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Posting Summary

Managing Director: Canada Plastics Pact (CPP)

December 2022
Location: Canada (preference for a major centre)

The Opportunity

Are you a bold, strategic leader, thinker and influencer committed to advancing our path to a clean economy? Do you buy into the need to advance both environmental and economic considerations to advance material change? Do you have a gift for bringing together disparate parties to enable collaboration that leads to real actions and outcomes?

If so, are you interested in this extraordinary opportunity to work right in the epicentre of our Canadian plastics ecosystem to bring about transformative, systemic change?

Launched two years ago, The Canada Plastics Pact (CPP) is an exciting national initiative tackling plastic waste and pollution as a multi-stakeholder, industry-led, cross-value chain collaboration platform. The CPP unites business, government, non-governmental organizations and other key actors in the Canadian plastics value chain behind a vision of creating a circular economy for plastics in Canada, in which essential plastics are kept in the economy and plastic waste is kept out of the environment.

CPP Partners have committed to a shared vision and key goals, and are now working together to achieve clear, actionable phase one targets by 2025.

As part of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation‘s Plastics Pact Network, the CPP operates as an initiative of The Natural Step Canada (TNS) with its own Board of Directors and legal entity. The Managing Director will report into the CPP Board of Directors but will work within a matrix structure wherein they will be considered part of the management team of The Natural Step Canada.

To lead the Canada Plastics Pact (CPP) through its next phase of development, we are looking for a bold, innovative, strategic and purpose-driven leader for the role of Managing Director.

Responsibilities Summary

Strategy

• Ensure the CPP works towards the common vision of a circular economy for plastics set forward by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, and that the CPP remains on track towards achieving the common (and evolving) group targets, including its Roadmap to 2025.
• Develop longer term strategies to advance deeper transformative change beyond 2025.

Leadership & Operations

• Oversee the day-to-day operations of the Canada Plastics Pact, including budget management, partnership coordination with and contribution to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Plastics Pact network, and managing resource sharing with key stakeholders and partners.
• Motivate, develop, and empower the CPP Secretariat team members (6 – 8)

Stakeholder Engagement

• Foster cross-functional and cross-industry collaboration to build alignment towards the CPP’s targets and Roadmap, through open dialogue, convening, mediation, and facilitation – with a view to actionable outcomes.
• Lead ongoing recruitment, retention, and management of industry partners and other key actors in the plastics value chain to commit and sign-up to the Pact.
• Understand both the communality of purpose and the diversity of constituents in the ecosystem, in order to build and nurture high levels of engagement with a broad range of stakeholders including the following:
  • CPP leaders and Pacts from other countries
  • Government at federal and provincial levels
  • NGO’s and other relevant advocacy groups
  • Corporates across the value chain

Candidate Profile

To enjoy and succeed in this role, you will care deeply about the mandate of the Canada Plastics Pact. You will be a bold thinker, adept at advancing change through influence across multiple stakeholder groups. You will embrace both complexity and ambiguity. You will lead with purpose, clarity, and empathy. You will also bring a strong combination of the following skills and experience.

Skills & Experience Checklist

• Working knowledge/understanding of issues relating to the pursuit of a circular or clean economy, or the intersection of economic and environmental advancement.
• Brings an understanding of the complexities of driving systemic change involving industry, government, NGOs, consumers, and others.
• A grounding in basic economics and industry innovation in the realm of sustainability, with an understanding of different business models.
• A basic understanding of the plastics eco-system and its challenges as part of the bigger environmental picture (but does no need to be an expert). Welcome and relevant areas of expertise could include policy, supply chains, manufacturing, technical innovation, and the spectrum of challenges relating to human behaviour and economics.
• Built, mentored, and led engaged teams.
• Led an organization or division with leadership and budgetary responsibility.
• Experienced in the art of outcome-oriented convening and the process of bringing different viewpoints together to agree on measurable and meaningful actions.
• Has had material engagement with both private and public sector, bringing an understanding of the special pressures and challenges faced by each to effect meaningful organizational change, and the predominant culture/language deployed (needs to build trust and credibility across both these sectors).
• An understanding of how to interact effectively with, and influence, governments (federal, provincial, municipal).
• Experience securing funding and investment from industry and other potential sources.
• Fluency in both official languages (English and French) is preferred but not a prerequisite.

To Apply or Learn More

The Natural Step Canada and the Canada Plastics Pact have entrusted Elaine Grotefeld at Latitude Cleantech Search to help them recruit for this important role. Please contact Elaine directly and in confidence – either directly through LinkedIn, or email to elaine@cleantechsearch.com. CPP and Latitude are committed to ensuring a fair, open and accessible process for this search. CPP is committed to employment equity, diversity and inclusion in the workplace, and we encourage applications from all qualified candidates, including women, racially visible persons, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, persons of the 2SLGBTQ+ community, and others.

Thank you for considering this impactful and exciting opportunity.