Senior Virtualization Consultant – Proof of Concept exp., Government

Our Government client is looking for a Senior Virtualization Consultant – Proof of Concept exp., Government

Length: 6 months contract with a high chance of extension

Location: Montreal, QC or Toronto, ON – Hybrid (2-3 days onsite and as required for workshops and key milestones)

Working Hours: Full time, Mon-Fri, 8h/day

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The purpose of this engagement is to retain an independent consultant to oversee, and project manage a structured study, including a hands-on Proof of Concept (POC), to evaluate enterprise-grade virtualization platform options. The study will support informed strategic decision-making regarding the future-state platform architecture, operational model, cost structure, and associated risks.

This engagement is advisory and evaluative in nature and does not represent a commitment to procure or implement any specific technology.

Key Project Objectives

The consultant will be responsible for ensuring the study and POC deliver clear, objective, and actionable outcomes, including:

• Assessing current-state virtualization environments, architecture, tooling, and operational maturity.
• Defining evaluation criteria aligned with business, technical, security, and operational requirements.
• Designing and managing a structured POC to validate shortlisted platforms.
• Comparing options across cost, performance, scalability, resilience, security, and operational complexity.
• Providing leadership with evidence-based recommendations and a future-state roadmap.

IN-SCOPE SERVICES

• Conduct a discovery and current-state assessment of enterprise infrastructure, integrations, tooling, operations, and skillsets to identify gaps, risks, and constraints
• Facilitate stakeholder workshops to define functional and non-functional requirements and establish clear success criteria for the study and POC
• Identify and evaluate shortlisted enterprise-grade platforms using a standardized framework covering technical fit, architecture, cost and licensing, vendor viability, and ecosystem maturity
• Design and oversee a structured POC to validate performance, availability, security, data protection, observability, and operational readiness, while tracking risks and dependencies
• Analyze POC results and provide comparative assessments, platform recommendations, key trade-offs, risks, and high-level cost and organizational impacts
• Develop a future-state architecture and phased roadmap, including migration approach, prerequisites, dependencies, and long-term governance and operational considerations

DELIVERABLES

The consultant is expected to provide the following deliverables:

• Current-State Assessment Report
• Requirements and Evaluation Criteria Document
• POC Plan (scope, architecture, success metrics, timeline)
• POC Execution Status Reports (periodic)
• Platform Evaluation and Comparative Analysis
• Final Recommendation Report
• Executive Summary (leadership-ready)
• High-Level Roadmap and Target Architecture

**All deliverables must be suitable for executive and technical audiences.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead the overall study and POC governance.
• Provide independent, objective guidance.
• Facilitate workshops and stakeholder alignment.
• Produce high-quality documentation and recommendations.
• Weekly or bi-weekly status meetings.
• Regular progress reporting including risks, issues, and decisions required.
• Steering committee updates at key milestones.

SERVICE REQUIREMENTS – QUALIFICATIONS

To fulfill this role, the position must have the following qualifications:

Core Technical Skills

• Deep expertise in enterprise virtualization platforms and architectures (e.g., VMware, KVM-based platforms, Hyper-V, Kubernetes/container platforms)
• Strong understanding of on-prem and hybrid infrastructure
• Experience designing and overseeing Proof of Concept (POC)
• Knowledge of observability and operational tooling (monitoring, logging, alerting, automation)
• Proven ability to conduct current-state assessments and maturity analysis
• Experience defining functional and non-functional requirements
• Strong capability in platform evaluation and comparative analysis, including:

o Licensing and cost models

o Vendor roadmaps and ecosystem maturity

o Scalability, resilience, and operational complexity

• Ability to develop future-state architectures and phased roadmaps
• High-level TCO and cost-benefit analysis experience (not detailed financial modeling)

Communication & Leadership Skills

• Demonstrated experience leading multi-stakeholder studies and POCs
• Strong project and governance discipline
• Ability to coordinate internal teams and external vendors while maintaining vendor neutrality
• Experience facilitating technical and executive workshops
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to produce clear, high-quality documentation
• Proven ability to translate technical findings into actionable, evidence-based recommendations
• Experience in large, complex, or regulated enterprise environments is highly desirable

Please note that this is the most up to date version of job description available at this time – During Interview you will receive additional information – variance may apply!

We thank all applicants for their interest. Only those who meet the qualifications will be contacted through telephone/email. You are encouraged to register with us in our database to be considered for future positions available.