Local recruitment: Lead, Waste and Water Sector Development

The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) is the national voice of municipal governments, representing the interests of cities and communities with the federal government. 

Why GMF is the place for you

At GMF, we empower our people to create change where it has the most impact – municipalities. GMF is a $1.6 billion permanent endowment from the Government of Canada, managed at arm’s length, making it nimble and available for higher-risk, higher-impact initiatives. A further $530M investment into GMF to support the National Adaptation Strategy was announced in November 2022.  Our team is committed to helping local governments switch to sustainable practices faster. GMF is the cornerstone program of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM).

Our unique mix of funding, resources, and training gives municipalities the tools they need to build resiliency — and create better lives for Canadians. Through GMF, municipalities have reduced carbon emissions; built better transportation assets; constructed efficient and resilient buildings; diverted waste from landfill; made previously unusable land available for development; and improved soil and water quality.

You in this role

You have a passion for climate action, building resilient communities, and improving the lives of Canadians.  

In November 2022, the Government of Canada awarded FCM (via the Green Municipal Fund) $530M to deliver the Local Leadership for Climate Adaptation (Adaptation) program as an implementing partner to deliver tools and resources to Canadian communities, specifically to support a minimum of 1400 community-based climate adaptation initiatives over 8 years beginning in 2024/25, protecting Canadians and their communities, as well as minimizing costs associated with climate impacts through three broad areas of work (“tracks”): 
a) Adaptation planning, capacity building and institutional mainstreaming (Climate-ready Plans and Processes – Track 1); 
b) Accelerating local-level implementation of adaptation solutions (Adaptation in Action – Track 2); and, 
c) Financing adaptation projects to attract greater private sector participation in adaptation financing (Financing Adaptation – Track 3). 

Reporting to the Senior Manager of Sector Development, the ‘Lead – Waste and Water Sector’ supports FCM’s overall role as a national leading municipal association by promoting the adoption of technologies and practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve performance in the solid waste management and water management sectors. The Lead will take a leadership role in developing the GMF water sector strategy, balancing the needs of FCM’s diverse stakeholders and developing a pathway towards optimal environmental, social and economic benefits for Canadian communities. The Lead will also guide the implementation of the GMF waste sector strategy, and will be responsible for developing the network, funding approaches, and supporting knowledge and mobilization tools to support transformation of the municipal water and waste sectors towards more sustainable practices. 

The work at FCM includes FCM becoming an even more member-driven organization that balances the realization of its goals with a people-centered approach. The incumbent embodies FCM’s commitment to being a healthy, diverse, inclusive, and anti-racist organization. As a member of the team, the Lead, Waste and Water Sector Development works in a manner that embraces these values, the corporate culture and the passion for FCM’s mandate

What you’ll be doing

The Lead, Waste and Water Sector Development will:   

• Lead a cross-functional delivery team with members from other business units to guide the implementation of GMF’s waste sector strategy, ensuring efficient achievement of strategy objectives by leading activities such as strategic planning, coordinating cross-functional workplans, providing technical input/guidance, and development of partnerships.  
• Lead the development of GMF’s water strategy, determining how GMF can best support the transformation to net-zero resilient municipalities in this sector.
• Serve as GMF’s lead for the municipal waste and water sectors, responsible for developing GMF’s sector intelligence, strategy and analyzing how GMF resources can be best used to increase value for municipal stakeholders. 
• Support and build internal GMF capacity, experience, and expertise in the waste and water sectors, including keeping the GMF team informed of emerging trends, performing due diligence on municipal funding applications, and providing staff training.    
• Lead the design and improvement of funding products and decision-support tools for municipalities of varying sizes and experience (e.g., supporting and learning from leading municipalities, and building awareness and helping municipalities with less experience).  
• Support in assessing project applications, advising for success and pro-actively seeking new funding opportunities that address sector priorities.  
• Support the Capacity Development team with the development and mobilization of capacity building materials such as business cases, guidebooks, and implementation tools to support municipalities in adoption of emerging solutions. 
• Support Policy & Public Affairs on federal policy matters related to the waste and water sectors.  

Your skills make us better 

You bring:   

Education:

• University degree in engineering, environmental science, or a related discipline. MBA or experience developing the business case and economic models for waste and water sector projects an asset. 

Experience:  

• Minimum 5-7 years of professional experience with municipal waste and/or water management, advancing adoption of sustainable technologies and practices in areas such as waste reduction, waste stream management, stormwater management, and wastewater treatment. Experience in both waste and water sectors an asset.  
• Experience in leading through influence, working and collaborating effectively within a large organization, and developing and maintaining partnerships and working relationships. 
• Experience providing technical and economic due diligence for procurement, investment, program development or project finance of waste and/or water sector projects. 
• Public and private sector experience considered an asset. 

Knowledge: 

• Strong understanding of technological, environmental, economic, and policy implications of waste and/or water sector trends to achieve net-zero, resilient municipalities. These include circular economy, organic waste diversion and processing, landfill gas management, low-impact development, nature-based water management solutions, and energy-efficient wastewater treatment approaches. Strong technical knowledge of and experience with anaerobic digestion is an asset.
• Knowledge of Provincial and Federal legislative, regulatory and programming frameworks related to waste management and water management. 
• Strong understanding of anti-racism, equity, inclusion and reconciliation as it pertains to the municipal waste and water sectors. 

Competencies:

• Effective written and oral communication, and experience presenting findings and recommendations to senior-level decision makers through written documents and presentations. 
• Strong analytical skills and experience evaluating and comparing technical and policy options to address waste and/or water management challenges. 
• The ability to communicate in written and verbal format in both official languages is an asset.

Why working here rocks 

We prioritize work-life balance with our flexible model:

• When we say flexible work model, we mean that in collaboration with your manager and based on what your team needs, you have the flexibility to determine when you work so that you can enjoy a healthy balance between work and personal demands.
• While you do need to live in Canada for this role, you can primarily work from home. Travel may be required to Head Office in Ottawa periodically.  The majority of the GMF team operates from the National Capital Region.
• We do like to visit the areas we are impacting and it allows us to see unique and wonderful parts of our country. You may find yourself traveling nationally 10-15% of the time. 

We don’t just talk about employee wellness, we live it:

• Summer hours between July 1 and Labour Day:
  • 7-hour workdays rather than 7.5
  • Every Friday off in the summer
• Flexible work arrangements to support productivity and well-being
• Commitment to employee development
• Competitive range of employee benefits and services
• Office facilities located in the Byward Market and Ottawa’s downtown core

We’re committed to fostering an organizational culture that embraces equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging, where individuals from diverse racial and ethnic identities, nationalities, social economic status, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression and physical and mental abilities can thrive and be fully engaged at their best level.

We welcome and encourage applications from people with disabilities. Accommodations are available on request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the recruitment and selection process.

How to apply

If this role speaks to you and the impact you want to make, we’d love to hear from you! Apply today.

The deadline to apply is November 14th, 2023.

The future of work here includes a hybrid work model; therefore, this role will be a combination of virtual and on-site work.

The successful candidate is required to live in and be authorized to work in Canada. They are also required to be able to work from home/remotely, from within Canada.  All in-office work and in-person meetings for work that take place inside and/or outside of the offices located in Ottawa will be subject to FCM’s Safe Workplace Vaccination Policy, as well as its health and safety procedures.

For additional information on this posting, or for further information on FCM, access our website at www.fcm.ca. Learn more about the Green Municipal Fund at https://greenmunicipalfund.ca/