Senior Specialist, Economic Development, Lands and Infrastructure

At Castlemain, we work for and with Indigenous organizations and communities. We strive to build meaningful and productive relationships that serve the needs of our clients, and we are proud that many of our new clients choose to work with us on a repeat basis. Based on our expertise, our services are also sought after by all levels of government. With offices on the unceded territories of the Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh and Musqueam in Vancouver, our team consists of both Indigenous and non-Indigenous professionals who bring together diverse backgrounds in communications and engagement, policy development, natural resource management, and sustainable economic development. Our people are the most important asset in our pursuit of achieving excellence in the work we undertake.

At Castlemain our services are organized with one objective in mind: to achieve results for our clients. Our services are performed by an award-winning team that possesses a wide range of knowledge, experience, and skill. At Castlemain, the services we offer are organized within five practice groups: Negotiation, Governance and Policy, Economic Development, Strategic Engagement and Communications, Settlements and Social Change.

Role Summary:

Under the direction of the Director, Economic Development, Lands and Infrastructure, the Senior Specialist, Economic Development, Lands and Infrastructure is responsible for conducting research activities, preparing project deliverables for our Indigenous clients, drafting policies and procedures, terms of reference, briefs, presentations, reports and provide overall project support to the Economic Development Practice Area. You have excellent written and oral communications skills and are passionate about partnering with Indigenous communities and organizations to support their vision for the future.

The Senior Specialist, Economic Development, Lands and Infrastructure is a point of contact with specific clients and will coordinate or manage project resources across the practice area and the company. You will be responsible for helping to build Castlemain's consulting services across a range of governance and policy issues.

Responsibilities:

• Work with the Castlemain leadership team to coordinate project resources
• Develop work plans, budgets and schedules and manage all aspects of their execution during the lifecycle of a project
• Provide expert advice to the Vice President, Economic Development, during the development of project proposals and work plans
• Demonstrate a working knowledge of policy and procedure drafting conventions, and diverse approaches to policy development and strategic planning
• Demonstrate a working knowledge of research design and methodologies including both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods
• Ability to conduct quantitative and qualitative research, as well as analyzing and reporting results
• Prepare project deliverables such as draft policies and procedures, terms of references, briefs, reports and presentations
• Present policy and research findings and recommendations to clients
• Facilitate small and medium size group processes
• Contribute knowledge and expertise to projects led by other team members
• Use best practices, manage and mentor junior project staff ensuring quality work with internal capacity building
• Advanced writing and communications
• Strong ability in facilitating small to medium sized meetings
• Share a passion for partnering with Indigenous communities to support their plans and goals

Economic Development Responsibilities:

• Provide expert advice to the Vice President during the development of project proposals and workplans
• Organize and oversee all aspects of economic development, lands and infrastructure projects
• Liaise with Indigenous leadership, economic development entities and partners to identify opportunities, develop appropriate plans, and implement projects to support the economic developments, land and infrastructure goals of clients
• Build strong and effective working relationships with project partners and stakeholders;
• Maintain and grow expertise in economic development, lands and infrastructure projects
• Contribute leadership, knowledge and expertise to projects led by other team members; and
• Use best practices, manage and mentor junior project staff ensuring quality work with internal capacity building

Qualifications:

• Post-secondary education in a relevant field, such as Political Science, Public Administration, Indigenous Studies, Sociology, Economics, Law or a related field
• 5+ years of professional experience in a Governance and Policy or related role
• 3+ years of project management or management experience
• Experience working with Indigenous communities or an in-depth knowledge of Indigenous governance and community development through learned experience (3 years preferred)
• Demonstrated knowledge and interest in Indigenous issues in BC and Canada, including Indigenous governance and community development
• Demonstrated knowledge of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action

Nice to have:

Experience as a consultant, or within a consulting practice, would be considered an asset

Work conditions:

• Use of desktop computer and peripherals
• We employ a hybrid work model with the expectations that individuals attend their closest office if they are within a 45 km radius 3 days per week. If outside of this radius we encourage individuals to attend functions when possible to help drive connection to local colleagues and support a strong company culture.

We are Believeco:Partners

Believeco:Partners is an independent owner, operator and builder of the foremost partner-led marketing, communications, and engagement agencies. Made up of Believeco, our full-service marketing agency, Argyle our public relations and advisory engagement agency and Castlemain, our Indigenous advisory firm. With over 300 people, across seven offices, in 6 provinces and 2 countries, our goal is to be one of North America's largest and most acclaimed full-service agencies.

An equitable employer:

Believeco:Partners is committed to advancing equity, diversity, and inclusion in all its forms, a commitment that enriches our company culture, the ideas that we generate, and the quality of service that we provide our clients. We encourage applications from Indigenous communities, racialized communities, women, persons with disabilities, LGBTQ2S+ people, and people from other historically marginalized communities.

Believeco:Partners is committed to providing employment accommodation under the Human Rights Code and the Accessibility Disabilities Act provincially by providing employment accommodations. If you are a job applicant with a disability, Believeco:Partners will make every effort to accommodate you throughout the recruitment process. Please inform us if you require any accommodation, and we will work with you to meet your needs.

At Believeco:Partners, we recognize that the best candidate may not meet all the criteria listed above. We encourage all those interested and with relevant experience to apply even if you don't match the job posting perfectly. We welcome creative, out-of-the-box thinking, and lived-experience and we strive to provide an environment for best-in-class innovation that quickly and fulsomely meets our clients' needs.