Chief Talent and Capability Officer — Urban Infrastructure Platform

The mandate

The enterprise is entering a phase in which leadership must resolve critical capability shortages constraining execution of the investment plan within a privately held infrastructure developer and asset operator. The immediate arena is the urban infrastructure platform during a balance-sheet rotation. For mandate 326, the successful executive inherits decisions that have been deferred, competing stakeholder expectations and a need to establish facts before committing further capital.

The Chief Talent and Capability Officer operating perimeter covers approximately C$23,500 million in project and operating-asset portfolio, with activity spanning several urban infrastructure platform customer, product and delivery clusters rather than a single asset. The Chief Talent and Capability Officer Infrastructure remit carries direct influence over roughly 1,150 colleagues and third-party capacity.

The chair, executive committee and principal capital sponsors want a Chief Talent and Capability Officer who can convert ambiguity into a short list of explicit choices for the urban infrastructure platform. The Chief Talent and Capability Officer Infrastructure seat must resolve a balance-sheet rotation, while preserving the underlying strengths of the urban infrastructure platform. For mandate 326, value will come through sharper allocation, stronger leaders and an operating cadence that exposes variance early.

The Chief Talent and Capability Officer’s first year on the urban infrastructure platform is expected to end with verified capability supply, internal mobility and leadership depth. In mandate 326, authority covers resources and leadership appointments; material trade-offs go directly to the board sponsor.

Why this seat is open

The Chief Talent and Capability Officer — Urban Infrastructure Platform requirement was not included in the approved hiring calendar. It became urgent after a balance-sheet rotation created an immediate need for one accountable owner of the urban infrastructure platform. Interim coverage protects essential decisions, but split ownership cannot continue through the next operating gate. The board intends to move from qualified shortlist to offer within 4–6 weeks while preserving confidential, evidence-led diligence.

What you will own

• Set the Chief Talent and Capability Officer value-creation thesis for the urban infrastructure platform, translate it into no more than five enterprise priorities and stop work that does not support them.
• Carry stewardship of approximately C$23,500 million in project and operating-asset portfolio, including allocation, risk acceptance and board forecasts.
• Lead the Chief Talent and Capability Officer Infrastructure organisation of about 1,150 employees and partners, appointing a team with clear decision rights and credible succession for every critical seat.
• Resolve the urban infrastructure platform economics and execution constraints created by a balance-sheet rotation, with Chief Talent and Capability Officer-approved owners, dated milestones and transparent escalation thresholds.
• Establish one Chief Talent and Capability Officer operating review across commercial, customer, financial, people, technology and risk outcomes for the urban infrastructure platform; remove reconciliations that obscure accountability.
• Have changed an executive structure and workforce economics while sustaining critical talent and employee relations in mandate 326.
• Build the Chief Talent and Capability Officer’s three-year succession and capability plan for the urban infrastructure platform, reducing dependence on individual executives and improving mobility across the wider Infrastructure organisation.

The first 12 months

• Days 1–90: Validate the urban infrastructure platform baseline, meet the 30 stakeholders most consequential to critical capability shortages constraining execution of the investment plan, assess the leadership team, stabilise immediate delivery risks and agree a board-owned scorecard with explicit decision gates.
• Months 4–9: Make the principal Chief Talent and Capability Officer portfolio and organisation choices for the urban infrastructure platform, install the new operating cadence, fill critical leadership gaps and deliver the first measurable release of cash, capacity or customer value.
• Months 10–12: Demonstrate a repeatable urban infrastructure platform trend against verified capability supply, internal mobility and leadership depth, lock the following year’s capital and talent plan, evidence control sustainability and present a credible three-year value case with downside actions.

What the board will measure

• Delivery of the Chief Talent and Capability Officer’s agreed first-year urban infrastructure platform value case within a 10% tolerance, with variance explained before rather than after the relevant quarter closes.
• A Chief Talent and Capability Officer forecast that remains decision-useful across three consecutive quarters and reconciles the urban infrastructure platform’s operating, cash, customer and people assumptions.
• Closure of the Chief Talent and Capability Officer mandate’s highest-priority urban infrastructure platform risk and execution issues by their board-approved dates, with independent evidence that fixes are sustained.
• Retention of at least 90% of critical urban infrastructure platform talent and ready-now successors for at least 70% of the Chief Talent and Capability Officer’s direct reports.
• A quantified Chief Talent and Capability Officer-owned improvement in the urban infrastructure platform operating constraint behind a balance-sheet rotation, supported by a clean baseline and named data owner.
• Clear stakeholder confidence in mandate 326: no unresolved high-severity escalation older than 30 days and no material surprise withheld from its agreed governance forum.

The person

You are currently a Chief Talent Officer, Learning and Capability Head or Deputy CHRO in a privately held Infrastructure or adjacent enterprise. In relation to the urban infrastructure platform, your Chief Talent and Capability Officer track record includes a transition where the original plan was no longer sufficient; you can explain your choices, evidence and numerical impact. Candidates from infrastructure, construction, utilities, transport assets or project finance will be considered where the operating model, customer stakes and governance intensity match this Chief Talent and Capability Officer brief.

As a Chief Talent and Capability Officer candidate, you bring 22–28 years of progressive Infrastructure or adjacent-sector experience, consistent with the 22-28 experience band. At minimum, you have carried a P&L, book, budget or accountable portfolio of C$13,650 million and led an organisation of at least 800 people.

For mandate 326, the board wants two transitions: a difficult urban infrastructure platform portfolio choice and a leadership-system change during a balance-sheet rotation. As the prospective Chief Talent and Capability Officer for this urban infrastructure platform, you must challenge optimistic cases and still create followership. References for mandate 326 must distinguish your contribution from the institution around you.

The Chief Talent and Capability Officer must be based in Toronto; international relocation is supported, but this Infrastructure role is not designed as a remote appointment.

Non-negotiables

• Current or recent accountability at the level of Chief Talent Officer, Learning and Capability Head or Deputy CHRO, with direct exposure to a board, investment committee or equivalent Infrastructure governance forum.
• Proven Chief Talent and Capability Officer ownership of at least C$13,650 million and leadership of no fewer than 800 employees in a comparable urban infrastructure platform context.
• One completed Infrastructure or adjacent-sector example of critical capability shortages constraining execution of the investment plan with outcomes sustained for at least two reporting periods after the initial intervention.
• Sector credibility from infrastructure, construction, utilities, transport assets or project finance; experience that is purely functional and lacks Chief Talent and Capability Officer-level urban infrastructure platform consequences will not meet the bar.
• Willingness to meet the Toronto location expectation, complete conflicts and background diligence, and protect the confidentiality of mandate 326.

Compensation and terms

The anticipated Chief Talent and Capability Officer package is C$330,000–440,000 base + annual incentive, calibrated to the final urban infrastructure platform scope and the candidate’s current mix. Any long-term participation for mandate 326 follows standard vesting and performance conditions. The Chief Talent and Capability Officer appointment in Toronto, centred on the urban infrastructure platform, offers regular exposure to the chair, executive committee and principal capital sponsors. A notice period of up to 6 months can be accommodated for the selected executive in mandate 326.

Confidentiality

The organisation will be identified only after reciprocal interest and a confidentiality undertaking for mandate 326. The market, scale and situation in this brief are intentionally composite and are not a coded description of a named enterprise for mandate 326.