Job Description

The Opportunity.

Do you have visionary leadership skills? Do you have an entrepreneurial spirit? Are you passionate about sustainability? Do you believe in working for an organisation with purpose?

We are looking for an Executive Director to take Sustainability Leadership into a new era.

Job Summary.

The Executive Director sets the overall vision and direction for the organisation. She/he guides Sustainability Leadership\'s (SL\'s) strategy, direct staff and volunteers, oversees community resource development, supports program delivery and is SL\'s primary external spokesperson.

The Executive Director is accountable & reports to the Board, dedicated to ensuring the organisation maximises its collective impacts towards its mission in a sustainable, transparent and ethical fashion.

This is a great opportunity to build a team and steer the organisation into the future.

The Role.

Governance (5%).

Works with Board Chair to set agenda for regular Board meetings & Annual General Meeting

Provides onboarding and education of Board members

Reports to the Board on bi-monthly financial progress

Requests Board input & approval on items as defined in the organisation\'s governance structure

Maintains relationships with current Board members

Sits on Board subcommittees

Supports all Board subcommittees

Provides liaison between Board, Staff and Volunteers

Strategic Planning (5%).

Works with the Board, and solicits team input, to set and approve the organisation\'s Vision, Mission, overall strategic direction and plan

Conducts and oversees research on new initiatives

Measures and reports back on organisation\'s performance against strategic direction, in the areas of impact, activity and capacity

Cultivates relationships with potential partners; directs to appropriate staff person as needed

Approves new partnerships, with Board input when high risk

Operations & Program Delivery (30%).

Build and protect SL Brand, overseeing all messaging and ensuring it is consistent with brand

Oversees creation of/regular reviews of Policies and Procedures and Code of Conduct

SLP Business Development: sets BD strategy, develops/oversees development of new prospects, delivers presentations and holds meetings with potential members

SLP Program Management: maintains relationships with SLP members as-needed, provides direction and ensures continuous improvement of service offering

HR: directs staff on a regular basis, ad-hoc check-ins with volunteers

Finance: with assistance of bookkeeper, oversees all aspects of the organisation\'s finances: preparing monthly and/or quarterly cashflow, income and balance sheet reports; prepares annual audit; annual budget creation and approval

Green Economy Canada: maintains communications & relationship building with Corporate Partners, community affiliates, & other key supporters, helps set strategy

Legal: Works with Legal Advisor to meet legal obligations of the organisation

Ensures there is communication across functional areas; helps to \xe2\x80\x9cconnect the dots\xe2\x80\x9d

Team Support (20%).

Manage process of identifying and filling staff & volunteer needs, overseeing hiring and orientation of new employees

Ongoing 1:1s with all staff, all functional area managers and volunteer leads

Oversees professional development for all staff

Participation & direction setting in ongoing meetings for each SL functional area

Conduct biweekly team meetings & weekly staff meetings

Community Relations (25%).

Speaks at community events (keynotes, panels, lectures) on a regular basis

Attends select events where possible

Builds and maintains relationships with key supporters, political representatives, community organisations and other stakeholders

Acts as a spokesperson for all media inquiries & interviews

Resource Development (15%).

Oversees identification of funding opportunities and preparation/submission of grant applications.

Maintains & foster relationships with grantors, corporate funders (i.e. coop sponsors), and other non-value-added funding sources

Builds the Sustainability Leadership brand with key recruitment groups (i.e. coop students)

Other duties as assigned

The Candidate.

We recognize that potential candidates may not apply for a position if they don\'t hit every single criteria included in the job description - particularly members of underrepresented groups. Even if your experience doesn\'t necessarily check off all the boxes below, we still encourage you to apply and promise that your application will receive a review from our team. We also know that a resume can only show so much at this stage, so we encourage you to share more about yourself. For example, if you\'ve made career transitions, you\'re self taught in a new role or you have skills/experience you\'d like to highlight, we want to hear more about what you could bring to this role and to our organisation.

Based in one of the areas we serve (Hamilton, Halton, Niagara, Peel, Brant, Brantford) with an understanding of the local business and community landscape - able to identify and bring key stakeholders to the table.

Relevant work experience (5+ years) or formal education in business, sales, communications, marketing, sustainability or related field. Experience with a social enterprise / non-profit organisation is an asset.

Ability to apply key business and strategic principles

A strong interest or passion for sustainability and contributing to healthy, resilient and sustainable communities.

Exceptional interpersonal and team management skills, with an ability to listen well and work collaboratively with team members to support a caring, productive, and positive work dynamic. You are comfortable working both independently and remotely, with an ability to form strong collaborative relationships with team members and external partners, and support direct reports to excel in their role.

Conscientious and detail-oriented with an ability to effectively plan and manage multiple priorities, be proactive, and build trust that work is completed with quality and care.

Financial acumen with the ability to recognise financial implications of business decisions and strategy.

Strong project management and organisational skills, with demonstrated success in managing significant projects from conceptualisation through to implementation on time and on budget.

Critical and strategic thinking skills to identify opportunities to improve systems and processes and inform key decision-making. An ability to share perspectives candidly and diplomatically to generate better solutions, while also acting decisively to focus resources on the highest value activities.

A learning and resourceful mindset to help find solutions to challenges while growing your knowledge and skills and Green Economy Canada\'s capabilities. Strong comfort with navigating ambiguity.

Receptivity to feedback to learn from experiences and integrate those learnings in a thoughtful way to achieve stronger outcomes in the future.

Experience convening and facilitating conversations with groups, coaching one-on-one, and able to act as a trusted ambassador and spokesperson for Sustainability Leadership.

The Skills.

Leadership.

Business operations experience leading teams and in volunteer management

Ability to promote the SL Mission in the community (previous promotions/marketing experience in a similar organisation is an asset)

A strong passion for and expertise in sustainability and climate change science as well as climate change risks and opportunities for business

Exceptional proficiency in networking and business development (connected with the pulse of the community)

Project Management.

Project management experience

Thoughtful, scientific in approach to problem-solving

Excellent organisational and time management skills

Familiarity with G Suite and similar products

Communication.

Excellent communication skills (oral and written)

Excellent presentation skills

Experience in writing for a business audience, delivered in presentation format

Attention to detail in writing and fact-checking

An eye for design and ability to create visually appealing infographics and slides

Video production and editing skills would be an asset

Interpersonal.

Positive, optimistic outlook and passionate about sustainability

Self-motivated, works well on their own but thrives on teamwork

Proactive, forward-thinking

The Organisation.

Sustainability Leadership is a non-profit social enterprise, launched in 2011, dedicated to advancing the adoption of sustainable business practices in our business organisations for a healthier environment and thriving, prosperous communities. We aim to make sustainability the new business norm and contribute to a sustainable, low carbon economy.

Sustainability Leadership is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, merit, and business needs through a lens of inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility. Sustainability Leadership is a purpose-driven organisation, dedicated to providing a rewarding and mutually beneficial experience for our Staff and Volunteers.

The Process.

At Sustainability Leadership we use Applied for our recruitment. Applied aims to overcome unconscious bias in recruiting. Instead of using your CV alone, we\'ll be asking you to answer questions to test skills needed for the role. The responses are then anonymised, and reviewed in a random order by members of our team.

The Applied platform also asks some demographic questions before you start your application. We at Sustainability Leadership never see the responses to these demographic questions with your application. We only see summary statistics to help us check if our candidate pool is balanced and if everyone has an equal chance to get hired irrespective of their background. If you prefer, you can easily opt out of answering these questions.

Sustainability Leadership