Location: Ottawa, ON

Department: Industry Advancement

Employment Type: Full Time / Hybrid / Indeterminate

Language Designation: English/French Bilingual - CBC (Read/Write/Speak)

Posting Close Date: April 2, 2025

About Destination Canada

Tourism is the heartbeat of communities from coast to coast to coast. At Destination Canada, our aspiration for the tourism industry is to generate wealth and wellbeing for all of Canada and enrich the lives of our guests. Our mission is to influence supply and build demand for the benefit of locals, communities and visitors through leading research, alignment with public and private sectors, and marketing Canada nationally and abroad. We seek diverse, ingenious thinkers teeming with intellectual curiosity and a deep desire to grow Canada’s tourism industry – strengthening the socio-cultural, environmental and economic vitality tourism brings to Canada.

About the role:

Reporting to the Senior Vice President, Industry Advancement and Corporate Secretary (the “SVP”), the Director, Government Relations, is responsible for managing and enhancing Destination Canada’s (DC) relationship with the shareholder as well as municipal, territorial and provincial governments as required. This role protects, maintains, and enhances the organization’s reputation amongst government stakeholders and influencers by providing a regular interface and is a communicator for the organization with various government personnel.

This includes:

• Developing a comprehensive shareholder relations framework and strategy
• Building and maintaining strong relationships with the shareholder and other government stakeholders
• Enhancing and improving DC’s value, reputation and relevance in the eyes of the shareholder and other government stakeholders
• Ensuring a high standard of consistent and aligned communication with all relevant parties and that a no-surprises environment is maintained.

Along with the SVP, the Director plays a key role as DC’s eyes and ears in the Nation’s Capital, including attending meetings and exchanging information with government officials, parliamentarians, and/or representatives from the diplomatic community.

Key accountabilities

• Establishes and maintains a comprehensive and integrated shareholder relations strategy to ensure sustained and effective working relationships with Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED), and other Government of Canada departments, agencies and Crown Corporations. This includes interacting with public officials to provide Destination Canada research and analysis to enhance Government of Canada policy development and seek best practices or common areas of collaboration.
• Establishes, builds and maintains relationships and close liaison with ISED and other government counterparts to facilitate an open dialogue between the shareholder and DC.
• Coordinates communications across multiple levels between DC, the shareholder, and other government and non-government stakeholders to ensure consistent information sharing aligned with DC’s communication objectives.
• Prepares briefings for DC leadership, key messages, presentations decks, talking points and meeting scenario notes that will help guide interactions with government and pursue common goals and objectives.
• Works closely with the Corporate Communications team, as well as with the Research, Data Analytics, Marketing, Destination Development, Finance & Operations and Corporate Secretary units, to fulfill an integrated and coordinated function for the short- and long-term needs and plans for DC.
• Provides operational leadership on special initiatives or projects involving the shareholder.

What you need

• At least five years of experience in government relations/public affairs
• At least two years of experience within the last five years of managing integrated teams or cross-functional work groups
• Graduation from a recognized university with a bachelor’s degree in a related field such as political science, economics, public administration or business administration or an acceptable combination of education, training and experience.
• Understanding of Destination Canada’s mandate, activities, objectives, and shareholder relations policies.
• In-depth knowledge of the federal government decision-making process for policies, budgets, annual reports, corporate plans, and its priorities.
• Working knowledge of the workings of Parliament and its Committees, especially the House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry.
• Excellent written communication skills for both conceptual and detailed material.
• Ability to create compelling presentations tailored to a broad target audience while meeting strategic communication goals.
• Ability to ensure message consistency by synthesizing information, addressing key issues, and aligning presentations with senior management’s objectives.
• Strong judgment to balance complex, time-sensitive information and presentation needs for the SVP and senior management.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills for liaising with senior management and the shareholder, conveying strategic information and providing recommendations to executive management on strategy and government relations issues.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, with a focus on establishing and maintaining shareholder relationships.
• Ability to develop and articulate strategies and direct their implementation via action plans and collaborative approaches.
• Ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines. Adapts to shifting priorities and emerging issues while maintaining quality and completeness.
• Strong proficiency in Microsoft PowerPoint

It would be great if you also had

• Government relations experience with the Government of Canada is considered an asset.
• Experience in the tourism industry is considered an asset.
• Experience working for a federal Central Agency would be an asset.
• A graduate degree is an asset.

Compensation

Salary range:  $102,886 - $128,608

Within the range, the base pay offered is determined by multiple factors, including job-related skills and relevant education/experience. Please note starting salaries for new hires typically fall between the minimum and mid-point of the range, to support internal equity and allow room for progression as employees grow and excel in their roles. The range above reflects base pay only and does not include the competitive at-risk pay program and benefits that we offer!

Other components of our total rewards offerings include:

• Extended health and dental benefits
• Minimum 3 weeks of accrued vacation plus other paid time off
• Employee assistance program
• Defined contribution pension plan
• Generous parenthood top-up
• Flexible working options like compressed workweek and hybrid model
• Support towards your professional growth with learning and development opportunities, mentorship and more.

Things you should know:

• This role follows a hybrid work arrangement, where work is performed onsite at least 2-3 days per week. Please note the work arrangement is subject to change.
• This role is English/French bilingual
• While this role will be an organizational leader, it does not include direct reports.

At Destination Canada, we believe that Canada's diversity is its greatest asset and is what touches travellers' hearts most deeply. To that end, we are committed to inclusive leadership within our workplace, workforce, and interactions with partners and travellers alike. Destination Canada is an equal opportunity employer committed to reflecting Canada's diversity through fair and accessible hiring and employment practices. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment. If you require accommodations at any point in the recruitment process, please reach out to accessibility@destinationcanada.com.

We know that applying for a new job can be both exciting and intimidating, and we sincerely appreciate your interest and effort. Only those applicants under consideration will be contacted.