Location: Markham, OntarioJob Description:Position: Business Finance Project Manager / D365 Data Management SMEType: Independent ContractorLocation: Markham, ONAbout UsPet Valu is Canada’s leading pet specialty retailer, dedicated to strengthening the bond between dedicated pet lovers and their pets. With 50 years of animal care expertise, we operate over 800 stores across Canada under several banners, including Pet Valu, Bosley’s, Total Pet, Paulmac's Pet, Tisol & Chico. Guided by our mission to deliver products, care, expertise, and memorable moments, Pet Valu is a place where people build meaningful careers while making a positive impact on pets and communities.Job SummaryThis Business Finance project role leads the project workstreams through successful planning, execution, and delivery of all finance and operational workstreams for the PE365 Program including Franchise Billing, Inventory Accounting; Procure to Pay, Treasury, Finance & Accounting, FP&A, Merchandising, Supply Chain Management, Business Process Reengineering, Enterprise Reporting, and Organization Change Management. The project role contributes to defining requirements, supporting solution design, ensuring alignment with business needs, and enabling smooth adoption across impacted teams.This role serves as the primary liaison between the VP Finance Systems, finance business stakeholders, and OCM workstream leaders, and the program team, ensuring that all business areas are represented on new D365 F&O/SCM implementation project. This role will provide workstream project coordination and team management to all PE365 finance and business workstreams.Key ResponsibilitiesProgram & Project ExecutionLead the workstream planning, coordination, and execution of tasks and deliverables across the PE365 workstreams.Drive the creation of project documentation (e.g., business requirements, process maps, test plans, RAID logs, training tracking & material development/coordination for each Project Evolution business and finance workstream, etc.).Maintain and update the Requirements Traceability Matrix while supporting the Business, operational, and finance workstream leadsExecute sprint planning, backlog refinement, and cross-team coordination when working within Agile structures.Lead workstream lead update meetingsPrioritize issues and track progress to close themCoordinate Pet Valu and D365 / ISV vendor cross-functional meetingsCollaborate with business and finance workstream leads, SI, and other ISV partners for escalated issuesRequirements Gathering & Solution Design:Direct and coach workstream and business leaders to help them gather, document, and validate business requirements and Data Management requirements from their workstream respective stakeholders.Work with the Business Process workstream leads to drive process analysis and the development of future-state workflows aligned with PE365 capabilities.Ensure data management and business requirements and processes meet program objectives and adhere to governance standards.Work with workstream leads to get approval of business requirements from their respective stakeholdersGuide and direct Finance, business, and operational workstream leads to get approval for data migration and data deployment throughout the projectPartner with the Solution Integrator to facilitate workshops with all PE365 workstream business leads to gather business requirements during discovery scoping and implementation solution design phases of the projectTranslate Pet Valu business needs into tailored D365 mega test scenarios, test cases and validate against D365 F&O / SCM capabilities, with support from the SICollaborate with solution architects and consultants to design scalable and compliant data migration solutionsDesign, review, and understand business process and change implications for workstream configurations, extensions, and integrations impacting finance.Assist Functional sponsor and OCM lead with operating model assessmentsOversee functional and technical design activities with SI.Ensure business requirements are captured and mapped to D365 standard capabilities.Ensure that customization decisions follow best practice and remain minimal.Understand the Pet Valu D365 solution from a business and retail contextStakeholder EngagementCoordinate with business owners, SMEs, IT, and external partners to ensure alignment and clarity.Work with workstream leads to produce regular workstream updates (i.e. progress, issues, and risks).Facilitate workshops, review sessions, and feedback loops (i.e. deploy and analyze surveys, feedback sessions, etc.).Present at Steering Committees or other executive and operating committee meetings as required or as a representative proxy of business and finance leaders / business functional sponsor.Track to make sure tasks are completed as per planTrack interdependencies to make sure no delays are caused due to lack of coordinationManage expectations around scope, timelines, and outcomes.Testing:Coach, guide, and direct workstream and business leaders to execute test case development, system testing, user acceptance testing (UAT), and defect triage, tracking and reporting.Validate solutions against requirements traceability matrix to ensure quality and readiness for deploymentEnsure that test cases are completeHelp workstreams define Exit criteria for SIT and UAT testingCollaborate performance/stress testing with the SIAssist test lead in overseeing the creation of the test strategy: SIT, UAT, Performance Testing, Regression, Cutover ValidationEnsure test scripts and scenarios reflect real business processesTrack and resolve Project Evolution 365 defectsResponsible for reviewing and helping workstream leaders accept all workstream testing deliverablesDevelop and execute test scenarios and scripts for unit testing, system integration testing (“SIT”), and user acceptance testing (“UAT”)Ensure workstream defects are tracked, resolved, and testedLead finance data cleansing and migration, with support from the Program Data workstream leaderEnsure data migration and reconciliation activities are accurate and completeData Migration Strategy & ExecutionOversee and drive development of data migration strategy, templates, and data‑quality rules.Manage data clean up and mapping initiativesManage completeness of data prior to data load and manage mock-up loadsCoordinate cutover data loads leading up to go‑live.Change Management & Training:Support change management efforts by identifying testing and ADO impacts to business and finance workstreamsWork with the Change Management workstream leaders to develop and implement test mitigation strategiesLead the workstream in creating finance and business process ADO and testing training materials and delivering training sessions to PE365 usersWork jointly with the OCM and workstream leaders to design, develop and maintain training materials, drive, track and report training activities, schedules/calendar, user guides, and engagement with business teamsProvide post-deployment assistance and help ensure smooth adoptionTrack, document and report on change impact assessments and communication materialsGo-Live & Post-Implementation Support:Oversee cutover planning, execution, and stabilizationCoordinate blackout periods, deployment schedules, and post‑go‑live hypercareCoordinate Mock Execution and data loadsSupport hypercare testing with support from the workstream leadersLead data migration testing activities and cutover planning for D365 F&O solutionProvide hyper care support post go-live and ensure smooth transition to business-as-usual operations.Project Governance & Reporting:Provide regular status updates, risk assessments, and issue resolution plans to PMO and project leadership focusing on testing and ADO.Ensure testing deliverables are completed on time and meet quality standards as expected by the VP Finance SystemsEnsure adherence to program governance, documentation standards, and reporting requirementsIdentify and escalate risks, dependencies, and issues promptlyRequired Skills & CompetenciesStrong analytical and problem-solving skills.Ability to translate business requirements into clear documentation.Effective communication and stakeholder engagement skills.Experience working in complex programs or digital transformation environments.Familiarity with Agile, Scrum, or hybrid delivery methods.Detail-oriented with strong organizational skills.Worked on a project that incorporated operating model and business process reengineeringAt least 7+ years of work experience managing finance / transformation / or implementation projectsUniversity level degreeCompensation:The targeted hourly range for this position is $120.00 - $130.00 per hour. The final offer will be based on factors such as market location, relevant skills, experience and internal equity.Pet Valu is an equal opportunity employer committed to inclusion and accessibility. Accommodations are available upon request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the recruitment and selection process, in accordance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA).At Pet Valu, we are committed to transparency and fairness in our hiring practices. This posting is for an existing vacancy. Pet Valu may use AI enabled technology to assist in the recruitment process for positions. The use of AI helps us ensure we are providing an equitable and streamlined recruitment experience for all applicants. While AI tools support our recruitment process, all decisions throughout the process are made exclusively by Pet Valu’s hiring team. At no stage does AI determine recruitment outcomes.
