Director of Public Policy and Engagement
BGC Canada

Position Description

The Director, Public Policy & Engagement (Director) reports to the President & CEO and is responsible for developing and implementing BGC Canada’s national strategies to influence public policy and secure funding.

The Director plays a leading role in building strategic relationships with government and other NGOs, as well as monitoring, analyzing and synthetizing policy and research relevant to BGC Canada’s strategic priorities. The Director is also responsible for writing reports, papers, briefings, and proposals relevant to government relations and capacity development.

Primary Purpose

Drawing on leadership skills, experiences and networks in public policy, the Director, Public Policy and Engagement:

• Champions BGC Canada’s mission, vision, and values.
• Creates and executes a robust federal government relations strategy to support the advancement of key policies associated with the mandate of BGC Canada, while also furthering the issues- and thought-leadership objectives of the organization.
• Understands the landscape of federal, provincial, and local governments, as well as the government funding processes.
• Develops and maintains meaningful relationships with a variety of stakeholders (policy makers, volunteers, funders, and BGC Canada member and staff team) and government departments.
• Monitors, analyzes, and informs policy development and continually seeks ways to advance the mission of the BGC Canada through creative and well-researched policy.
• Supports Regional Directors at BGC Canada with advancing policy priorities at the provincial/territorial and local (municipal/county) levels. 
• Leads the development of new research and creates content for internal and external audiences, including reports, papers, briefings, and proposals relevant to government relations and policy development.
• Clearly conveys information to a variety of contacts using the tools necessary, engaging the audience to ensure the message is delivered and understood, creating a positive first impression with confidence and respect.
• Makes timely, informed decisions that consider facts, goals, constraints, and risks and considers the long-range view.
• Promotes cooperation and commitment with the team towards the attainment of common goals through the sharing of information or expertise.

Key Accountabilities

The Director of Public Policy & Engagement has five overarching areas of responsibility:

Ideal Candidate Profile

Knowledge and skills

The ideal candidate:   

• Demonstrates support for BGC Canada and a desire to support member Clubs to achieve the Mission and Vision of the organization.

• Demonstrates a strong desire to serve children and youth, while seeking opportunities to interact with member Clubs and addressing any inquiries, requests, and complaints in a timely and sensitive manner.

• Adheres to a set of core values that match those of the organization and upholds the BGC Canada Code of Ethics.

• Builds positive relationships and works collaboratively on projects and teams to achieve set goals and deliver effective service, and contributes to a positive, collaborative spirit in the office and the movement.

• Values and demonstrates two-way communication to support collaboration, and actively seeks opportunities to contribute to the organization’s strategic plan.

• Conveys information positively and confidently to employees and other key stakeholders, while ensuring that others are always adequately informed, and also provides relevant information to aid users in making informed decisions.

• Ensures feedback is received consistently to set expectations and create friendly team competition, while incorporating that feedback to improve overall performance.

• Demonstrates compassion and empathy for emotions that are verbally or non-verbally communicated.

• Contextualizes and aligns work assignments to strategic priorities and demonstrates an understanding of his or her role in terms of fit with BGCC’s vision and strategic plan.

• Uses a forward-thinking approach to make informed decisions that align direction, products, services, and performance with the organization, and coordinates ideas and resources to achieve long and short-term goals.

• Demonstrates a commitment to quality excellence and a genuine desire to serve others.

• Identifies and communicates situations that may lead to opportunities or problems, while also identifying new ideas and ways of doing things more effectively and efficiently.

• Demonstrates an openness and adaptability to change and seeks opportunities in any change processes.

• Acts on service requests promptly and follows up to ensure the response met the expectation.

• Promotes cooperation and commitment with the team towards the attainment of common goals.

• Maintains a healthy and positive workplace where accomplishments and strengths are recognized and valued.

• Demonstrates the ability to determine when and how to include appropriate people in decision-making, and also demonstrates the ability to use analytical thinking, organizational values, personal experiences, and intuition when making decisions.

Requirements

More specifically, the ideal candidate will have to meet the following requirements:

Important to consider

This role is based in either Ottawa or Toronto: applicants must be able to reasonably commute to either city – work may be based in a home office or office space may be provided at the Toronto office of BGC Canada.

Salary band for the Director, Public Policy & Engagement starts at $110,000, plus benefits. Salary will be based on relevant experience related to the position, within the salary band for the role.

BGC Canada is committed to providing an inclusive workplace that embraces diversity, values differences and supports the full participation of all employees. We offer accommodations to applicants with disabilities throughout our hiring process, upon request.  

BGC Canada requires individuals that work in interactive roles such as this one to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and the successful applicant will need to provide proof of vaccination.