Program Manager, Environment Funders Canada (EFC)

Environment Funders Canada (EFC) is a network that catalyzes 75+ diverse philanthropic funders to respond to environmental crises in Canada with ambitious and innovative solutions that also address intersecting economic, social, equity and wellbeing challenges. Members are supported in these efforts with in-person and virtual learning and strategy sessions, collaborative funding opportunities, an annual conference, networking, knowledge dissemination and thought leadership products.

Position Summary

The Program Manager (PM) will be part of a four-person core team and will work closely and collaboratively with the Executive Director (ED), Managing Director (MD), Logistics and Information Manager (LIM) and approximately 2-4 contractors to ensure that EFC effectively delivers on its current Strategic Plan.

We are seeking a visionary, passionate, systems change thinker with experience driving environmental solutions. The PM is able to advance multiple initiatives at once thanks to their excellent project management competencies and has a strong ability to grasp a wide range of subject matter relevant to the world of environmental philanthropy.

Our Culture
We’re a small but mighty team. We describe our organizational culture as follows:

• Each of us operates with a high degree of autonomy, but we are also committed to ensuring that above all else, our final products are high quality. Therefore, we proactively seek open and direct feedback from each other (and provide it) on how our work can be further enhanced and improved before we finalize decisions and pieces of work. It also means we have high standards and are particular about details and professionalism. We collectively hold each other and ourselves to high expectations.
• We enjoy a supportive team environment – we help each other in carrying out our different roles and we’re understanding of life circumstances that require flexibility and adjustments in our work lives.
• We are task-driven (love checking things off our To Do lists!) and work in an action-oriented environment, but this is offset by the fact that we value flexibility and boundaries in when and where we choose to work.
• We engage in high levels of communication – we regularly message each other on Slack and we prioritize weekly check-ins, in-office days once a week and deep dives on different topics as needed.
• Our day-to-day interactions are casual and friendly, and we like to have fun and joke around with each other, but we recognize and respect that our working arrangements and personal circumstances often preclude social get togethers outside of the office. We also understand that all close relationships take work, and we invest the time and energy in better understanding each other’s needs, concerns and hopes so that we may work together as effectively as possible.
• We are comfortable challenging each other to consider different viewpoints and arrive at the best possible outcome. If for some reason we aren’t aligned after substantial discussion, our hierarchy kicks in for a decision to be made about the way forward.
• At EFC, integrity matters, in the way we treat each other, our members, partners, contractors and other stakeholders. That means we strive to be as transparent, honest, fair, objective, collaborative and accountable as possible in our approaches to our work and our communications with others. It also means that we take precautions to make sure we don’t cause harm to others and that we value everyone’s wellbeing.

Core Responsibilities

Program Design and Project Management Leadership (50%)
Our roster of strategic initiatives is continuously evolving and changing year over year. In 2023, the PM will provide project management expertise and work closely with the ED to advance the following new initiatives:
• Establish a new funder collaborative focused on grassroots environmental mobilization to resource traditionally excluded community-based leaders engaging in grassroots efforts to build power and pressure for bolder environmental actions, while addressing the needs of underserved and marginalized communities. This includes leading the development of a foundational thought leadership product that will guide the work of this collaborative and will serve as a resource to all EFC members.

• Establish a new funder interest group to provide practical and tangible support to EFC members working toward mission-aligned asset investment.

Program Design and Delivery Support (20%)
The PM will also support EFC colleagues in delivering existing initiatives, as needed, including:
● Indigenous-ENGO Partnerships Cohort with The Circle on Philanthropy to establish a ‘learning by doing’ cohort focused on joint work to advance ocean conservation while moving from models of ‘representation’ to ‘reciprocity’.
● EFC Funder Interest Groups to enable members with shared interests to connect more often, share knowledge, learn together, discuss funding opportunities and/or explore collaboration.
● Open data and transparency project to illuminate where and how funders are allocating their resources by answering these three key questions: what is being funded, who is being funded and how are assets being invested?
● EFC Speaker Series webinars featuring curated topics and speakers to advance our strategic plan and the interests and needs of our members.
● Regionally-Based Funder Gatherings (2-3 per year) – where funders have an opportunity to learn together about a specific aspect of environmental philanthropy, and to network and deepen existing relationships
● Annual conference – EFC’s premier national event that brings funders from across Canada and beyond together to learn, network, share and collaborate.

Operations Support (20%)
• Schedule meetings for various purposes, as required
• Draft and distribute resources for meetings, workshops and conferences in a timely manner
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date member information in all EFC databases (e.g., Salesforce, listservs, e-newsletter, website and the Membership Directory)

Communications Support (10%)
• Engage and support EFC members in content creation through guest blogs and presentations
• Generate social media content

Please send resume and cover letter to devika@environmentfunders.ca
EFC is committed to centering equity, inclusion and decolonization in all that we do. We encourage applications from a diverse range of candidates, including BIPOC individuals, people with disabilities, and people who identify as LGBTQ2S+. While we are grateful to everyone who expresses interest in this opportunity, we will only be able to respond to those individuals who we are considering for the position.