Project Officer, Capacity Development - Financing Adaptation

Federation of Canadian Municipalities; Ottawa; Hybrid; CAD 76,000 - 85,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible work arrangements

Summer schedule

Employee development

Benefits

Modern office in Ottawa

Job summary

Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) is seeking a Project Officer, Capacity Development, Financing Adaptation to lead learning initiatives for municipalities across Canada. You will oversee design, delivery and evaluation of capacity-building activities aimed at financing climate adaptation projects and reducing municipal risk.

The role blends program management, partnership development and knowledge sharing, with hybrid work and occasional travel to Ottawa.

Qualifications

• 3–5 years designing and delivering capacity building initiatives connecting diverse stakeholders.
• University degree in environmental studies, public administration, climate policy, or related discipline.
• Knowledge of climate adaptation and resilience.
• Experience facilitating groups, including online settings.
• Ability to manage projects and budgets, with strong communication.

Responsibilities

• Develops and delivers awareness raising and capacity-building activities (webinars, workshops, training sessions, peer learning cohorts) for municipal staff, elected officials and partners.
• Supports program content for GMF/FCM events and the Sustainable Communities Conference.
• Delivers information resources, guidebooks, tools and case studies on investor expectations and financing readiness.
• Supports measurement of capacity building for GMF-funded initiatives and the broader municipal sector.
• Designs and delivers training for GMF staff and clients to support capacity building.
• Maintains relationships with capacity development partners and coordinates logistics for events.

Skills

Capacity development

Adult education

Project management

Communication

Bilingual English/French

Stakeholder engagement

Research & analysis

Budget management

Education

University degree in environmental studies, public administration, climate policy, or related discipline

Tools

Zoom

Asana

PowerBI

CRM

SharePoint

Job description

Who we are at GMF

At the Green Municipal Fund (GMF), we create change where it matters most—in Canada’s municipalities. As the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ flagship program and backed by a $2.4 billion endowment from the Government of Canada, GMF helps Canadian municipalities, big and small, invest in their future by supporting homegrown sustainability and resilience projects that work for Canadians by creating jobs, lowering costs, and strengthening local economies. Through our unique mix of funding, resources and training, GMF is enhancing the quality of life for people in Canada by accelerating a transformation to sustainable and resilient communities. Since 2000, GMF has invested over $1.6 billion in local projects helping communities avoid 2.9 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, while also contributing $1.24 billion to the national GDP and creating more than 13,000 person-years of national employment.

About This Role: The Project Officer (PO), Capacity Development, Financing Adaptation

The Project Officer (PO), Capacity Development, Financing Adaptation provides project oversight, coordination, and logistical support to knowledge and skills development programming to help Canadian municipalities build the capacity to finance infrastructure and projects that reduce climate risk. This is a new and evolving area of work, sitting at the intersection of municipal climate resilience, sustainable finance, and market development. The Project Officer supports delivery of the Financing Adaptation stream of the Local Leadership for Climate Adaptation (LLCA) program, which helps municipalities and their partners develop viable pathways to finance climate adaptation projects and attract greater investment into resilient infrastructure. This includes supporting municipalities to better understand investor needs, investment options, repayment mechanisms, risk-return considerations, partnership structures, and other factors that shape whether projects are considered, leading to improved municipal readiness to pursue financing. The primary role of the Project Officer will be to oversee the design, logistics and delivery of a spectrum of capacity development supports to meet municipalities where they are and help them move forward. This includes building awareness of what is possible, connecting municipalities with peers, experts and financing partners, deepening knowledge and skills through practical tools and training, and providing technical coaching and guidance that strengthen project readiness, financing models, and decision‑making.

Through municipal‑ and partner‑oriented events (both online and in person), learning activities, webinars, knowledge products, toolkits, communities of practice, peer networks, case studies, and other knowledge resources, this role will help build capacity that supports municipalities moving from early ideas to financing readiness, implementation, and replication. The Project Officer also assists with the integration and coordination of knowledge management, exchange, and mobilization as well as impact reporting across other units of GMF and the FCM. As part of a newly established team in an emerging space, the Project Officer will help shape the team's ways of working. The role calls for comfort working in an evolving, innovation‑oriented environment where priorities and activities stay nimble to adapt to municipalities' emerging needs.

What you'll be doing: Key Responsibilities

• Develops and delivers defined awareness raising and capacity building activities and programming (both online and in person) including webinars, workshops, training sessions, communities of practice, and peer learning cohorts, that help municipal staff, elected officials and their partners understand and pursue financing options for adaptation projects.
• Supports the development and delivery of program content for FCM/GMF events and programs, such as the Sustainable Communities Conference program, related to financing adaptation.
• Develops and delivers defined information resources, guidebooks, tools and case studies that help municipalities understand investor expectations, financing models, risk‑return considerations, and pathways to financing readiness.
• Supports the development, delivery, and measurement of capacity building for GMF‑funded initiatives and for the broader municipal sector based on lessons learned from funded initiatives.
• Designs and delivers training and information sharing sessions for GMF staff and clients to support capacity building for funded initiatives.
• Maintains relationships with capacity development program partners.
• Supports stakeholder and partner engagement support in capacity development program design.
• Supports program evaluation design and development and is responsible for program evaluation data collection.
• Maintains up‑to‑date knowledge of effective and innovative capacity building tools and approaches.
• Provides strategic and operational advice to management to inform the development of the direction, objectives and plans for the Capacity Development Financing Adaptation Team.
• Collaborates with colleagues across the GMF team and in other FCM programs to ensure a coordinated and complimentary approach to capacity development initiatives and FCM initiatives that support sustainability with external partners and in our membership.
• Supports coordination of logistics for events and team meetings including budget and travel logistics for the Financing Adaptation Capacity Development team.
• Supports coordination of procurement processes for the Financing Adaptation Capacity Development team.

Knowledge and Experience: Need to have

• Minimum of 3 - 5 years of professional experience designing and delivering capacity building initiatives that connect and transfer knowledge among diverse stakeholders (e.g., government, not‑for‑profits, private sector, etc.) and in adult education, online learning, engagement, and measuring initiative impact.
• University degree in environmental studies, public administration, climate policy, or a related discipline with experience in adult education.
• Knowledge and experience in the area of climate adaptation and resilience.
• Experience and knowledge in relation to resilient infrastructure is an asset.
• Experience in group facilitation, including online settings.
• Demonstrated experience developing and delivering learning and knowledge activities including webinars, cohorts, peer learning, guidance materials, tools, etc.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills (written and oral). Includes the ability to coordinate and work with multi‑disciplinary teams, lead meetings and make formal presentations to varied audiences.
• Strong research and analytical skills.
• Ability to spearhead and work independently on projects using excellent judgement and strong project management skills.
• Ability to administer small budgets, allocating funds for events or travel support, correcting for variances as needed.
• Proficient in the use of Microsoft Office software suite.
• The ability to work in both official languages (English and French) is required.

Nice to have

• Experience working in or with municipalities, or within sectors that support municipal governments, is a strong asset.
• Knowledge of the Canadian municipal sector structure, needs, and capacity is an asset.
• Knowledge of Zoom, Asana, PowerBI, CRM, and Sharepoint is an asset.
• Knowledge of, or a strong interest in adaptation/climate finance, capital mobilization or investor engagement is a strong asset.
• Capacity to work in a changing environment and willingness to take on new or evolving responsibilities.

Salary Range

$75,577.00 - $85,413.00

What we offer

We offer a flexible work model grounded in accountability, collaboration, and delivering results. It is designed to support both performance and well‑being. While work is primarily virtual, occasional travel to our Head Office in Ottawa is expected. The majority of the team is based in the National Capital Region. Where applicable, you may also have opportunities to travel across Canada to engage with the communities we support and better understand the impact of our work.

Employee experience and supports

• Flexible work arrangements that support productivity and collaboration.
• Summer schedule (July 1 to Labour Day): 7‑hour workdays Fridays off, aligned with team and operational needs.
• Ongoing commitment to employee development.
• Comprehensive range of employee benefits and services designed to support employee wellbeing and development.
• Modern office space in Ottawa’s ByWard Market and downtown core.

Company culture and diversity

We are committed to fostering an organizational culture that embraces equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging, where individuals from diverse racial and ethnic identities, ages, nationalities, social economic status, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression and physical and mental abilities can thrive and be fully engaged at their best level. We welcome and encourage applications from people with disabilities. Accommodations are available on request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the recruitment and selection process.

Work arrangement and location

The future of work at FCM includes a hybrid work model; therefore, this role will be a combination of virtual and on‑site work.

The successful candidate is required live within 80kms of downtown Ottawa, unless otherwise specified, and be authorized to work in Canada.

As part of our recruitment process, we use automated artificial intelligence tools to screen applicants. All AI‑generated assessments are reviewed and validated by our People and Culture team.