Program Officer, Climate

About the Foundation

The McConnell Foundation is a private Canadian foundation that strives for a resilient, inclusive and sustainable society that can successfully address its complex challenges.

Opportunity

The successful candidate will join a dynamic team that supports diverse and innovative approaches to community resilience, reconciliation and climate change. We do this through a variety of means: financial contributions and investment, capacity building, consultation and collaboration with the public, private and non-profit sectors.
Applications close at noon July 9th, 2025.

Mode

Hybrid – Must reside within Canada

Employment type

Full-Time, Temporary Contract of 14 months

Supervisor

Program Director, Climate

Department and Team

Program

Hiring Salary Range (90-95%)

$56,300 to $59,400  

Statement on Salary Negotiation

During hiring, employees are placed only at the top of the offered range if they demonstrate most or all asset qualifications.

Position summary

The Program Officer, Climate, supports the work of the Climate focus area. This involves review of funding requests, research to support and refine the climate funding priorities, outreach to organizations and projects across Canada and provide end to end administrative support. 

Main responsibilities

Program Responsibilities

• Reviews funding applications to the Foundation and offers information and recommendations to the Program Director 
• Supports the administration of the funding process from beginning to end. 
• Supports joint initiatives and collaboration with other teams at the Foundation (Reconciliation and Communities).
• Reviews and follows up on documents and financial reports by partners.
• Maintains relevant partner information in the database.
• Works with the Program Director to implement the Climate annual work plan.
• Helps the Program Director manage the budget and financial forecasts
• Supports preparation of materials for Board meetings
• Prepares reports and other materials to help ongoing development of the Climate Focus Area. 
• Supports on other tasks as advised by the Program Director

 Collaboration and Representation 

• Contributes to outreach and sharing of information about the Climate funding strategy with potential partners
• Engages partners to learn about their work and support them in successful implementation of their projects 
• Supports collaborations with other philanthropic foundations to raise additional funding to address the climate crisis. 
• Attends conferences and other climate-related events in Canada to inform the Climate strategy

 People, Culture and Organizational Development 

• Demonstrates commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility (EDIA). 
• Demonstrates alignment with the Foundation’s values and mission.

Position requirements

• 1-3 years' experience in program support and/or administration.
• Post-Secondary degree or equivalent experience.
• Bilingualism in both English and French (B2 on the global scale).   
• Experience with and understanding of non-profit organizations and community-led initiatives. 
• Experience in climate work.  
• Commitment to Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility frameworks and practices.  
• Availability and willingness to travel.

Assets

• Experience in budget administration. 
• Experience with fundraising (grant writing) or the philanthropic sector in Canada.
• Experience facilitating and coordinating groups.

Core Competencies and Desired Attributes

• Alignment with the Foundation’s values and mission.
• Demonstrates commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion.
• Collaborates, building partnerships and working collaboratively with others to meet shared objectives.
• Instills trust, gaining the confidence and trust of others through honesty, integrity, and authenticity.
• Focuses on stakeholders, anticipating and balancing the needs of multiple vantage points and groups.
• Drives results, consistently achieving desired outcomes, even under tough circumstances.
• Demonstrates a strategic mindset, seeing ahead to future possibilities and translating them into breakthrough strategies.

Role-Specific Competencies

• Plans and aligns, prioritizing work to meet commitments aligned with organizational goals.à
• Makes sense of complex, high quantity, and sometimes contradictory information to effectively solve problems. 
• Takes on new opportunities and tough challenges with a sense of urgency, high energy, and enthusiasm. 

Benefits

• Generous, fully paid benefits and a health spending account.
• Employee Assistance and Virtual Medicine programs.
• Hybrid working conditions and home office allowance.
• Immediate vacation access and paid holiday time off.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

The McConnell Foundation is working towards strengthening our culture of inclusion and strives to build a team that reflects our mission for a more inclusive, resilient and sustainable society. We welcome and encourage applications from Indigenous people, Black people, racialized people, women, non-binary and gender-nonconforming people, people from the 2SLGBTQQIA community, people with disabilities (visible and invisible) and newcomers to Canada.
Our recruitment team will consider equity status throughout the recruitment process, so we invite members from equity deserving groups to self-identify in their application.
Our work environment and hiring process is inclusive and accessible to anyone with unique needs in terms of accessibility and accommodations. We will support you throughout the life cycle of your employment with us. We ask that all applicants identify their accommodation needs by sending an email to accessibility @mcconnellfoundation.ca so that we can create the necessary conditions so that you can participate fully in the hiring process. All information received in relation to equity status and accommodation will be remain confidential.

Privacy

By applying for this position, you freely and knowingly consent to the inclusion of all information provided by you to the McConnel Foundation in a file created in connection with your application for this or any similar position. You acknowledge that the file created on your application will be accessible to only those company personnel involved in the hiring process. It will then be stored the Foundation’s candidate database in accordance with the Foundation’s Privacy Policy for a period of five years, unless you request its destruction in writing. You also authorize the McConnell Foundation to contact the persons named as references in order to obtain evaluations of your performance and opinions on your work during former employment experiences.