Climate Action Program Team Lead

Overview

As one of the fastest growing cities in Canada, City of Surrey is a globally recognized leader in building vibrant, sustainable communities through technology and innovation. City of Surrey employees are talented innovators, inspired by meaningful work and the opportunity to drive our city-and their careers-forward. Build a City. Build a Future at the City of Surrey.

Employment Status

Exempt - Regular Full-Time

Scope

The Climate Action Program Team Lead works within the Sustainability and Energy Services Division, reporting to the Division Manager. The main objective of this senior climate action position is to lead, guide, and support initiatives that transition Surrey towards its 2050 vision of a resilient, zero carbon community as defined by the City's Climate Change Action Strategy (CCAS). Key to the success of the CCAS is ongoing collaboration with other departments led by the Climate Action Team on plans and strategies, program development and support, and action implementation.

Responsibilities

The Climate Action Program Team Lead is responsible for leading the Climate Action Team in initiating, advancing and supporting key CCAS initiatives as the strategy is implemented across the organization. The position liaises with senior management and Council, and leads and contributes to cross-functional teams across the organization. Reporting to the Manager, Sustainability and Energy Services, the Climate Action Program Team Lead supervises a team of union and exempt staff.

The CCAS forms the foundation of Surrey's climate action, providing strategic direction for other plans and strategies, establishing a low-carbon resilience lens to integrate mitigation and adaptation efforts, and guiding the embedding of actions into City functions. The successful candidate will be responsible for building relationships across departments and working collaboratively to initiate and support climate action initiatives in support of CCAS. The Climate Action Program Team Lead will direct considerable change management and strategic planning to position climate action as a core priority business activity in the organization. They will develop strategic plans, lead public and stakeholder engagement and communication campaigns, develop policies, and implement programs to reduce community and corporate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and improve resilience and adaptation to climate impacts.

The Climate Action Program Team Lead will bring knowledge and expertise in sectors including land use planning and development, transportation planning, low-carbon building design, sustainable site design, vehicle electrification, ecosystem management, and green infrastructure. The role also advances corporate sustainability objectives, including for facilities and vehicle fleets, green procurement, and financial management including the application for and management of senior government grants and funding programs.

Qualifications

Our ideal candidate shares our City values of Community, Innovation, Integrity, Service and Teamwork, and can demonstrate the following qualifications:

• Holds a Master's designation in climate, energy, public policy, resource and environmental management, planning, engineering, science, economics, public administration, building science, or a related field (candidates who hold a Bachelor's Degree in a relevant field and have exemplary relevant experience may be considered). • Have a minimum of 7 years of progressively responsible leadership in climate action planning, strategizing, and implementation, preferably in a local government context. • Have substantive knowledge in the field of climate change mitigation; adaptation and resilience; transportation and land-use planning and policy. • Experience working in or navigating local government organizations and decision-making processes • Exceptional communication skills, both oral and written. • Able to establish and maintain effective working relationships with the public and a variety of stakeholders. • Able to demonstrate that they are a collaborative self-starter practiced in time management, able to work in a fast-paced environment, and can manage multiple simultaneous projects and other initiatives.

The following will be considered as assets:

• Experience leading or doing GHG reduction planning and strategizing. • Applied experience in ecology and nature-based solutions, e.g. green infrastructure, watershed management, biodiversity, urban forest management. • Knowledge of and experience in urban planning and development, e.g. long range community land use planning; development planning. • Experience leading or coordinating community and stakeholder engagement and education initiatives. • Experience building and maintaining relationships with external agencies and other levels of government.

Conditions of Employment

Successful applicants must provide proof of qualifications.

Closing Date

This job will be posted until closed.

Our Values

Integrity - Service - Teamwork - Innovation - Community