Director of Government Relations

Long before there was a capital city on the Ottawa river, the Odawa were traders on this land. They carried goods, news, and understandings between Nations across enormous distances, and their standing rested on one thing: whether the people at both ends of the journey trusted them. We took the name because that is still the work.

Odawa Relations is a First Nations owned government and Indigenous relations firm with offices in Ottawa, Neyaashiinigmiing, Fort William First Nation, Thunder Bay, and Winnipeg. We work for First Nations, Tribal Councils, and Indigenous organizations. Our clients set the direction. Our job is to help them be heard where decisions get made, and to keep pushing after the meeting ends, when the commitment has been made and the follow-through is the hard part.

We are a growing firm doing serious work, and we are looking for a Director of Government Relations to join us.

You would carry a portfolio of client files as their senior advisor. That means sitting with Chiefs and leadership to understand what they are trying to achieve, translating that into a strategy that can actually work in Ottawa, and then doing the work to make it happen: briefing notes, committee appearances, meeting requests, the follow-up, and the second and third and fourth follow-up.

You would represent Odawa in rooms and be trusted to do it. You would help us grow, shaping new offerings and building relationships with Nations we have not yet worked with. And as the practice grows, you would build and lead the team beneath you.

It is a builder's role. There is a lot of room here for someone who wants it.

• Advising First Nations leadership on complex political, policy, and government relations priorities, often quickly and under pressure.
• Turning Nation priorities into advocacy strategies with objectives, timelines, and a way to tell whether they are working.
• Watching the Hill closely:
  Hansard, the Order Paper, bill progress, committee agendas and witness lists, the Estimates, who is moving and who is not.
• Finding witness opportunities for clients and preparing leadership to use them well.
• Writing. Briefing notes, committee briefs, submissions, speaking points, Ministerial correspondence. A lot of this job is writing clearly under a deadline.
• Preparing and running Hill days, delegations, and Ministerial meeting programs.
• Building coalitions where shared interests move a file further than one voice can.
• Travelling to Ottawa, to gatherings and assemblies, and to communities, including fly-in communities. Roughly a quarter to a third of your time.
• Leading and managing a growing multidisciplinary team of government relations and policy professionals, including Managers, Specialists, and Coordinators.

We are less interested in a perfect match against a list than in someone whose judgment we would trust with a client on a hard day. That said, here is roughly what we picture:

• Around eight years or more in government relations, Indigenous relations, public policy, political affairs, advocacy, or strategic consulting.
• Real experience working alongside First Nations, Tribal Councils, Indigenous organizations, or Indigenous governments, with an understanding of this space.
• Grounding in First Nations rights, jurisdiction, and self-determination, in Treaties, UNDRIP, and FPIC, and in the history that brought us here.
• A working knowledge of how federal decisions actually get made, and ideally some relationships you have earned along the way.
• Strong political judgment and real discretion. Much of what crosses your desk will be sensitive.
• Clear writing.

A degree in political science, public administration, Indigenous studies, law, public policy, communications, business, or something related is helpful. So is a combination of education, professional experience, and lived experience. We read applications from people, not from templates.

This work involves registering and acting as a consultant lobbyist federally and in some provinces. If you are a former designated public office holder, the Lobbying Act may restrict you from that work for five years after you left the position. Please tell us in your application if this applies to you. It is not automatically a barrier, there are options, but we would rather talk about it early than late.

• Four weeks away from work each year: two weeks of paid vacation plus a two-week paid office closure over the winter holidays, on…