Policy Director

CanWEA's mission is to support the appropriate development of wind energy in Canada in a way that maximizes wind energy's economic and environmental benefits. Our members include wind turbine and component manufacturers, wind project developers, wind energy consultants and service providers, as well as other corporations and individuals with a strong interest in supporting the Canadian wind energy industry. The association focuses on member services including: government relations, information sharing, and public outreach.

The Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA) has an immediate need for a full-time Policy Director (Business) in its Ottawa office. This position reports directly to CanWEA's President.

Wind energy is the fastest growing source of electricity in the world and Canada's provincial and federal governments are currently pursuing or implementing policy proposals that could see Canada's installed wind energy capacity increase more than ten-fold over the next decade. Canada's ability to meet these targets will depend on the choices made by governments with respect to the detailed design of a broad range of policies of relevance to the wind energy industry, including: incentive programs, renewable energy portfolio standards / procurement processes, transmission / interconnection rules, municipal approval processes, environmental assessment, technology research and development and human resource development.

The successful candidate will work as part of CanWEA's Policy Team with the CanWEA President and the CanWEA Policy Director (Technical) to:

* monitor developments with respect to policy issues of significant importance to the wind energy industry at the federal, provincial and municipal level,

* co-ordinate and lead the development, with relevant CanWEA policy committees, of official CanWEA positions that respond to these issues as well as strategies for their implementation,

* communicate and advocate for the adoption of CanWEA policy positions to government, utilities, other stakeholders and the media, particularly at the provincial level,

* prepare briefing / communications / advocacy materials on CanWEA policy positions to support their implementation, and

* undertake or commission background research on some of these policy issues, including reviews of the experiences in other jurisdictions.

The successful candidate must have demonstrated strengths and experience doing the following:

* understanding and addressing the economic and policy challenges / opportunities associated with the development of wind energy projects,
* interacting with senior representatives of government, regulatory bodies and industry on economic and policy issues and maintaining effective networks of such individuals,
* enabling discussion of policy and economic issues among organizations that may have differing views and facilitating the development of common positions on those issues,
* developing and implementing a long-term, multifaceted campaign to achieve a specific policy objective,
* advocating policy positions at both the bureaucratic and political level within government or regulatory bodies,
* communicating complex ideas and issues in a straightforward, easy to understand manner through both public speaking and written materials,
*identifying and synthesizing existing research / experience into effective communications materials that make this content available to a variety of audiences, and
* working effectively as part of a team with minimal supervision.

This position will require some travel within Canada. Business experience in the wind energy industry is a requirement. Experience with, and knowledge of, federal and provincial energy policy and Canada's electricity sector is a strong asset. French language skills are not required but are also an asset.

Salary range for this position is $70,000 - $80,000 a year, depending on skills and experience. The projected start date is no later than May 1, 2006.

Electronic applications including cover letter, curriculum vitae, and references should be sent tby March 22, 2006. The cover letter should demonstrate how the candidate meets the requirements outlined above.