Manager, Alberta Government Relations

This role is an opportunity to have a major impact in shaping climate and energy policy in Alberta.

As our Manager, Alberta Government Relations, you will be a key member of our team and will be integral to our efforts to advocate for low-carbon economic growth policy in Alberta.

This is a newly created role at Clean Prosperity and an opportunity to join our Alberta government relations team, expanding our outreach and increasing our effectiveness. If you’re the right candidate, you’ll be excited about the opportunity to be part of building up and advancing our Alberta advocacy.

At Clean Prosperity, our mission is to help Canada seize the opportunity in the low-carbon economy through policies that attract investment and create jobs, reduce emissions, enhance energy security, and maintain affordability for Canadians. Getting the balance right across these objectives is important to ensure that the solutions we advocate for are evidence-based and politically durable. Your focus in this role will be centered on advocacy promoting the importance of industrial carbon markets, how Alberta should approach decarbonizing our electricity sector, and other timely policies that will help decarbonize the province.

This is particularly important in Western Canada where policy must seize future opportunities in a low-carbon economy, while supporting and capitalizing on the expertise and experience of existing sectors, such as oil and gas.

We are passionate about what we do and we are looking for a smart, ambitious person to join our team.

Clean Prosperity is committed to diversity in its hiring processes. We welcome applications from members of visible minorities, First Nations, Métis, Inuit, persons with disabilities, persons of all sexual orientations and gender identities, and others with the skills and knowledge to help provide a diverse range of perspectives and lived experiences.

The role

The Manager, Alberta Government Relations will play a key role in expanding the impact of our Alberta government relations and wider Alberta stakeholder relations, while also contributing to organization-wide policy objectives.

This role will report to the Vice President, Western Canada, and will work closely with our Directors for B.C. and Saskatchewan, as well as other members of our cross-Canada team.

Key responsibilities

Government relations:

• Support the team in relationship-building efforts and engagements with relevant Alberta officials — including MLAs, political staff, and departmental staff — regarding climate, low-carbon economic growth, electricity, and nuclear energy policy.
• Hold regular conversations with relevant government officials — including elected leaders, political staff, and departmental staff.
• Hold regular conversations with the Alberta Official Opposition, including submitting ideas and policy proposals.
• Monitor, and provide advice on, government briefings, political developments, committee hearings, and related events.
• Draft formal communications to government, including submitting feedback as part of government consultations, pre-budget submissions, and policy memos.
• Represent Clean Prosperity at government and stakeholder briefings, hearings, and related events.
• Undertake similar activities to the above with relevant staff from all political parties.

Stakeholder relations:

• Identify and engage other stakeholders who will be influential on topics related to our policy agenda with a particular focus on building strong relationships with the business and investor communities.
• Attend, and present at, relevant events, such as conferences, forums, and conventions, on topics of interest to the organization.
• Draft compelling presentation decks that help us persuade policymakers, funders, and other stakeholders.
• Plan and implement stakeholder engagement events, occasionally alongside partner organizations.

Media relations:

• Support the production of a range of different content, from op-eds to issue briefs to blog posts.
• Work closely with our communications team to pitch Clean Prosperity’s policy messages to the Alberta government, opposition, media, and related stakeholders.
• Handle administrative and logistical activities related to the media release of policy reports, research papers, and other external-facing documents.

Policy Research and Development:

• While we do have staff dedicated to deeper policy research, you will be required to develop sufficient technical expertise to help prepare briefings on our policy priorities, including writing and editing reports. You may also be asked, from time-to-time, to undertake modest research assignments on questions of policy.
• Draft briefing notes and other policy-related assets to support our advocacy work.

In addition to the responsibilities described above, you will be asked to contribute to other organizational priorities from time to time.

Skills and experience needed

The below list represents our ideal set of qualifications. We encourage you to apply if most of these are a fit, even if there are one or two that aren’t:

• Bachelor’s degree and at least 5 years of relevant work experience.
• Experience (2 years minimum, ideally more) in either a policy role within government and/or conducting government relations.
• Superb people skills — you must be able to build relationships quickly, work with people across the political spectrum, and find common ground with those who disagree with you.
• Great storytelling skills — you must be able to take complex, technical topics and turn them into compelling narratives that resonate with elected officials.
• Baseline understanding of the Canadian climate and energy policy landscape, (deeper understanding is a bonus) and a belief that Canada should strive to reach net-zero.
• Experience engaging and persuading external stakeholders (policymakers, business leaders, community leaders, or similar influential stakeholders).
• Ability to work independently and effectively.
• Ability to adapt in a fast-paced and quickly changing environment.
• Excellent communication and writing skills.
• Experience synthesizing research, writing briefing notes, and presenting findings and recommendations.
• Basic comfort in reviewing and interpreting academic policy reports.
• Legally eligible to work in Canada.

Location, hours, and culture

We are a small and tight-knit team who support each other’s work every day. Our team comes from a diverse range of backgrounds, and we bring those perspectives to every effort, making our work better in the process.

All of our team works remotely from home. This role requires that the Manager, Alberta Government Relations be located in Alberta, and more specifically, we are looking for the successful candidate to be located in the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, so that they are able to quickly travel to the legislature and government departments for meetings as part of their regular duties. We will reimburse certain office equipment costs to ensure that you have a comfortable and effective setup.

We keep standard working hours based on employees’ local timezones, but are much more concerned about results than about how you organize your time. We are a people-focused organization: staff have flexibility in how they schedule their working hours.

Even though we’re virtual, you will interact regularly with the team. We hold weekly staff meetings, informal virtual meet-ups, and two in-person staff retreats per year across Canada, for which you may be required to travel. You will also meet in person with our VP of Western Canada on a regular basis.

Compensation

We’re seeking someone who can fill a vital role in Alberta. While we are a nonprofit, we strive to pay salaries that are competitive with the private sector. We understand this is an important consideration for any applicant and we will discuss salary during our first discussion with you. In addition to your salary, you will be entitled to a health benefits package, 20 days vacation (pro-rated), and we will also provide you with what you need for your home office.

How to apply

Please send an email to [email protected] with the subject line “Application for Manager, Alberta Government Relations” that includes:

1. Your resume

2. A cover letter that explains why you want to work with us and why you’d be a good fit, and something that you’re passionate about outside of work (e.g. a hobby, a favourite place you like to go, or whatever makes you smile when you’re not in the office).

IMPORTANT NOTE: All applications will be reviewed by humans. We aren’t looking for a key-word bonanza in your cover letter — we want to get to know you. Please ensure that your application is also authored by a human. Thanks!