Senior Executive Leader (CAO/COO)

Tenaquip NIS Limited.; Cranbrook; On-site; CAD 150,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

The Ktunaxa Nation Council Society (KNCS) seeks a senior executive to translate Leadership direction into coordinated, accountable organizational action. This role partners with the CFO and Senior Governance Lead to ensure governance, service transformation, and stable operations align with strategic priorities.

The CAO will report to KNCS collectively, guiding KNCS operations, accountability models, and organizational functions while enabling self-determination for the Ktunaxa Governments.

Qualifications

• Significant senior executive experience in government or Indigenous governance.
• Master's level education or equivalent for governance leadership.
• Ability to translate board direction into accountable operations with measurable outcomes.
• Proven experience leading organizational change and governance models.
• Experience coaching senior leaders and resolving complex conflicts.
• Demonstrated cultural humility and respect for Indigenous procedures and knowledge.
• Strong relationship-building, reporting, and facilitation skills.
• Willingness to travel within Canada and cross-border engagements when required.

Responsibilities

• Relationships and communication: Build respectful relations with leadership, staff, and stakeholders.
• Direction and alignment: Translate strategy into operational mandates and actions.
• Transformation and continuity: Implement approved strategies with timelines and accountability.
• Operational accountability: Maintain clear expectations and policy-based decisions.
• People leadership: Coach senior management and define roles and guardrails.
• Strategic judgment: Assess complex issues, identify risks, and execute practical solutions.
• Cultural leadership: Apply Ktunaxa worldview in governance and priorities.

Skills

Executive leadership

Governance

Change management

Strategic thinking

Communication

People leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Master's degree in public administration, business administration, governance, or related field

Job description

The Ktunaxa Nation is characterized by the spirit of courage, initiative, innovation, perseverance, and leadership that it has brought to the work of preserving and protecting both the past and the future of its people. This has been accomplished through the exceptional commitment and vision of its human resources. It is therefore expected that employees who represent the Ktunaxa Nation will be committed to honouring the spirit of the Nation’s work by putting their best into all that they do and by conducting themselves at all times ethically, professionally, and respectfully.

The Ktunaxa Nation Council Society (KNCS) is seeking an accomplished senior executive to translate established and emerging Leadership direction into coordinated, accountable, and timely organizational action. This role provides the right individual with a significant opportunity to contribute to the Ktunaxa Governments’ progression to self-determination, implementing culturally legitimate approaches to service transformation, while maintaining operational stability.This individual will work as a member of a team alongside a Chief Financial Officer and a Senior Governance Lead.These 3 executives hold each other accountable for the implementation of their respective mandates associated with broad-based strategic objectives in governance, operations and finances.The CAO will work with the senior management of the Ktunaxa Governments to keep current the KNCS operational mandate, organizational functions and accountability model.The successful candidate will report to the Ktunaxa Governments collectively and independently, with broader reporting refined as KNC’s governance and service models are updated.

This highly relational role calls for cultural legitimacy, sound judgment, humility, courage, resilience, approachability, and confidence grounded in competence. The leader must be respectful without being passive, decisive without being dismissive, and able to maintain high expectations through coaching, mediation, appreciative inquiry, and clear accountability.

Responsibilities

• Relationships and communication: Maintain close, respectful, and productive relationships with the Ktunaxa Leadership, Ktunaxa senior management, directors and staff, other governments and industry. Provide regular, timely, and transparent communications and reporting that align with strategic priorities and support discussion, feedback, and informed decision making.
• Direction and alignment: Translate strategic direction into clear operational mandates, priorities, performance expectations, and coordinated action across KNCS operations.
• Transformation and continuity: Implement approved strategies following sound change management theory, maintaining quality service standards, practical timelines, transition planning, implementation analysis, risk management, and accountability for outcomes.
• Operational accountability: Establish and maintain clear expectations and operational safeguards; maintain accountability and transparency while strengthening policy and evidence-based decision making processes.
• People leadership: Set and maintain a high standard for operational excellence and employment expectations by coaching and supporting senior management, clarifying roles, addressing performance and relationship concerns early, and building safeguards.
• Strategic judgment and execution: Assess complex situations and comprehensive information, identifying relational impacts, risks and policy gaps, distinguishing legitimate concerns from unverified information, prioritizing the most important issues, delegating appropriately, and moving practical solutions forward with urgency and care.
• Cultural and contextual leadership: Ensure technical expertise and organizational practices are applied through a Ktunaxa worldview and support community-driven, Nation-based priorities.

Qualifications

We recognize cultural, academic, professional, community, and lived experience as valuable forms of learning. We encourage candidates whose combined experience closely reflects the following to apply:

• Significant senior executive and senior management experience in government, public administration, or similarly accountable environment with experience working in a First Nations or Indigenous organization at a regional, provincial or national level.
• Masters’ level post-secondary education in public administration, business administration, governance, organizational leadership, or a related field.An equivalent combination of cultural knowledge, lived experience, education, and senior leadership experience will be considered.
• Demonstrated ability to translate governance or board direction into accountable operations with measurable outcomes and timely implementation.
• Proven successful experience in change management and leading organizational change.
• Familarity with a variety of corporate governance models and accountability systems.
• Experience coaching senior leaders, resolving conflict, mediating difficult relationships, and addressing performance concerns with clarity and respect.
• Demonstrated cultural humility and respect for Indigenous culture, protocols, values, community knowledge, relationships, and ways of working; direct experience with Ktunaxa or another Indigenous Nation is a significant asset.
• Exceptional relationship-building, written and oral communication, reporting, facilitation, and issue-management skills.
• Ability to travel within Ktunaxa ʔamakʔis and within Canada and, when required, meet cross-border travel or work requirements for engagement with United States Ktunaxa/Kootenai Tribes.

Full-time

Work Conditions

This is an in-person position working primarily from the Cranbrook office.

Eligibility Statement

The Ktunaxa Nation Council is committed to providing and maintaining a safe and healthy work environment for all Employees and the People, Communities, and Bands that we serve.

Equity Statement

The KNC values diversity and inclusion in the workplace. All qualified applications will be considered, however, qualified persons of First Nations, Metis, and Inuit ancestry will be given preference. If you require accommodation to participate in the interview process, please let us know.

Only those applicants who meet the qualifications will be contacted for an interview.