Steer Canada’s foremost municipal environmental initiative by leading the vision, portfolio, and strategic evolution of the Green Municipal Fund (GMF) and broader climate programming. As an executive leadership team member, this person directly oversees multi-million dollar green investment portfolios, drives strategic growth, and orchestrates impactful financing and capacity building initiatives for communities nationwide.
This role is an exceptional lever for nationwide climate action. By bridging capital allocations with local governance, the portfolio accelerates municipal decarbonization, green infrastructure deployment, and community resilience, delivering tangible environmental, economic, and social equity returns across cities and remote towns alike.
This suits an executive leader and finance strategist who pairs deep investment acumen with a proven track record navigating multi-stakeholder public policy and federal-municipal frameworks.
Job FAQs
What are the main missions and responsibilities of this role?
The primary mission is to provide overarching executive leadership for the Green Municipal Fund (GMF) and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities' suite of climate programs. The executive will craft and execute the fund's strategic roadmap, ensuring long-term capital sustainability, rigorous financial management, and measurable environmental and socioeconomic outcomes across Canadian municipalities.
Key responsibilities include overseeing investment portfolio performance, directing innovative financing mechanisms, and maintaining sound governance and risk management practices. The role also commands high-level advocacy and alignment with federal government partners, municipal leaders, and institutional funders to scale local climate action platforms.
Key learning opportunities for this job
This position offers real exposure to national-scale blended finance and public-private capital deployment dedicated to climate transition. The incumbent will gain intricate insights into federal policymaking, municipal infrastructure governance, and large-scale ESG fund stewardship.
Additionally, the executive will expand their expertise in leading complex, cross-functional teams within an influential national association, refining models that reconcile climate resilience, economic viability, and social equity across urban and rural contexts.
How does the ideal candidate look like (experience, skills)?
The ideal candidate is an established executive with extensive experience directing large-scale investment programs, green funds, or mission-driven financial platforms. They possess sophisticated financial acumen, proven risk oversight capabilities, and substantial familiarity with the public, non-profit, or capital markets sectors.
Exceptional diplomatic skills, high emotional intelligence, and experience collaborating with federal, provincial, or municipal levels of government are essential. Strong bilingual capabilities in both French and English (written and spoken) are considered a major asset, alongside an authentic commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Advice to stand out and make a successful application
Ensure your application highlights concrete outcomes where you managed substantial capital or public programs driving measurable environmental or social impacts. Demonstrate your ability to navigate nuanced political environments, steward institutional relationships, and balance strategic innovation with rigorous fiduciary responsibility.
Given FCM's collaborative and values-driven environment, frame your leadership philosophy around inclusive team culture, consensus-building across diverse stakeholders, and clear alignment with national climate goals.
What aspects of the company's sustainability is this role likely to focus on?
The position sits directly at the center of Canada's local green transition, focusing on municipal climate mitigation and adaptation. Key focus areas include funding and scaling community infrastructure, deep energy retrofits, net-zero buildings, clean transit, renewable energy, and circular economy projects.
Beyond technical decarbonization, the role heavily emphasizes community resilience, environmental justice, and socioeconomic equity, ensuring that municipalities of all sizes, from metropolitan centers to rural and northern communities, can access sustainable finance.
What are the main challenges someone in this role might face?
A primary challenge will be navigating complex, multi-tiered governance structures involving federal funders, municipal councils, and institutional co-investors, each carrying distinct priorities and compliance standards. Balancing rapid climate innovation with cautious stewardship of public-backed capital requires constant strategic calibration.
Furthermore, ensuring equitable access to funding and support for diverse communities with drastically varying administrative capacities will require adaptive program design and empathetic stakeholder diplomacy.
How could a typical day look like for someone in this position?
A typical day might begin with strategic discussions with the executive team on fund capitalization, risk tolerance, or long-term growth horizons. The morning could transition into briefing federal ministry partners or reviewing pipeline performance with internal investment and program directors.
In the afternoon, the director might participate in high-level consultations with municipal leaders or regional associations, followed by internal collaboration with policy, communications, and finance leads to optimize program delivery and measure real-world emissions reductions.
What are the opportunities for professional growth and development in this role?
Serving at the helm of Canada's largest municipal climate fund positions the candidate at the pinnacle of national sustainable infrastructure and climate finance. It offers tremendous visibility among political leaders, impact investors, and prominent environmental decision-makers across the country.
Professionally, this role solidifies an executive's standing as a transformative climate leader, opening future horizons in senior national leadership, multilateral development finance, or executive directorships across public and private impact institutions.
The main stakeholders you might be interacting with
Key internal stakeholders include the FCM Chief Executive Officer, the Executive Leadership Team, the GMF Council, the Board of Directors, and multidisciplinary operational teams across finance, policy, and communications.
Externally, the role collaborates intimately with federal departments (such as Environment and Climate Change Canada or Natural Resources Canada), mayors, municipal administrators, financial intermediaries, clean tech innovators, and provincial municipal associations.
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