Program Director, Social Inclusion

About McConnell Foundation

The McConnell Foundation is a private Canadian foundation dedicated to fostering resilience, inclusion, and sustainability to tackle complex societal challenges. It supports a variety of initiatives through financial contributions, investment, capacity building, and collaborative efforts with public, private, and non-profit sectors. Established with a mission to address pressing social needs, the foundation emphasizes innovative and diverse approaches to community resilience, reconciliation, and climate change.

The Program Director, Social Inclusion plays a critical role in advancing strategies for social inclusion and equity. Under the guidance of the Chief Program Officer, the successful candidate will develop leadership and partnership strategies while managing grants with excellence. This position involves overseeing budgets, risk, performance evaluation, and internal processes, while maintaining alignment with the Foundation’s core values. The director will represent the foundation with integrity and foster a collaborative, learning‑supportive organizational culture.

This director will formulate strategies for social inclusion portfolios, ensuring they align with the Foundation’s overarching goals for equity and justice for underserved groups. They will lead complex partnerships, budget planning, and risk management, while collaborating with various Foundation teams on relevant issues. The role also includes strategic knowledge sharing with staff and supporting board meeting preparations.

• Lead strategy development for the social inclusion portfolio.
• Ensure operational excellence in due diligence and grants management.
• Manage budgeting and risk management.
• Design and implement annual work plans to meet strategic objectives.
• Build and maintain relationships with stakeholders and partners.
• Represent the Foundation with discretion and respect.
• Lead strategic knowledge sharing on focus area strategies.
• Provide supervision and mentoring to program staff and external consultants.

• 6-10+ years of experience in strategic program development and management.
• Post‑secondary degree in a relevant field.
• Expertise in one or more of these areas: anti‑racism, mental health, social inclusion, gender equity.
• Functional bilingualism (C2 in English and French).
• In‑depth understanding of social issues in Canada.
• Experience in people and budget management.
• Knowledge of monitoring, evaluation, and learning frameworks.
• Experience in the non‑profit sector.
• Commitment to promoting and protecting rights of marginalized groups.

• Generous, fully paid benefits and a health spending account.
• Simplified pension employer matching (6%).
• Holiday granting and charitable donation allowances.
• Employee Assistance and Virtual Medicine programs.
• Hybrid working conditions and home office allowance.
• Immediate vacation access and paid holiday time off.