LOCATION: PROVINCE-WIDE

Download this position description and Terms of Reference as a PDF

Alberta Ecotrust Foundation

Alberta Ecotrust Foundation is a charitable non-profit. For over 30 years, Alberta Ecotrust has been working collaboratively with partners in industry, government, business, and the nonprofit and charitable sector to “partner across boundaries to mobilize and inspire those who champion and protect the environment.” 

Alberta Ecotrust is a founding member of the Low Carbon Cities Canada (LC3) network, implemented in partnership among seven local centres across Canada and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. Funded by the government of Canada, LC3 is part of a national investment into municipal climate action to accelerate urban climate solutions, and to meet Canada’s 2030 and 2050 carbon reduction targets. Alberta Ecotrust’s offerings include grantmaking, financing, programming, and evaluation. 

ENBIX

The built environment is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions in Alberta, accounting for 40 to 60% of emissions in Calgary and Edmonton. With the federal government and the two major Alberta municipalities aiming to be carbon neutral by 2050, there is an urgent need to ensure that buildings are constructed and renovated to emissions neutral standards. 

Powered by Alberta Ecotrust, the Emissions Neutral Buildings Information Exchange (ENBIX) is an industry-led collaborative platform that brings partners together to build shared knowledge and capacity for building and renovation practices across Alberta. 

Based on similar Exchanges worldwide such as ZEBx in BC and BE-Ex in New York, ENBIX aims to support the industry to drive market adoption of higher tiers of building code. While higher-tier building codes requiring greater energy efficiency and emissions reduction in building construction, renovation and use have not yet been adopted in Alberta, industry leaders understand the commercial and environmental imperative to decarbonize buildings. By fostering knowledge-sharing around emissions neutral building and retrofitting, ENBIX will enable reduced climate impacts, stimulate job opportunities related to clean technologies, and support healthier indoor and outdoor environments. 

Visit https://albertaecotrust.com/enbix for more information.

The Opportunity

Alberta Ecotrust is seeking to establish an Executive Advisory Committee (“the Committee”) to provide advice, support and guidance for ENBIX. Committee members will serve as industry leaders to advance emissions neutral buildings and support Alberta Ecotrust’s mandate. The Committee will also help attract funding and investment, advise on ENBIX’s programmatic offerings, and bring credibility and experience to industry engagement and government relations.

The intent of the ENBIX EAC is to provide clear and informed guidance to the operational team on the activities of ENBIX and provide support and guidance around specific initiatives where requested. This new Committee will be tasked first with advising on the direction, strategy, and approach of the initial program plan, and thereafter, the annual statement of plans and objectives.  

Who Qualifies?

The Committee will consist of between twelve (12) and fifteen (15) leaders in the building sector. The intention is for the Committee to reflect the depth and breadth of industry experience and knowledge, as well as reflect Alberta’s diversity.

The Committee will aim for balanced representation from Calgary, Edmonton, and other urban or rural/remote municipalities in Alberta.

The Committee will hold one seat each for the City of Calgary and City of Edmonton. The cities may appoint both a member of Administration and/or Council but retain only one voting seat.

Committee members sit as individuals and not representatives of their company or organization.

We’re seeking candidates that have expertise, skills, and relevant qualifications in several of the following areas:

• Passion for emissions neutral buildings and climate action;

• Professional and subject matter expertise related to the building industry (including building science, energy and utilities, design and engineering, planning and development, building and constructing, deep energy retrofits, education and training, financing and funding, manufacturing and supply chain, trades, operations, real estate, embodied carbon);

• A natural networker, partnership broker, leader, and community connector;

• Strategy development and systems thinking, including a comprehensive and/or systems understanding of the industry;

• Familiarity with applying an equity lens; understanding nuance and complexity and embracing “both and” solutions rather than “either or”;

• Experience in community organizing, social change, partnership brokering, and fund development;

• Committee work gained from past experience serving on boards, agencies, or advisory bodies;

• Familiarity with sustainability concepts including water and energy efficiency and climate mitigation and adaptation;

• Excellent business and financial acumen.

The Commitment

With the exception of the municipal representatives whose term will be determined based on the process of their respective municipalities, all members will serve for two (2) years with the possibility of being appointed for two more consecutive terms.

The Committee will meet at least four (4) and up to six (6) times per year. Committee members are expected to serve a two (2) year term with the possibility of being appointed for two or more consecutive terms. 

Committee meetings will be up to a half-day in length plus several hours of material pre-reading per meeting. Additional committees may be struck and committee members may choose to join as they are available. In general, we expect to see Committee members attend ENBIX events and activities as availability allows.

Funding

Initial funding for this initiative has been secured through a subsidy agreement for $1.7M from the City of Edmonton for operations for the first three and a half years.

Additional funding discussions and applications are underway with the City of Calgary and through the federal Code Acceleration Fund NRCan Grant. Funding decisions are expected to be finalized in fall 2023. 

How to Apply

Applications will be open from September 5 - September 29, 2023. We expect to make a decision to appoint up to 11 committee members by October 18, 2023. Four spots will be held as open as late as Q2 2024, to allow for a second recruitment if necessary.

1. Submit your application to Alberta Ecotrust via our online recruitment system by midnight on September 29, 2023, with the subject line “ENBIX Executive Advisory Committee”.

2. Combine your cover letter and resume as one PDF document, named as follows: LastName_FirstName_ENBIX_EAC.

3. Your cover letter and resume combined must not exceed four pages.

Alberta Ecotrust is an equal opportunity organization that strives to build a team that reflects the diversity of the community we work in, and encourage applications from traditionally underrepresented groups such as women, visible minorities, Indigenous peoples, people identifying as LGBTQ2SI, people with disabilities, and others with the skills and knowledge to productively engage with diverse communities. If we can make this easier through accommodation in the recruitment process, please let us know by emailing a.linsky@albertaecotrust.com.

We thank everyone who applies. Due to the volume of applicants, we may not reply to everyone who applies. We encourage any unsuccessful applicants to participate in ENBIX’s services and offerings, communities of practice, and working groups.