Engagement Director (English applicants only)

Engagement Director (English applicants only)

• Full-time

ABOUT US

The David Suzuki Foundation is a Canadian environmental non-profit organization, founded in 1990. We operate in English and French, with offices in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal. We are a Canadian settler organization striving to protect climate, nature and communities, respecting the rights and title of Indigenous Nations. We believe that Indigenous leadership is key to our collective future. We aim to work with many different peoples across Canada, including First Nations communities, all levels of governments and citizens who care for environmental justice, to find solutions to create a sustainable Canada. We use research, traditional ecological knowledge, innovative policy and legal environmental solutions, communications and public engagement.

The vision we work toward at DSF is that we all act every day on the understanding that we are interdependent with nature, and with each other. To address the intersections of the climate and biodiversity crises with social justice and equity, the Foundation is committed to promoting equity, diversity and inclusion. As an organization, we are on a transformative journey to embed these values, decolonize our practices and become an anti-racist organization. Join us in creating a socially and environmentally just world, where diverse identities, lived experiences and world views are valued as essential to our collective future.

TITLE: Engagement Director

TERMS: Permanent / Full-time

LOCATION: Flexible; proximity to one of our three offices in Vancouver (xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, and səlilwətaɬ territories), Montreal (Kanien’kehà:ka territory), or Toronto (Tkaronto, the traditional territory of many nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabe, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat peoples) is preferred.

REPORTS TO: Executive Director

SALARY: 107 – 110k per year

NUMBER OF DIRECT REPORTS: 4-6 (subject to change)

APPLICATION DEADLINE: Sunday, January 19th, 2025

DESIRED START DATE: April 2025

THE ROLE

DSF seeks an experienced, collaborative new Engagement Director who is excited to lead passionate, skilled staff through a period of change. Responsible for the overall effectiveness of DSF’s communications, public engagement, and digital engagement, this role will play a pivotal role in unifying and implementing DSF’s engagement strategy. This leadership position requires a strategic thinker and skilled collaborator with strong experience managing people and projects and a background in public interest advocacy or campaigning. Reporting to the Executive Director, this role oversees senior managers/associate directors and collaborates closely across teams to foster a shared vision and operational effectiveness.

Similarly to many environmental organizations, DSF has undergone significant changes since 2020 and this newly constituted role will assume responsibilities from interim leadership of multiple teams. This role will be best suited to a leader with skill and interest in leading teams through iterative change and organizational development. This role will also manage newly unionized staff.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Strategic & Organizational Change Leadership
   • Lead efforts to unify and implement DSF’s engagement strategy.
   • Ensure that communications, public engagement, and digital engagement teams are supported to collaborate effectively with programmatic staff, development staff, and others as needed.
   • Represent the engagement team in leadership team discussions, supporting shared understanding and alignment with organizational goals and cross-team efforts.
   • Lead organizational change initiatives within communications, public engagement, and digital engagement teams.
   • Ensure systems, processes, and structures in engagement efforts are effective, efficient, and grounded in organizational values.
2. Engagement and Communications Leadership
   • Oversee public narrative, media engagement, storytelling, organizing, grassroots advocacy, volunteer engagement, and public education efforts to advance the organization’s mission. Strengthen DSF’s overall unique voice, presence, and public/brand identity.
   • Ensure engagement strategies are inclusive and bilingual, effectively reaching English- and French-speaking audiences throughout Canada.
   • Support effective prioritization of engagement efforts, supporting team members to liaise effectively across teams as needed.
   • Oversee planning, budgeting, and reporting efforts for the communications, public engagement, and digital engagement teams.
   • Ensure that risks related to engagement work are appropriately identified and proactively managed.
   • Partner with leadership team, Board of Directors, and key stakeholders to provide strategic insights and recommendations.
   • Handle sensitive and confidential issues with discretion, sound judgment, and solid ethics.
3. Leadership and Team Development
   • Mentor and coach a diverse, professional team, fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, and iterative improvement with a strong justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) lens.
   • Model an inclusive, relational, and emotionally intelligent leadership style, adept at navigating moments of difficulty, conflict, and ambiguity.
   • Cultivate trust and engagement across teams, serving as an advisor, mentor, and role model.
4. Other related duties as required.

QUALIFICATIONS

1. 3+ years of experience in a team leadership role.
2. 5+ years of experience managing people and projects, ideally in an advocacy and/or campaigns context.

WHAT YOU BRING TO THE ROLE

1. Strong judgment related to engagement work and public relations including how technology, powerful storytelling, content marketing, volunteer engagement, new and traditional media, and different forms of engagement work can strategically complement each other; proven ability to think strategically and make timely, sound decisions based on data and collaboration.
2. Strong commitment to DSF’s work and ability to adeptly build and maintain relationships with a variety of partners, including social movement, Indigenous, governmental, and other stakeholder groups; strong convening, facilitating, and movement building skills in an advocacy context.
3. Proven ability to lead and implement strong strategy development and prioritization processes; ability to work effectively across teams, balancing multiple priorities while fostering collaboration and alignment.
4. A transparent, emotionally intelligent, and relational leadership style that brings out the best from team members and builds trust within a complex organizational structure; demonstrated strength in coaching and developing a diverse, engaged, and committed team.
5. Ability to lead teams through a period of structural and cultural change; capable of supporting teams through moments of difficulty, conflict, and ambiguity.
6. Deep understanding of environmental and social justice, JEDI principles, and best practices, with the ability to operationalize those values across teams and initiatives; strong communication skills to model and convey JEDI values effectively to diverse audiences.
7. Aware and engaged with (or ability to rapidly get up to speed with) environmental justice, climate, and conservation issues, impacts within frontline sectors and communities, organizational partners, and social movements.
8. Strong understanding of how to connect scientific research, traditional ecological knowledge, innovative policy and legal environmental solutions, communications, and public engagement efforts in an environmental non-profit context.
9. Strong written, oral, and interpersonal communication skills in English and/or French (conversational abilities in both languages highly preferred), in person, via phone and video call, and using common office and collaboration technology (e.g. MS Office, Teams, etc).
10. Ability to oversee effective bilingual (French + English) engagement strategy and organizational communications.
11. Highly organized, with the ability to adjust priorities rapidly when required.
12. Strong process design, facilitation, and leadership skills.
13. Ability to handle confidential and sensitive information with integrity.
14. Ability to undertake some travel, e.g. for leadership team retreats.

ADDITIONAL ASSETS

1. Extensive experience in any of the core requirements listed above, particularly in effective, collaborative strategy development and implementation.
2. Leading and managing in a unionized environment.
3. Experience developing and/or ability to develop strong relationships with Indigenous organizations and communities (as an Indigenous or a settler/newcomer organizational leader).
4. Knowledge gained through lived/living experience of environmental racism and/or other forms of marginalization.
5. Significant experience driving structural and cultural change in a collaborative, values-aligned manner.
6. Experience with public interest advocacy in a Canadian and/or Indigenous context.
7. Post-secondary education or equivalent experience in communications, environmental sciences or policy, marketing, organizational management, law, public policy, public health, human rights, technology, and/or another field related to the position.
8. Experience working or volunteering with other environmental and/or advocacy non-profits.
9. Experience working in one of more areas of engagement work, e.g. print and online communications, content strategy, media relations, science communication, grassroots organizing, volunteer management, public education, production and design, marketing, data analysis, brand development, etc.
10. Strong relationships related to the role, e.g. in environmental organizations and movements, amongst media, etc.

WHAT WE OFFER

• Four-day workweek
• Competitive salary and generous benefits package
• Hybrid work opportunities
• Chance to make a difference and help improve the health of our planet and all life on it

HOW TO APPLY

Application Instructions:

The application deadline is Sunday, January 19th, 2025 at 11:59pm Pacific Time. Please submit your cover letter (max. 2 pages) and resume to here. Please send PDFs named in the format LastNameFirstNameCoverLetter and LastNameFirstNameResume. In your cover letter, please tell us about your ability to lead DSF’s communication, public engagement, and digital engagement teams through our next chapter - particularly your ability to oversee strategy development, manage structural and cultural change within an organization, and navigate external relationships.

The hiring team may adapt the recruitment process as needed in order to understand candidates’ potential to succeed in this role. Currently, we anticipate that this selection process will include:

1. Shortlisting, likely involving a short phone screening call
2. A time-limited practical round (modest honorarium offered)
3. One or two interviews, which will be via video call
4. Reference checks (please be prepared to provide the names and contact info for three references who can speak to your experience and potential for this role)

The hiring team has engaged an external consultant to support our recruitment process and intends to contact all candidates who submit a complete application with updates on their progress through our selection process. If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact Maggie Knight at mknight@davidsuzuki.org.

Early applications are encouraged and appreciated. Thank you to all who apply.

The David Suzuki Foundation is strongly committed to equity and diversity and to creating a welcoming and inclusive workplace. We especially encourage applications from equity-deserving groups; specifically Indigenous and racialized people, members of the LGBTQIA2S+, trans and gender-diverse communities, women and people with disability, chronic illness and/or neurodiversity.