Social Planning Consultant

PREFERRED CANDIDATE LOCATION: EDMONTON, ALBERTA

While Canadian communities top many lists of desirable places to live, most still struggle with aspects of social planning and development. At Urban Matters CCC, we believe that communities of all sorts and sizes will need supportive partners and consultants on their journey toward social planning and development awareness. If you are passionate about building vibrant communities and exploring creative solutions, we want you to join us at Urban Matters!

About the Opportunity

Our Edmonton branch is looking to add a capable and enthusiastic Social Planning Consultant to our Advisory Services Team. We are looking for an entrepreneurial leader with a market-building aptitude to help grow and accelerate our capacities across Canada. The ideal candidate will be skilled in applied social planning and development with established credibility in Western Canada.

As a Social Planning Consultant, your responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:

• Facilitating dialogue – You will be building innovative approaches to engage in meaningful dialogue with a range of community “actors” and partners about tough issues – ranging from inclusion and racism to opioid dependency, to settlement and immigration, to Truth and Reconciliation.
• Building partnerships – Brokering unlikely alliances are going to be essential to see change through to measurable outcomes. You will be bringing diverse organizations and partners together to explore creative solutions to complex challenges facing communities.
• Collaborating inclusively – We believe in moving away from the traditional “top-down” approach and moving toward a community-building mindset. You will be working with clients to uncover their unique set of skills and strengths and apply them for community development.
• Championing action – Static paper documents can’t be the deliverable anymore. You will be coordinating the development of a robust and functional plan that all community partners can commit to, finding new ways to keep it active and alive.
• Overseeing implementation – You will be providing ongoing support to communities to implement social change over the longer term. This means creating and maintaining momentum, supporting as a backbone organization, and incubating new social enterprises to fill in the gaps where appropriate.
• Boosting our impact – You understand what it takes to cultivate relationships to deliver results. You will be growing your network and finding new partners, both within and outside government, to amplify our team’s impact across Western Canada (specifically in our prairie provinces).

Who are YOU?

We believe the right candidate will have a minimum of 5 years of progressive experience in social planning, supported by a related post-secondary diploma or degree. This position will be based out of Alberta (Edmonton area preferred) with opportunities for flexible and remote work. Candidates must be willing and able to travel, as necessary, in support of working across the prairie provinces.

In this role, the following attributes, skills, and experience will help you thrive:

• You are a social innovator and consultant with the heart of a community advocate and the mind of a business strategist.
• You are solutions and outcomes-focused, continually looking to improve the status quo, and motivated to implement change.
• You develop relationships and partnerships easily and have an entrepreneurial drive to secure new clients and further develop your practice with existing partners.
• You have applied social planning experience with a deep familiarity and connection to systems work focused on diversity and equity, addictions and mental health, and economic barriers to inclusion.
• You work towards developing and restoring equality and social justice for those who have been traditionally disenfranchised due to systemic barriers.
• The qualities and experiences above lead naturally to your business development acumen – you have a talent for identifying market opportunities and nurturing them into viable projects.

Who are we?

At Urban Matters CCC, our function is to serve as connectors between people and systems to break down barriers to meaningful change. We know it’s only when we work together that we can move beyond siloed approaches and move towards collective ownership and decision making. We work with municipalities, communities, cities, governments, NPOs, First Nations, social entrepreneurs, and socially conscious business leaders to identify, introduce, and scale innovations that address complex social issues.

Specifically, we work in areas that fall within the Social Determinants of Community Health framework:

• healthy infrastructure and services
• socioeconomic capacity building
• physical and mental health and wellness
• identity, culture and social connectivity
• healthy early child development and education
• food security and availability
• climate change in the environment

But we don’t simply respond to the issues at hand: we also futurecast beyond today’s headlines to identify and co-create proactive approaches and solutions to emergent issues.

We are a Community Contribution Company (CCC). We are a hybrid organization that operates much like any other business but with a fixed commitment to reinvest 60 percent of our profits back into communities. That means we don’t simply work on solutions – we live and contribute to the communities where we work.

We are part of a big family. Urban Matters belongs to a family of companies within Urban Systems Ltd. You will be able to collaborate with interdisciplinary teams across our network and build relationships with dynamic and engaged professionals fueled by our shared purpose.

Our Commitment to You

• Learn and Grow – Grow your career with us! You are encouraged to take initiative and shape your career through coaching, in-house learning, technical courses, and more.
• Competitive Compensation – Your skills and contributions are valued. You will receive competitive compensation, extended health, dental, vision care coverage and more.
• Paid Time Off – We encourage all team members to take time off to recharge and spend time with loved ones. Enjoy 3 weeks of paid vacation to start, in addition to statutory days off throughout the year.
• Flexible Hours and Work Environment – You have a life outside of work! We offer flexibility in your work schedule and work environment to help you do your best work and meet your commitments.

How to Apply

If this describes your background, skills and attributes please visit our website for more information and submit your resume and cover letter. If it doesn’t describe you exactly but you feel you are well suited to this opportunity, we encourage you to apply.

Urban Matters is an equal opportunity employer. We strive to create an inclusive culture for all employees. Our clients come from all walks of life and so do you. We believe that diversity and unity amongst our teams lead to building vibrant communities.

Deadline for applications: 9:00am PST on June 30th, 2022.

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