end platform blends AI-powered capabilities and flexible tech stacks, so customers can manage, secure, and recover with confidence. But the real power behind it all? Our people. We’re a global crew of N-ablites, who love solving complex problems, sharing knowledge, and delivering solutions that actually make a difference. If you're into meaningful work, fast growth, and a team that’s got your back, you’ll be surrounded by people who believe in what they do - and in you.
We're seeking a Director, Business Analysis & Portfolio Delivery based in Ottawa, Canada to lead a team of 5 responsible for the Plan phase of Bus Apps' Plan → Build → Sustain service model. This role owns the front door of the portfolio: understanding business priority and need, knowing the business domains we support, and translating both into a well-governed intake and roadmap across the entire customer journey, from Lead to Customer Support, in support of the commercialization of N-able products.
This is both a leadership and a build role. The team carries real, ongoing portfolio and project management needs including intake governance, resourcing, delivery sequencing, and more and this leader is expected to keep that discipline strong while deepening the team's business analysis capability: domain fluency, requirements gathering and business-outcome ownership. Growing both disciplines together is how the practice moves from reactive order-taker to proactive strategic partner. The Director operates as an AI-native leader, applying lean and agile practice, and is fluent in a technology environment built on third-party SaaS.
Reporting directly to the VP, Chief Information Officer, the Director, Business Analysis & Portfolio Management sits alongside peer functional leaders (e.g., Enterprise Architecture, Engineering, AI Strategy). Portfolio intake and prioritization decisions are made through shared, negotiated authority with those peers rather than unilaterally - this Director drives the process, brings the business case and the data, and is expected to influence and align, not dictate.
This is a hybrid role. Eligible candidates must be able to work on-site in our Ottawa Collaboration Hub.
What You'll DoBusiness Partnership & Domain Ownership
- Engage the business directly to understand priorities, needs, and pain points, building deep working knowledge of the business domains this team supports across the full Lead-to-Customer-Support journey.
- Act as a strategic advisor and embedded partner - present in the decisions that matter before decisions get made, not an order-taking IT function.
- Challenge convention constructively: push back on assumptions and low-value requests, and advocate for the right business outcome even when it isn't the easiest one to deliver.
- Own outcomes end to end within the Plan phase - from problem framing through handoff to Build - with no gaps and no “that's not our lane.”
Portfolio Governance & Reporting
- Own intake and prioritization for the portfolio, negotiating and aligning priorities jointly with peer leaders (Enterprise Architecture, Engineering, and others) rather than deciding in isolation.
- Build and maintain portfolio reporting frameworks that give leadership clear, timely visibility into intake volume, prioritization decisions, capacity, business value and Plan-phase health.
- Apply lean and agile practice to how intake, requirements, and roadmap work move through the team, removing waste and improving flow into Build
Team Leadership & Talent
- Lead, grow, and develop team, building a practice that pairs strong portfolio management discipline with deepening business analysis capability - including, in the first 90–180 days, assessing current team strengths across both disciplines and closing gaps as the team's scope evolves.
- Coach and mentor team members on stakeholder engagement, domain expertise, requirements discipline, and consulting skills.
- Drive talent development, including performance management, succession planning, and building a bench as the team and its scope grow.
AI-Native & Technology Fluency
- Operate as an AI-native leader: actively use agentic and AI tooling to give the team back time and capacity, and to raise the quality and speed of analysis and decision-making - not just enable AI for others.
- Maintain fluency in a 100% third-party SaaS technology landscape, understanding platform capabilities, integration boundaries, and vendor management considerations well enough to shape sound business cases and roadmaps.
- Align with corporate AI governance standards and guardrails as they evolve.
Stakeholder Management
- Build and maintain trusted relationships with senior stakeholders across every G&A and GTM function the team supports.
- Communicate with transparency: surface risks and problems early, loop in the right people, and ask for help rather than going it alone.
- Represent the Business Analysis function on the Bus Apps leadership team and in cross-functional planning forums.
What You'll Bring- 10+ years of progressive experience spanning both business analysis and portfolio/project management, including demonstrated success partnering directly with business stakeholders to shape priorities and roadmaps, and running structured intake and delivery governance.
- 7+ years in a people-leadership role, with a track record of building, developing, and reshaping teams - including diagnosing skill gaps and growing team members into new capability areas.
- Proven, hands-on experience with Lean and Agile practices; relevant certification in business analysis and/or project or portfolio management (e.g., PMP, SAFe, CSM/CSPO) preferred.
- Experience in a B2B SaaS or technology commercialization environment, with working knowledge of the end-to-end customer journey from Lead to Customer Support.
- Hands-on experience across our core SaaS stack - Salesforce (SFDC), Marketo, Zuora, Boomi, and Snowflake. Candidates aren’t expected to be an expert in every platform but should be proficient in the majority; hands-on Salesforce and billing/quote-to-cash platform experience is especially important.
- Demonstrated experience operating in a technology environment composed of third-party SaaS platforms - vendor management, platform selection, and integration awareness rather than custom/on-prem systems.
- A genuine “AI-native” practitioner: hands-on experience applying AI or agentic tools to improve team output, not just familiarity with the concept.
- Strong executive stakeholder management and communication skills, with the credibility to negotiate priorities and decision rights with peer leaders as equals.
- Demonstrated ability to challenge convention diplomatically - pushing back on scope or assumptions while maintaining trust and partnership.
- Experience designing and running portfolio governance and reporting frameworks (intake, prioritization, capacity, investment).
- A bias to action and comfort with ambiguity; a transformational mindset that treats current performance as a floor, not a ceiling.
Purple Perks- Medical, dental and vision – for employee, partner, and children!
- Generous PTO and observed holidays
- 2 Paid VoluNteer Days per year
- Pension Plan with company-contribution
- Employee Stock Purchase Program
- Discounted gym access at several local facilities
- FuN-raising opportunities as part of our giving program
- N-ablite Learning – custom learning experience as part of our investment in you
- The Way We Work – our hybrid working model based on trust and flexibility
About N-ableAt N-able, our mission is to protect businesses against evolving cyberthreats with an end-to-end cyber resilience platform to manage, secure, and recover. Our scalable technology infrastructure includes AI-powered capabilities, market-leading third-party integrations, and the flexibility to employ technologies of choice - to transform workflows and deliver critical security outcomes. Our partner-first approach combines our products with experts, training, and peer-led events that empower our customers to be secure, resilient, and successful.
