Head, Community Engagement, Insight & Advocacy

True Patriot Love; Toronto; Hybrid; CAD 125,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

True Patriot Love, based in Toronto, seeks a Head of Community Engagement, Insight & Advocacy to connect veterans’ experiences with strategy, policy and advocacy. This senior role includes a capacity-building mandate, leading cross-functional work, and shaping how engagement informs impact and program design.

The position supports public affairs, government relations, and evidence-driven decision making, with travel across Canada and the ability to work remotely or in a hybrid Toronto office.

Qualifications

• Strong leadership and strategic planning skills with ability to manage multi-stakeholder initiatives.
• Proven track record in building relationships with CAF leadership, policymakers and partners.
• Clear, effective communication and public engagement能力.
• Experience applying trauma-informed practice in program design and evaluation.
• Bilingual in French and English is an asset; willingness to travel across Canada.

Responsibilities

• Lead and grow the Engagement and Advocacy function (40%).
• Develop public affairs, government relations and public policy (30%).
• Develop insight, evidence and impact approaches (30%).
• Report to CEO; represent the Foundation with integrity and professionalism.
• Travel across Canada, possibly internationally, up to four weeks per year.

Skills

Leadership

Strategic planning

Relationship building

Communication

Policy advocacy

Trauma-informed practice

Bilingual French/English

Travel readiness

Job description

JOB POSTING: HEAD, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, INSIGHT & ADVOCACY

ABOUT TRUE PATRIOT LOVE

True Patriot Love is Canada’s national foundation supporting military members, Veterans and their families. We bring a strategic and informed approach to the challenges faced during and after service, ensuring funds are directed where the need is greatest and where we can have the greatest impact. We invest in proven or promising initiatives, champion the issues that matter most, and raise awareness of the remarkable skills and leadership developed through service in our Armed Forces. As Canada’s national Foundation, we bring together partners and resources so that military members, Veterans and their families can access the support they need; and build an evidence-based approach to policy and advocacy.

True Patriot Love is now beginning to operationalize our new three-year strategic framework. Key priorities include ensuring Veterans are supported as they maintain or build identity and purpose post their military careers; strengthening programs for their health and well-being; improving information on the availability and effectiveness of services and developing our advocacy and campaigning role with both policy makers and the broader public. The framework also challenges us to strengthen program quality, invest strategically in areas where we can have meaningful impact, and undertake rigorous community outreach.

Delivering on this ambition means that we must understand the communities we serve and assess what is working and turn what we learn into action. It also requires that the perspectives of military members, Veterans and their families are authentically represented in all of our decisions. Most importantly, it means that those who serve their country must have the very best support when and where they need it.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Head, Community Engagement, Insight & Advocacy will ensure that True Patriot Love maintains a strong connection to the experiences and perspectives of those it supports – Canada’s military members, Veterans and their families – and can use this to inform the Foundation’s strategy, policy and advocacy work, operational decision making, and program design and execution.

The position is both a senior organisational role and has a significant capacity building mandate. The successful candidate will inherit strong relationships and work, while having the opportunity and responsibility to help shape how Community Engagement, Insight and Advocacy can contribute to True Patriot Love’s impact in the years to come.

Reporting to the Chief Executive Officer, the Head, Community Engagement, Insight & Advocacy, can work remotely or in a hybrid capacity at the Foundation’s Toronto-based office. As a representative of the Foundation, this role requires travel across Canada, and possibly internationally, up to four weeks/ year. Also, it is an advantage that the individual who assumes this role is able to work in both French and English.

KEY AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY

RESPONSIBILITY #1. Lead and grow the Engagement and Advocacy function (40% of time)

• Ensure that the Foundation remains a credible, active and trusted member of the military, Veteran and family communities.
• Develop meaningful mechanisms so that diverse community perspectives can inform the Foundation’s work and that information flows in both directions between True Patriot Love and the community it serves.
• Oversee the development and implementation of key departmental activities and programs including the Veteran Hub platform, risk management for expeditions, and the National Veteran Volunteerism Action Plan, amongst others.
• Manage a small staff team including coaching, performance assessment and development and tracking of departmental plans and budgets.
• Report on, and represent the function in the senior management team and with Foundation staff and the Board, ensuring alignment, collaboration and accountability across the organization for key deliverables, and helping to operationalize the current three-year strategy.
• Give trusted advice and constructive challenge to the CEO and senior colleagues and lead cross-functional priorities requiring coordination across the Foundation, informed by the Veteran perspective.

RESPONSIBILITY #2. Develop and support public affairs, government relations and public policy (30% of time)

• Support the Chief Executive Officer’s engagement with federal and provincial politicians, in order to build trusted relationships with Ministers, elected officials, political staff, senior public servants and policy makers.
• Support the Chief Executive Officer, and personally represent True Patriot Love with Canadian Armed Forces leadership, building strong relationships and, working with both staff colleagues and partners to identify opportunities to convene leaders, both military and in the community, around issues of importance to serving members, Veterans and their families.
• On occasions, speak on behalf of the Foundation at events or to the media. As a leader within the organisation, represent the Foundation professionally at all times.

RESPONSIBILITY #3. Develop the Foundation’s approach to insight, evidence and impact (30% of time)

• Establish and oversee the process of ensuring insights and evidence from both community engagement and grant-making are fed into operational and strategic decision making and can inform the Foundation’s policy and advocacy work.
• Connect with external sources of knowledge, and stay abreast of emerging opportunities, patterns and issues, research and program development, liaising closely with colleagues and partners.
• Work closely with colleagues across the Foundation in understanding how this draws on, and informs their functions, especially in grant making, development and communications.
• Explore options to develop a leading-edge approach to assessing impact including the potential for a new and innovative hub for program quality and standards.

EXPERIENCE AND COMPETENCIES

1. Strong understanding of the needs of the military and Veteran community. Lived experience with the Canadian Armed Forces, or as a family member/ spouse of a serving member or Veteran, preferred.
2. Exceptional leadership and strategic planning skills with a proven ability to manage complex, multi-stakeholder initiatives.
3. Proven track record of building highly effective relationships with a variety of stakeholders, including Canadian Armed Forces leadership, and representatives at provincial and federal jurisdictions.
4. The ability to work effectively across a small organisation, both able to think strategically while also remaining willing to personally move important work forward.
5. Superior coordination, communication and relationship‑building abilities, both written and verbal.
6. A demonstrated ability to align long‑term strategies with organizational goals.
7. Results‑oriented, driven and an entrepreneurial approach to problem solving.
8. Previous experience leading, motivating and coaching a team to achieve organizational objectives.
9. Understanding of trauma‑informed practice, participant well‑being frameworks, and/ or military cultural competence preferred.
10. Ability to work in both French and English is an asset.
11. Ability to travel across Canada, and possibly internationally, on occasion.

True Patriot Love thanks all applicants for their interest; however, only those under consideration for the role will be contacted. We welcome applications from all qualified candidates, especially from qualified Veterans, serving Reservists, and spouses or adult children of military members or Veterans. True Patriot Love is committed to an inclusive, accessible and welcoming hiring process that provides reasonable accommodation to all applicants. Please advise in advance if you require any accommodation to participate in this posting, recruitment and/ or selection process.

Salary Range: $125,000-$130,000/ year

Deadline for applications: Monday, November 9th, 2026, at 5:00PM EDT