Director, Business and Government Relations

Job Description

The destinationone Consulting team is retained to be exclusively recruiting for the Director, Business and Government Relations role for our client, the City of Surrey .

Reporting to the General Manager, Social Infrastructure and Community Investments, the Director will lead the City’s strategic approach to engaging with the business community and all levels of government to support the growth and diversity of the City in alignment with the strategic priorities of Council.

The Director will lead a team that further develops the City’s economic development strategy, our intergovernmental relations strategy and will lead the development of an Indigenous Relations Framework with First Nations and Indigenous serving partner organizations.

The ideal candidate will have extensive senior experience in the private and / or public sector with a proven track record of collaborative strategy-focused leadership that brings government and business partners together to realize strategic investments across the City.

This position plays a highly visible role in facilitating, promoting and enhancing business and government relations in the City and far beyond.

Key Accountabilities

• Effectively lead and manage a team of professionals.
• Develops and executes an action plan to fully implement Investing in our Future : A Roadmap to Realizing the Opportunities of Tomorrow, the City’s comprehensive economic development strategy to create and bring high value jobs and new business opportunities to Surrey, in alignment with Council’s vision.
• Manage all aspects of the development and facilitation of a strategic and proactive approach to inter-governmental and indigenous relations for the City, including the production and implementation of rigorous goal-oriented strategic and project plans.
• Develop an Indigenous Relations Framework for Council approval. Implements, monitors and revises the Framework as needed.
• Manage key strategic relationships with representatives at multiple levels of government and facilitate introductions to the Mayor’s office and the City’s Senior Management Team, as required to achieve key strategic goals.
• Establishes and maintains a registry of Provincial and Federal Government funding programs, advises City departments of the funding programs that exist, assists City departments in securing funding for eligible City projects, and tracks and compares the City’s success in securing funding to other jurisdictions.
• Track and report internally on emerging trends and policy developments at various levels of government and Indigenous organizations, identifying challenges and opportunities.
• Builds networks across the region and beyond that can be leveraged to help achieve objectives.
• Provides relevant support and leads a team that serves as a connector’ for Surrey’s existing business community with the goal of helping them grow and prosper.
• Builds and maintains relationships with all City departments to facilitate implementation of business development in accordance with City economic development strategies, plans and policies.
• Plays a key leadership role within the Social Infrastructure and Community Investments department and with senior colleagues across the City to facilitate the implementation of key strategic priorities for the City.
• Builds and maintains relationships, as a key representative of the City, with other government organizations, financial and educational institutions, community and business groups, and other organizations to promote and facilitate the City’s development.
• Builds and maintains relationships and partnerships with First Nations and Indigenous serving organizations to facilitate key priorities of all parties.
• Leads the local business support activities, along with the investment attraction and foreign direct investment activities of the City.
• Maintains ongoing and collaborative relationships with Surrey’s Business Improvement Associations, Boards of Trade, Chambers of Commerce, the Destination Marketing organization (Discover Surrey), including oversight of funding provided, as well as the facilitation of necessary reports to Council and other levels of government.
• Represents the City on committees, and at conferences and workshops.
• Establishes and maintains an economic development information database of demographic and market research materials from regional, provincial, national and international sources, and responds to information requests from investors, developers, architects, planners and others in the community.
• Conducts research, develops reports, delivers presentations and provides professional advice related to as aspects of the Business and Government Relations division to the GM Social Infrastructure and Community Investments, the City Manager and Council.
• Plans, assigns, reviews and supports the work of subordinates. Recruits, trains, and coaches staff. Oversees, guides, and reviews work of staff to ensure delivery of divisional projects, goals, and objectives.

Acts as resource to staff and resolves any problem situations.

Prepares and administers budgets.

Requirements

The successful candidate will have a :

post-secondary degree (preferably at a Master’s level) in a related field and 10+ years of progressively responsible professional experience related to government relations, economic development and strategic program development.

An equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered.

If you are a seasoned leader with excellent communications skills, solid organizational and strategic planning experience and the ability to build and leverage robust networks to achieve ambitious goals, this is an amazing opportunity to play a critical role to support Surrey’s growth as we approach a population of one million people in the coming decades.

destinationone Consulting is a full-service recruitment firm specializing in the permanent placement of professionals on hybrid contingency, subscription or retained-search basis.

Our mission is to be the leading Recruitment Service in North America as a dynamic, world-class organization. To accomplish our mission, we aim to be a high-quality and trustworthy service provider in the market by creating innovative ideas to deliver customized and personalized solutions in order to achieve maximum client and candidate satisfaction.

We know that finding a meaningful and rewarding job can be a long journey.

If you are interested in this opportunity, please apply with an updated resume in MS Word Format.

Due to the volume of resumes we receive, only those applicants whose skill set match our requirements will be contacted.

Thank you for Applying.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Communications, Public Relations, Journalism, or related field.
• 10+ years of progressive leadership experience in communications roles, with a proven track record of driving impactful results and navigating complex organizational dynamics, preferably in a public sector or large organizational setting.
• Exceptional strategic thinking and the ability to translate vision into actionable plans and initiatives.
• Deep understanding of diverse communication channels and emerging trends in the field.
• Strong business acumen and a passion for driving organizational change, innovation, and continuous improvement.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to influence and inspire stakeholders at all levels.
• Experience working effectively with senior leadership and serving as a trusted advisor on communication, engagement, and organizational change matters.
• A collaborative mindset and proven ability to build and maintain strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders to achieve shared goals.
• A commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, with a demonstrated ability to champion related initiatives.
5 days ago