Associate, Strategic Initiatives

If you’re excited about building systems that empower others to lead and want to help shape Canada’s next generation of entrepreneurial, AI-ready talent for the future of work, we’d love to hear from you!

Venture for Canada is a national registered charity equipping talent across Canada with the entrepreneurial skills, mindset, and opportunities to succeed in a 21st-century economy increasingly shaped by rapid change and emerging technology. We believe that to be entrepreneurial is to act upon opportunities to create value for others. The resourcefulness and creativity of people across Canada are essential to addressing our country’s greatest challenges. Venture for Canada serves as a catalyst by empowering individuals to create a more prosperous, inclusive, and innovative society.

Since 2013, Venture for Canada has grown in meaningful ways, and we’re excited to expand our team with values-aligned individuals who can contribute to what we’re building. To learn more about our hiring process and workplace philosophy, visit our Careers page.

Role Overview

The Strategic Initiatives Associate is a highly cross-functional role that works closely with Venture for Canada's executive leadership to advance strategic priorities beyond day-to-day program delivery. This supporting role spans government relations, strategic initiatives, thought leadership, and executive enablement, helping strengthen Venture for Canada's partnerships, influence, and long-term impact.

Working across multiple priorities, the Strategic Initiatives Associate cultivates relationships, identifies collaboration opportunities, researches emerging opportunities in entrepreneurship and workforce development. The role also contributes to policy reports, strategic initiatives, and government engagement while helping strengthen Venture for Canada's broader role within Canada's entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem.

This role is well suited to someone who thrives in ambiguous, fast-paced environments and can comfortably move between research, relationship management, project coordination, and executive support. Success in this role comes from exercising sound judgment, working proactively, and translating ideas into action with minimal direction.

Key Role Responsibilities

Strategic Initiatives & Partnership

• Partner cross-functionally with senior leadership on high-priority strategic initiatives as organizational priorities evolve
• Research emerging opportunities in entrepreneurship, workforce development, and innovation
• Support the leadership and program teams in development of new program concepts, partnership opportunities, and international collaborations
• Contribute to and maintain partnership tracking systems and CRM records
• Support initiatives that strengthen Venture for Canada's engagement within Canada's entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem

Government Relations

• Prepare briefing notes, meeting materials, and background research for government relations engagements
• Coordinate with external government relations firms and support RFP preparation as needed
• Research government priorities, policy developments, and funding opportunities relevant to Venture for Canada's work
• Help maintain stakeholder engagement records and support relationship tracking

Thought Leadership & Research

• Support development of policy reports, white papers, and strategic publications, including Venture for Canada's work on AI adoption among SMEs
• Develop case studies, research summaries, and other materials that showcase Venture for Canada's impact and strategic priorities
• Translate research and external insights into actionable recommendations for senior leadership

Strategic Enablement & Executive Support

• Provide executive support to senior leadership, including calendar coordination, scheduling, email support, network management, and other administrative support as needed
• Prepare briefing materials, presentations, and talking points for meetings, speaking engagements, and external event support
• Draft and edit correspondence and other communications on behalf of senior leadership
• Triage time-sensitive requests and prioritize competing demands with sound judgment
• Coordinate logistics for leadership travel and external engagements

Who You Are

• You are a strategic thinker who is comfortable pivoting between very different types of work week to week, and self-directed with minimal structured management
• You bring the pace, professionalism, and communication style of a business or corporate environment, and you're energized by fast-moving, ad hoc requests rather than fixed routines
• You are a strong researcher and writer, equally comfortable digging into a partnership landscape or drafting a policy brief
• You build relationships easily, whether with a prospective partner organization, government officials, or members of the senior leadership team
• You care about entrepreneurship, workforce development, and Canada's innovation ecosystem, and you want your work to directly grow Venture for Canada's reach and impact
• You can pivot easily, proactively moving from one task or project to the next without letting pieces fall through the cracks; your flexibility is unmatched
• You're comfortable with a role that will evolve — you don't need a fixed playbook to do good work

What You Bring

• 2+ years of professional experience, ideally in business, consulting, government relations, policy, or a professional-services environment
• Strong research skills and the ability to translate research into clear, structured written materials (briefing notes, reports, case studies)
• Experience developing and managing external relationships, partnerships, or stakeholder ecosystems, including maintaining relationship pipelines, CRM systems, and engagement tracking processes
• Exposure to government relations, public affairs, or policy work (e.g., briefing notes, RFPs, coordinating with external firms) is a strong asset
• Experience supporting senior executives is a strong asset
• Skilled in working across multiple, unrelated workstreams simultaneously without losing quality or follow-through
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to adapt messaging for different audiences, including executives, partners, government stakeholders, and external audiences

Job Details

The purpose of this job posting is to fill an existing vacancy. The anticipated start date is immediate.

Arrangement

Venture for Canada is a remote-first organization with offices based in Toronto and Vancouver. This is a remote position open to candidates across Canada. While all qualified applicants are encouraged to apply, preference may be given to candidates based in the Toronto area to support occasional in-person collaboration and team connection. Moderate in-person attendance of program-related events is required. 

Language Requirement

As a national organization serving communities across Canada, professional proficiency in written and spoken English is required. Proficiency in both English and French is considered a strong asset for this role.

Commitment to Diversity and Accessibility

Venture for Canada is dedicated to fostering an inclusive, equitable, and accessible workplace. We welcome and encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds, experiences, and identities. Accommodations are available upon request for candidates participating in all stages of the recruitment and selection process. If you require an accommodation, please contact [email protected].

Applicant Notice

Venture for Canada may use artificial intelligence-enabled tools to support certain aspects of the recruitment process; all hiring decisions are made by our talent acquisition stakeholders. Only selected applicants will be contacted for an interview. In accordance with applicable laws, candidates who are interviewed will be notified of the hiring decision within 45 days of their final interview. Candidates must be legally authorized to work in Canada at the time of application; we are unable to provide employment sponsorship or support work permit applications for this position.