Executive Director

Position: Executive Director
Organization: Green Economy Canada
Location: Remote work opportunity with occasional travel required. Candidates must be located and legally permitted to work in Canada.

At Green Economy Canada, we envision an economy where environmental sustainability, human well-being, and business success are synonymous.

Green Economy Canada is a national non-profit accelerating Canada’s transition to a vibrant and inclusive net-zero future. We lead a network of Green Economy Hubs across the country that bring together, support and celebrate businesses in taking action on climate change and building sustainability into their operations. To date, over 600 businesses have been supported to collectively reduce over 225,000 tonnes of GHG emissions -- the equivalent of removing over 69,000 cars off the road each year. Join us in making business better, together!

The Opportunity

Green Economy Canada is seeking a strategic and values-driven Executive Director (ED) to lead the organization through its next phase of growth and impact. The ED will provide vision and direction for the organization, working closely with the Board of Directors, staff, partners, and other stakeholders to advance our mission and ensure the long-term sustainability and success of our programs and operations. As an ideal candidate, you are a dynamic, people-focused leader with a passion for business and community-led sustainability. You have strong business acumen, and experience with the non-profit sector and in managing organizations. You excel at empowering teams to deliver results and in fostering a culture of psychological safety, learning and innovation. You thrive in shaping and implementing strategy, and in galvanizing stakeholders around a shared vision. You model behaviours of high integrity and trust, and share a belief that climate action, reconciliation, and economic prosperity go hand in hand.

What Does the Executive Director Do?

Strategy & Growth

• Lead the development and implementation of Green Economy Canada’s annual and long-term strategic goals and plans with the support of the Board and Senior Leadership Team.
• Provide oversight and direction to ensure organizational goals are met.
• Oversee the creation and management of Green Economy Canada’s annual budget ($4M).
• Identify and scope new strategically-aligned projects, partnerships, and initiatives to grow our impact and advance our mission.

Fundraising, Partnerships & Advocacy

• Evolve and lead the implementation of Green Economy Canada’s business model and funding strategy, including working with staff to develop and grow new fee-for-service offerings.
• Cultivate and grow strong relationships with a diverse mix of potential partners, including foundations, nancial institutions, government agencies, industry associations, think tanks and business networks.
• With the support of the team, secure grants, corporate sponsorships, and other sources of funding needed to achieve annual revenue targets and power transformative work.
• Lead government relations, advocating for policies and practices that support sustainability and advance the transition to an inclusive net-zero economy.

Outreach & External Relations

• Act as the primary public ambassador and spokesperson for Green Economy Canada, and ensure our network’s voice is represented in key conversations related to advancing the business net-zero transition.
• Raise the prole and inuence of our network through speaking engagements, connecting with media, participating in advisory panels, and engaging in thought leadership opportunities.

Governance & Leadership

• Report to Green Economy Canada’s Board of Directors at a minimum quarterly to ensure the Board is adequately informed of nancial and strategic updates to provide effective oversight.
• Ensure the organization effectively meets its nancial and legal responsibilities.
• Provide the necessary support, direction, development opportunities and accountability structures to set Senior Leadership up for success in cultivating high-performing teams and a psychologically safe work environment.
• Work with the Operations Director to ensure the organization has the right tools, structures, and policies to operate effectively.

Program Oversight

• Oversee the design, delivery, and evaluation of our programs and services to ensure they meet the needs of the business community and advance our strategic goals.
• Ensure that Green Economy Canada is upholding a high standard of service excellence and centring stakeholder perspectives/member experience strongly through all of our work.
• Keep a pulse on the needs, perspectives and experiences of members, Hub staff, and key program funders and supporters across different regions in Canada, and ensure our organization is integrating learnings to keep our work relevant, practical and effective.

What We Hope You Will Bring

Relevant Experience & Knowledge

• A minimum of 7 years of senior leadership experience in business or sustainability, with experience managing or leading an organization and responsibly managing larger budgets. Experience with the non-profit sector is a major asset.
• Strong knowledge / comfort with sustainability concepts, sustainability trends, and corporate social responsibility (CSR), alongside an understanding of and connection to the business community.
• Demonstrated experience building and managing high-performing teams, and a strong understanding of what it means to create a psychologically safe organizational culture, rooted in trust.
• Proven experience in fundraising / sales and nancial management. Experience with government relations is an asset.
• Fluency in English required; fluency in French is a major asset.

Attributes That Will Help You Succeed

• Exceptional strategic thinking and problem-solving skills with the ability to draw out key insights, translate vision into action, and act decisively to focus resources on the highest value activities.
• An empathetic leadership style that models integrity and trust, with an ability to share perspectives candidly and diplomatically.
• A resourceful and entrepreneurial mindset that can connect the dots, spot opportunities, and navigate ambiguity, paired with an appreciation for strong systems and processes to support a growing organization.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to engage and inuence a wide range of stakeholders, and rally people around a shared goal or vision.
• A passion for creating an inclusive and sustainable economy, with an ability to act as a trusted ambassador and spokesperson for Green Economy Canada.
• Receptivity to feedback, with a continuous improvement mindset that keeps us agile and supports our evolution to take advantage of strategic opportunities.
• The ability to think big picture and be detail-oriented.
• Comfortable executing work and empowering teams in a fully remote and digital environment.

Does this sound like you? Then apply today and join our team of changemakers transforming business-as-usual.

Additional Details

Ideal Start Date: May 2025
Term: Full-time, permanent position

Salary: $105,000 - $120,000 / year, commensurate with qualications and experience.
Benefits:

• Health and dental package or $2,000 health and wellness allowance / year (if opting out of benets due to existing spousal coverage)
• Access to virtual Employee Assistance Program
• $60 / month home office stipend
• ~6 weeks off annually consisting of: 3 weeks discretionary vacation time, 2 week shut down over the December holidays, bi-weekly Summer Fridays during July and August, and 12 equalized stat holidays per year to the entire staff team regardless of province or territory of residence.
• Flexible work arrangements to maintain a healthy work-life balance and access to a professional development budget and dedicated work time to pursue PD opportunities.
• Strong collaborative culture, meaningful work, and awesome teammates!

Location: Remote work opportunity with occasional travel required. Candidates must be located and legally permitted to work in Canada.
Reports to: Board of Directors, Green Economy Canada

How To Apply

Please submit your cover letter and resume using this application link by February 28, 2025. If you have any questions during the application process, please direct them to the Executive Director Hiring Committee at edhiring@greeneconomy.ca . 

Please advise if you have any accommodation needs — we are committed to ensuring you can participate fully in the recruitment process. We sincerely thank all applicants, however, we will only be able to personally contact those selected for an interview.

Green Economy Canada is an equal opportunity employer where a diverse mix of talented people do their best work because of, not in spite of, our differences. We are committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all staff, volunteers, members, subcontractors, and 6 vendors in all our activities and operations, regardless of race, colour, religion (creed), gender identity, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), dis/ability, marital status, or sexual orientation.

What’s it Like Working at Green Economy Canada?

At Green Economy Canada, we seek to blend the nimbleness and autonomy of a small team with the inuence and opportunities afforded to a national network.

• We are bold, ambitious and optimistic. Our vision is for an economy that makes environmental sustainability, human well-being, and business success synonymous.
• We care about what we each accomplish, not where we work from or how many hours we put in.
• We want working together to feel effortless and the ways we work together to be intuitive.
• We embrace innovation: we’re willing to take risks, we know we’ll make mistakes along the way, and we push ourselves to apply what we learn each time. At Green Economy Canada, it’s okay to fail.
• We have fun, enjoy working together, and laugh often.
• We’re not satised with the status quo: we don’t think “because that’s how it’s always been done” justies a course of action. We challenge each other, think critically, and strive for objective decision-making.

Our Manifesto

Now is the time to transform business-as-usual. From the climate crisis to vast social inequalities, we know the status quo isn’t working. Together, we can change this. It takes all of us — every business and organization across Canada — to seize this moment. It’s a matter of rethinking what we do and how we do it, and working together to make it a reality. Green Economy Canada sees what’s possible. Our network is a place for leaders who are ready to challenge the status quo and make the transition to a vibrant and inclusive net-zero future. It’s a journey we will take with you. It starts with listening and understanding what can be done differently. It means providing the guidance, tools, and connections to help you succeed. It accelerates when businesses, 7 nonprots and governments join forces. And it ends with seeing how we can do more together than alone. So, join us, and let’s make business better, together. Learn More About Us Visit our website Follow us on LinkedIn and join our mailing list Read our last Impact Report (a new Impact Report is coming in May 2025)

Read Green Economy Canada's full Executive Director posting here.

Please indicate you saw this posting at GoodWork.ca.