Regional Director 139 views

The Pembina Institute is seeking a highly motivated individual to join our team as our Regional Director, Alberta. We are seeking someone with a strong background in climate policy, energy trends and policy, relationships across sectors (industry, government, not-for-profit, First Nations, etc.) and a record of influencing policy change. In conjunction with the National Strategy Director and Program Directors, the Regional Director will be responsible for ensuring their region has a coherent strategy in line with the organization-wide Mission and Vision, and that each program in the region has a clear strategy that links to regional and/or national objectives. They will also be responsible for overseeing the policy program areas operating in their region.

The Regional Director will be a member of the Planning and Strategy Group, representing the views and objectives of the staff in their regions and reporting back to staff on key developments and decisions. They will have joint responsibility along with Strategic Partnerships for ensuring sufficient revenue is secured to meet or exceed regional targets and will oversee coordination of regional business activities with support services.

The Regional Director role will work with the Director of Communications to ensure regional communications strategies are developed and executed and will maintain key government and stakeholder relationships and ensure these are well managed within the region

The Regional Director will work in conjunction with the Associate Regional Director in Alberta to ensure that they are able to oversee the implementation and ongoing operation of financial budgets and processes, internal communications, Alberta region performance tracking, and human resource management.

Why the Pembina Institute?

The Pembina Institute is a national non-partisan think tank that advocates for strong, effective policies to support Canada’s clean energy transition. Through research, consulting and convening, we employ multi-faceted and highly collaborative approaches to change to reduce the environmental impacts of energy production and use.

Our people are passionate about sustainability and dedicated to enabling positive social change. Our organizational culture encourages creativity and collaboration, and we offer a flexible and fast-paced work environment that rewards honest character, personal initiative and innovation. The successful candidate will join our dynamic team of nationally recognized professionals working on delivering clean energy solutions into the hands of Canada’s decision makers and key influencers.

Compensation and Benefits

The salary rate is competitive for a director in the non-profit sector and will be based on skills, experience and qualifications of the successful candidate.

Benefits include:

• extended health and dental
• four weeks of holidays per year
• flexible work hours
• strong growth potential in an entrepreneurial business environment
• RRSP plan
• training and development opportunities

Further terms of employment will be discussed with candidates during the interview process.

Roles and Responsibilities

Strategic planning and implementation

• Understand and work within the Pembina Institute’s Theory of Change.
• Design external influencer strategies and manage the execution of those strategies.
• In conjunction with the National Strategy Director and Program Directors, ensure the region has a coherent strategy in line with the organization-wide Mission and Vision, and that each program in the region has a clear strategy that links to regional and/or national objectives.
• In conjunction with other RDs or staff as necessary, ensure that any programs in the region that have cross-regional or cross-program connections are coordinated.
• In conjunction with the Alberta Communications Leads, design a communications strategy to support the strategic objectives for the program.
• Collaborate with staff in Alberta and across the organization to design and execute an engagement strategy for the program.

Project management

• Oversee the development and execution of work plans by facilitating strategic planning that achieve intended impacts, including technical products and reports, regulatory interventions, corporate, media and government relations.
• Ensure projects are delivered on time and on budget.
• Provide oversight and guidance on technical analysis.
• Review deliverables, including funder reports, as required by our communication review loop.

Team coordination

• Unite and motivate teams to execute strategic plans and projects.
• As a member of the Planning and Strategy Group, represent the views and objectives of the staff in their regions and report back on key developments and decisions.
• Oversee the identification of staffing needs in the region and provide direction for execution of hiring plans.
• Oversee processes for hiring, developing and appraising employees.
• Oversee the development of individual goals in alignment with organizational strategy.
• Follow Pembina policies; specifically advocate for a respectful workplace culture and promote fairness and equity.
• Responsible for formal mentorship and training for direct reports, including all aspects of job descriptions and leadership development.

Budget management and fundraising

• Responsible for supporting the Alberta Associate Regional Director in managing the budget for the region, and ensuring projects and initiatives are completed within budgeted amounts.
• Work with the Associate Regional Director of Strategic Partnerships to meet the region’s fundraising target (e.g. by identifying new and stewarding current partnerships, submitting grant applications, securing event sponsorships, etc.).

External spokesperson and relationship building

• Be lead spokesperson for media related to the region with support from team members as necessary.
• Lead government relations for the region, with support from team members.
• Be lead relationship builder/holder with external influencers for the region, and delegate as necessary to team members.

This position is located in our Calgary office and reports to the National Director of Strategy who is based in British Columbia. It is full time and may require some travel and occasional work on weekends and evenings. The successful applicant must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, or have a valid work permit.

Skills and Qualifications

Candidates must clearly reflect the following skills and experience in their application:

Policy development and engagement

• Minimum 10 years’ increasing experience in fields of climate/energy/environmental policy.
• Knowledge of and relationships with key players (industry, government, other ENGOs, etc.) within Alberta and Canada in the areas of energy and climate change.
• Undergraduate degree in related field (graduate degree preferred). An equivalent combination of education and experience, which provides proficiency in the areas of responsibility listed above, may be substituted for the above education and experience requirements.
• Ability to develop a vision and strategic goals in a collective setting and develop plans and projects to meet these goals.
• Strong understanding of change strategies and ability to align projects and tactics with strategic objectives.

Leadership

• At least 10 years’ experience in a leadership position and demonstrated success in building teams.
• Demonstrated mentorship and supervisory skills.

Interpersonal skills

• Demonstrated emotional intelligence.
• Strong interpersonal and conflict resolution skills, and the ability to work collectively with a team.
• Demonstrated ability to build relationships with individuals with a wide range of backgrounds and perspectives.
• A high degree of diplomacy and tact.
• Self-motivated and results-oriented.
• Strong interest in team building and internal dynamics.

Written communication

• Clear written communication style across a variety of media.
• Experience communicating complex ideas in an accessible format.
• Experience writing op-eds, blogs and other formats for publication.

Administration and project management

• Ability to provide direction on the development of business plans, goal setting, budgets, resource allocation, and performance and financial reports.
• Experience developing, monitoring and managing budgets of $1 million or more
• Proven ability to secure significant grants and contracts ($100K or more)