Associate, Strategic Initiatives

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in Canada.

📋 Description

• Collaborate across departments with senior leadership on key strategic initiatives as organizational priorities shift.

• Investigate new opportunities in entrepreneurship, workforce development, and innovation.

• Assist leadership and program teams in the creation of new program ideas, partnership avenues, and international collaborations.

• Contribute to and manage partnership tracking systems and CRM databases.

• Create briefing notes, meeting documents, and background research for government relations activities.

• Liaise with external government relations firms and assist in RFP preparation as necessary.

• Investigate government priorities, policy changes, and funding opportunities pertinent to Venture for Canada's initiatives.

• Help maintain records of stakeholder engagement and support relationship tracking efforts.

• Aid in the development of policy reports, white papers, and strategic publications, including Venture for Canada's focus on AI adoption among SMEs.

• Provide executive assistance to senior leadership, which includes calendar management, scheduling, email support, network oversight, and other administrative tasks as required.

• Prepare materials for briefings, presentations, and talking points for meetings, speaking engagements, and support for external events.

⛳️ Requirements

• A minimum of 2 years of professional experience, preferably in business, consulting, government relations, policy, or a professional-services setting.

• Excellent research capabilities and the proficiency to convert research findings into clear, structured written content (briefing notes, reports, case studies).

• Experience in developing and managing external relationships, partnerships, or stakeholder networks, including the maintenance of relationship pipelines, CRM systems, and engagement tracking mechanisms.

• Familiarity with government relations, public affairs, or policy work (e.g., briefing notes, RFPs, coordination with external firms) is a significant advantage.

• Experience in supporting senior executives is highly desirable.

• Ability to manage multiple, unrelated workstreams simultaneously without compromising quality or follow-through.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the capacity to tailor messaging for various audiences, including executives, partners, government stakeholders, and external groups.

🏝️ Benefits

• Moderate in-person participation at program-related events.