Vice President, Government Relations

Boyden; Toronto; On-site; CAD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

An association for venture capital and private equity is seeking a Vice President, Government Relations. The successful candidate will shape the policy landscape and advocate for the industry's agenda with federal and provincial governments. They will bring experience in government affairs, strong communication skills, and a thorough understanding of the Canadian policy landscape. This role offers opportunities to engage with policymakers and influence crucial legislative issues.

Qualifications

• 5-7 years of experience in government affairs and public policy.
• Superior knowledge of federal and provincial regulatory and legislative processes.
• Bilingualism (English / French) is a strong asset.

Responsibilities

• Represent the interests of members in policy and advocacy initiatives.
• Develop plans to address priority risks and opportunities.
• Liaise with key decision-makers to inform and influence.

Skills

Government relations

Policy advocacy

Interpersonal skills

Strategic thinking

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree (preferred)

Job description

About CVCA

The Canadian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (CVCA) is the voice of Canada’s private capital industry. Representing over 350 member firms, including venture capital and private equity investors, CVCA plays a critical role in advocacy, research, education, and community building to advance Canadian innovation, growth, and economic leadership.

The Role

The Vice President, Government Relations will be responsible for shaping the policy landscape for venture capital and private equity, focusing on tax, trade and securities, immigration, and competitiveness issues with the federal and provincial governments and regulatory bodies. In addition, CVCA’s VP, Government Relations, will advocate in support of an innovation agenda within both the federal and targeted provincial governments. This will be accomplished by interacting with policy makers and stakeholders to ensure that the legislation and regulations that are adopted by governments enable our members to operate in a business environment that is competitive and focused on supporting the ecosystem in which private capital operates.

The VP, Government Relations will also be responsible for the development of an annual strategic plan and required to work cross functionally with internal and external partners in the deployment and implementation of that plan. They will also be responsible for building relationships with think tanks, policy groups, likeminded advocacy groups, and organizations focused on entrepreneurial growth.

The nature of this role requires a longer-term focus aimed at putting the CVCA and the private capital industry on the leading edge in terms of anticipating and proactively managing emerging issues and cultivating opportunities to influence the development and implementation of policy by elected, public service, and regulatory decision makers.

The successful candidate will bring an established reputation as a professional and ethical government relations professional, an extended network of relationships within the relevant policy community, and a proven track record of cultivating and maintaining constructive relationships with multiple levels of government.

Key Responsibilities :

• Represent the interests and perspectives of members in policy and advocacy initiatives.
• Work closely with the CVCA Board to align government affairs strategies with organizational priorities, ensure regular communication and feedback loops, and support the Board’s oversight of advocacy and policy activities.
• Develop and maintain a high-level working knowledge of the financial services industry and specifically capital markets relevant to venture capital and private equity.
• Monitor and maintain a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the current federal and provincial policy environment relevant to CVCA and our members.
• Develop detailed plans, including short and long- term objectives, strategies, tactics and metrics to address priority risks and opportunities.
• Act as the staff lead for both the Private Equity Committee and Government Relations Committee and provide regular updates to the CVCA Board.
• Develop briefs for CVCA membership on relevant policy issues.
• Collaborate with communications team to develop content for member communications, webinars, CVCA Central, events and conferences.
• Liaise regularly with key decision-makers, opinion leaders, senior bureaucrats, and politicians, to inform and influence their opinions and actions.
• Be an effective ambassador of CVCA in the national capital and nationwide.

Ideal Candidate Profile

Respected, seasoned professional with a reputation for mature judgment, outstanding inter-personal skills, and highly developed multi-party collaboration skills.

Personal credibility and presence with senior government.

Passion for the issues faced by the Canadian venture capital and private equity industry and their investee companies.

A high degree of effectiveness and comfort working in a lean business environment, self-motivated and able to work remotely or from headquarters.

An ability to travel to engage with members, stakeholders, and provincial governments.

Qualifications

5-7 years of experience in government affairs and public policy.

Thorough understanding of the current Canadian policy landscape; must have an established network of relationships with key external decision makers and stakeholders.

Strong entrepreneurial skills, independent and self-motivated.

Superior knowledge of federal and provincial regulatory and legislative processes.

Strategic thinking skills, including the ability to identify emerging threats, opportunities, and policy trends and formulate insightful and effective plans that balance short and long-term considerations.

Ability to translate environmental changes into actionable plans.

Superior verbal and written communications skills to effectively convey complex concepts and issues to senior stakeholders.

Superior influencing and persuasion skills to build stakeholder coalitions to advance and defend CVCA’s policy agenda.

Strong interpersonal, negotiating, and relationship management skills.

Candidates should hold a bachelor’s degree; a master’s degree is preferred and considered an asset.

Membership with the Government Relations Institute of Canada is considered an asset.

Bilingualism (English / French) is a strong asset.

To learn more about this impactful leadership opportunity, please contact Paul Marshall ([e-mail]) or Jonathan Finless ([e-mail]).