Habitat & Nature Conservation

Position: Government Relations & Policy Strategist
Organization: Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative (Y2Y)
Location: The position offers flexible location within Alberta, near an airport with direct connections to major regional cities

About the Organization

The Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative (Y2Y) is a collaborative effort between a U.S. non-profit organization and a Canadian public charity that together connect and protect habitat from Yellowstone to Yukon so people and nature can thrive. Yellowstone to Yukon takes a scientific and collaborative approach to conservation, and highlights and focuses on local issues that affect the region. Y2Y has partnered with over 700 scientists, conservation groups, landowners, government agencies, Indigenous governments and communities and businesses to stitch together this landscape.

Without a unified vision for this deeply interconnected landscape, local conservation efforts may be isolated and less effective. Y2Y seeks to ensure conservation efforts are aligned in support of large-scale objectives, and therefore become continentally significant. Today, Y2Y is recognized as one of the planet’s leading mountain conservation initiatives.

For more information, please visit y2y.net

Position Description

Yellowstone to Yukon is seeking a creative, curious and self-motivated professional to be our next Government Relations and Policy Specialist. This role will help us develop, set and achieve policy goals primarily in Alberta; implement strategies for achieving those goals; and cultivate a diverse network of decision-makers, influencers and stakeholders to advance and realize our policy priorities, all while working in a supportive and dynamic team environment. This position reports to the Director of Government Relations and Policy and will work collaboratively across Y2Y’s programs teams – Landscape Connectivity, Landscape Protection, Science and Knowledge and our Communities and Conservation Team -- to achieve our policy outcomes. The Specialist will also coordinate with Y2Y’s science and communications staff to ensure that policies and organizing strategies are informed by the latest research and knowledge and advanced through strategic communications.

Specifically, the position will lead Y2Y’s proactive, solution-oriented, non-partisan effort to leverage Albertans’ deep connection with their mountains, and reliance on the headwaters within the Y2Y, to advance a suite of polices that benefit both people and nature in Alberta. The Specialist will help create, identify and act on policy opportunities, build strategic campaigns to support those opportunities and, working specifically with our program teams, mobilize resources to advance efforts to protect and connect lands and waters, support coexistence with wildlife, and help communities thrive.

A key component of this position is to build and maintain productive, respectful relationships with officials at every level of government in the province, and across the full range of political and ideological differences. Finding common ground and tapping shared values will help us to build collective power to advance and strengthen policies, programs, and funding sources that ensure enduring conservation in the Y2Y Region.

The successful candidate for this position will possess outstanding interpersonal skills, excel at working independently in a complex, fast-paced and dynamic work environment, taking initiative and navigating uncertainty. They should be open, curious and fearless in their interest in talking to people that come from a wide variety of backgrounds, world views and lived experience around policy and politics, while being authentic in talking about the collective values we share around nature. Expertise in how policy is made and what motivates decision-makers is critical, as are strong research, strategic, analytical, written and verbal communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement multi-faceted strategies to advance a proactive, non-partisan approach to protect land and wildlife corridors and promote landscape connectivity and human-wildlife coexistence, among other issues, focusing primarily on Alberta, with some Canadian federal engagement.
• Build and cultivate a productive and diverse network of relationships with key conservation partners, business leaders, government officials, including First Nations and allied organizations, as well as other relevant stakeholders and influencers.
• Help develop, elevate and advance Y2Y’s policy platform in Alberta.
• Monitor, track and analyze polices that impact our priorities. Develop and apply a depth of knowledge around relevant provincial and federal regulations, laws, policies and processes to strategically advise the Director of Government Relations and Policy and Y2Y program staff in identifying and assessing how and where we engage around emerging provincial policy opportunities and/or proactively take on credible threats to the Y2Y system.
• Work with the Director of Government Relations and Policy to develop and implement policy campaigns that involve strategic communications, policy analysis and development, educating and influencing decision-makers, and working with Y2Y team members to engage, support and mobilize a wide variety of stakeholders galvanized around a belief in strong stewardship of Alberta’s land, waters and wildlife.
• Support strategic media efforts to raise awareness about our issues, when appropriate, cultivate media messengers, and, at times, serve as a Y2Y contact and media spokesperson, in close coordination with Y2Y’s Marketing and Communications Team.
• Contribute as an active member of Y2Y’s multi-disciplinary Policy Team. Collaborate with colleagues working in both Canada and the US to support and coordinate related efforts.
• Represent Y2Y at periodic public-facing events such as government, tourism, nature, economic and transportation industry conferences, expert forums, etc.
• Manage consultants and contracts to support program goal advancement.
• Take an active role in ensuring equitable experiences, strengthening inclusion, developing and sharing knowledge and promoting a culture of inclusivity and belonging that embraces the contributions of all team members.
• Set and achieve individual goals that support overarching team and organizational goals while reporting regularly to the Director of Government Affairs and Policy regarding progress, challenges and proposed solutions.

• Travel within Alberta and occasionally to other parts of the Y2Y region and to Ottawa.

Candidate Profile

SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS:

• A clear commitment to Y2Y’s vision and mission.
• 5 to 7 years of experience in Alberta and Canadian policy, law, government affairs, issue campaigns, and/or a related field requiring policy and government outreach in Alberta or other relevant Canadian jurisdictions, along with engagement with a wide variety of stakeholders around complex issues. This could include conservation, tourism, energy, biodiversity protection, transportation, climate resiliency and natural resource management, among other things.
• Exceptional interpersonal skills and ability to work effectively with a wide variety of individuals and organizations across lines of difference, including local community leaders, government agencies, Indigenous peoples, elected officials, businesses and/or other stakeholders.
• Demonstrated ability to comprehend, synthesize, and effectively communicate complex scientific and policy concepts in a variety of contexts, with people from varying backgrounds and levels of expertise.
• Exemplary skills in written, online, and oral communication, including public speaking.
• Demonstrated success working independently, taking initiative, and employing creative problem-solving skills to advance project or program goals.
• A commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion through continuous development, modeling inclusive behaviours, and proactively managing bias.
• Ability to be flexible and pivot in response to emerging needs in a fast-paced, highly dynamic, and highly collaborative, team-based work environment. Comfort with ambiguity a plus.
• Experience serving as a productive member of successful teams, coalitions, or collaborations.
• Strong sense of personal accountability.

Terms of Employment

• The position offers flexible location within Alberta, near an airport with direct connections to major regional cities.
• Full-time position (37.5 hours/week) with an outstanding benefits package.
• Salary is commensurate with experience, ranging from $65,000 - $75,000 per year.
• Intended start date: December 2024 or January 2025

Additional Information

At Y2Y we value diversity — in backgrounds and in experience, and we need people from all backgrounds to help achieve our mission of connecting and protecting habitat from Yellowstone to Yukon so people and nature can thrive. Y2Y’s team is empathetic, caring, and supportive. We are intentional about the team and culture that we are building, seeking team members that are not only strong in their own aptitudes but care deeply about supporting each other's growth.

Y2Y is an equal opportunity employer and committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion in our workplace and in science, conservation, and society. We strongly encourage applications from members of groups that are underrepresented and/or excluded from these sectors, including but not limited to Black, Indigenous, and people of color, people with disabilities, and members of the LGBTQ+ community. All our employee’s points of view are key to our success, and inclusion is everyone's responsibility.

Short, preliminary interviews may be held via conference call or Zoom. If you anticipate needing accommodations for any part of the application or interview process you may contact, in confidence, Robyn Barton, HR Consultant at robyn@y2y.net .

Apply:

Apply here. Please indicate you saw this at GoodWork.ca