Indigenous Relations Lead

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Job Description:

Parsons is looking for an experienced and relationship-focused Indigenous Relations Lead to join our team in British Columbia.

In this role, you will provide strategic and practical guidance to Parsons' planning, environmental, engineering, construction, and business-development teams. You will help build and sustain respectful, long-term relationships with Indigenous Nations, communities, governments, and organizations while supporting the successful delivery of infrastructure projects across British Columbia.

The successful candidate will bring strong experience in Indigenous engagement, consultation, accommodation planning, relationship management, and the delivery of Indigenous Relations consultation scopes for small, medium, and large complex projects. This position will support the integration of Indigenous perspectives, knowledge, rights, interests, and community priorities into project planning, delivery, and pursuit activities.

You will serve as a senior advisor, client-facing Indigenous Relations lead, and functional manager. You will help clients and project teams navigate consultation and engagement requirements, develop culturally appropriate strategies, support meaningful participation, and ensure commitments are documented, communicated, and followed through.

In addition to consulting on projects, the Indigenous Relations Lead will provide functional leadership to Indigenous Relations staff, support workforce and utilization planning, contribute to pursuits and client development, help strengthen Parsons' Indigenous Relations practice, and support selected corporate reconciliation initiatives.

Indigenous Relations, Engagement, and Advisory Support

·   Lead and coordinate respectful, meaningful, and culturally appropriate engagement with Indigenous Nations, communities, leadership, rights holders, and representative organizations.

·   Develop, coordinate, and implement Indigenous engagement, consultation, and accommodation strategies for small, medium, and large complex infrastructure, environmental, planning, engineering, transportation, utility, and major capital projects.

·   Provide strategic guidance to clients and project teams on the Duty to Consult, Indigenous rights and interests, accommodation considerations, Indigenous Knowledge, cultural protocols, and relationship-building approaches.

·   Support the identification of potentially affected Indigenous Nations and communities and advise clients and project teams on appropriate engagement and consultation approaches.

·   Build and maintain trusted, long-term relationships with Indigenous communities, governments, organizations, and business partners.

·   Facilitate meetings, workshops, issue-resolution discussions, and engagement sessions with Indigenous communities, clients, regulators, and project teams.

·   Support the negotiation, implementation, tracking, and follow-up of project-related commitments, capacity-funding arrangements, agreements, participation opportunities, and accommodation measures.

·   Ensure engagement activities, correspondence, commitments, agreements, decisions, and outcomes are appropriately documented, communicated, and incorporated into project delivery.

·   Prepare briefing notes, decision-support materials, executive summaries, consultation records, presentations, correspondence, and recommendations for clients and senior leadership.

·   Provide strategic advice to clients and Project teams regarding Indigenous governance structures, community decision-making processes, and intergovernmental relations.

·   Lead and support clients and/or project teams with government-to-government frameworks with Indigenous Nations, supporting long-term collaboration, shared decision-making, and reconciliation objectives.

·   Provide expertise on politically sensitive and high-profile Indigenous Relations matters.

Indigenous Relations Consultation Delivery

·   Lead and manage Indigenous Relations consultation scopes for projects of varying size and complexity, ensuring activities are appropriately planned, coordinated, resourced, documented, and delivered.

·   Develop consultation plans, engagement strategies, communication plans, Indigenous Relations work plans, schedules, budgets, risk registers, and client deliverables.

·   Coordinate Indigenous Relations activities with engineering, environmental, planning, procurement, construction, project controls, and other multidisciplinary teams.

·   Support environmental assessments, regulatory approvals, permitting processes, Indigenous Knowledge initiatives, Indigenous Land and Resource Use studies, rights-impact assessments, and socio-cultural studies, as applicable.

·   Identify Indigenous Relations risks, opportunities, sensitivities, and constraints and provide practical advice on mitigation, escalation, and resolution.

·   Maintain consultation records, commitments registers, issues logs, engagement trackers, and other defensible project documentation.

·   Ensure Indigenous Relations commitments and community priorities are communicated to relevant disciplines and integrated into project planning and implementation.

·   Prepare, review, and quality-check reports, engagement materials, technical memoranda, consultation summaries, presentations, work plans, correspondence, and other client deliverables.

·   Monitor the Indigenous Relations scope, schedule, budget, resources, risks, and deliverables to support safe, timely, high-quality execution.

Business Development and Pursuits

·   Act as a trusted client-facing advisor across transportation, infrastructure, environmental, utility, energy, government, and public-sector markets.

·   Develop and maintain strong client relationships through responsive service, sound judgment, consistent delivery, and Indigenous Relations subject-matter expertise.

·   Support capture planning, opportunity identification, strategic positioning, client pre-positioning, and go/no-go activities for priority pursuits.

·   Lead or support the development of Indigenous Relations content for proposals, RFQs, RFIs, RFPs, interview presentations, and other pursuit materials.

·   Develop project-specific Indigenous engagement methodologies, consultation approaches, staffing plans, community-benefit approaches, Indigenous participation strategies, and reconciliation commitments for pursuits.

·   Collaborate with capture managers, pursuit managers, technical leads, operations leaders, and client account teams to strengthen Parsons' competitive position.

·   Identify opportunities for Indigenous partnerships, procurement, employment, training, capacity building, local participation, and other community benefits.

·   Participate in client relationship-building activities, conferences, industry events, and Indigenous engagement forums that support market visibility and business growth.

·   Maintain awareness of Indigenous Relations best practices, client expectations, procurement trends, regulatory developments, and market opportunities affecting infrastructure projects in British Columbia.

Functional Management and Team Development

·   Provide functional management, leadership, and mentorship to Indigenous Relations practitioners within British Columbia, including direct reports where assigned.

·   Support recruitment, onboarding, goal setting, performance and development discussions, career planning, coaching, succession planning, and retention activities.

·   Manage and monitor staff utilization targets, workload, assignments, availability, and development opportunities in coordination with project and operational leaders.

·   Support workforce planning, resource forecasting, staff deployment, and capacity planning to meet current and anticipated project and pursuit needs.

·   Balance project assignments with employee development needs and help ensure staff receive appropriate technical guidance, quality review, and opportunities for growth.

·   Promote consistent Indigenous Relations practices, tools, templates, methodologies, quality standards, and lessons learned across teams and projects.

·   Contribute to the growth and long-term development of Parsons' Indigenous Relations practice in British Columbia and across Canada.

·   Foster collaboration across business units and disciplines and help strengthen internal understanding of Indigenous Relations consultation and engagement requirements.

Reconciliation and Corporate Initiatives

·   Support implementation of Parsons' Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation Strategy and related corporate initiatives.

·   Assist in advancing reconciliation objectives through project delivery, procurement, employment, training, community partnerships, and business operations.

·   Contribute to internal education, cultural awareness, and practical learning initiatives that strengthen respectful engagement and reconciliation practices.

·   Help develop tools, guidance, processes, and best practices that improve consistency and quality across the organization.

·   Share lessons learned, successful practices, and project outcomes to support continuous improvement and corporate reporting.

What Required Skills You’ll Bring

·   Bachelor's degree in Indigenous Studies, Planning, Environmental Science, Social Sciences, Resource Management, Public Administration, Engineering, or a related discipline. A combination of education and relevant experience will also be considered.

·   10+ years of progressively responsible experience in Indigenous relations, Indigenous engagement, consultation, accommodation, reconciliation, infrastructure delivery, environmental assessment, planning, natural resources, or a related field.

·   Demonstrated experience working directly with Indigenous Nations, communities, governments, and organizations in British Columbia or elsewhere in Canada.

·   Strong knowledge of the Duty to Consult and, where applicable, accommodation, as well as Indigenous rights, interests, governance structures, cultural protocols, and relationship-building practices.

·   Familiarity with UNDRIP, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Calls to Action, and applicable federal and provincial consultation processes.

·   Experience leading and managing Indigenous Relations consultation scopes on small, medium, and large complex infrastructure, transportation, environmental, energy, resource, utility, or community-development projects.

·   Demonstrated experience managing scope, schedules, budgets, resources, risks, commitments, and high-quality Indigenous Relations deliverables.

·   Experience providing functional leadership, mentoring staff, supporting employee development, and coordinating workforce assignments and utilization.

·   Experience preparing professional reports, engagement plans, briefing materials, correspondence, proposals, presentations, and decision-support materials.

·   Strong facilitation, communication, interpersonal, negotiation, conflict-resolution, and client relationship skills.

·   Ability to build trust, exercise sound judgment, maintain confidentiality, and work effectively in sensitive and evolving environments.

·   Experience supporting pursuits, proposal development, capture planning, client development, or Indigenous partnership opportunities.

·   Willingness to travel within British Columbia and, as required, elsewhere in Canada.

What Desired Skills You’ll Bring

·   Experience supporting Crown consultation processes, accommodation measures, capacity funding, and consultation adequacy documentation.

·   Experience with Indigenous Knowledge and Indigenous Land and Resource Use studies, rights-impact assessments, socio-cultural assessments, environmental assessments, or regulatory approvals.

·   Experience working with provincial ministries, Crown corporations, municipalities, utilities, transportation agencies, or major infrastructure owners.

·   Familiarity with public-sector infrastructure procurement and project-delivery models, including design-build and P3 projects.

·   Experience developing Indigenous procurement, employment, training, community-benefit, or participation initiatives.

·   Existing relationships with Indigenous Nations, communities, organizations, clients, and industry partners in British Columbia.

·   Demonstrated ability to establish and maintain trusted, respectful relationships with Indigenous Nations in British Columbia.

·   Experience supporting corporate reconciliation strategies, internal governance, awareness initiatives, or practice-development activities.

·   Indigenous candidates are encouraged to apply, in alignment with Parsons' commitment to reconciliation, inclusion, and equity.

This position is part of our Critical Infrastructure team.

For more than 80 years, our experts have designed and delivered the critical infrastructure that connects and protects communities around the world. We work in collaborative teams, both within the company and with our partners and customers, to plan, design, build, and modernize infrastructure. We take special pride in projects and solutions that improve communities as well as people’s quality of life by promoting economic growth, enhancing mobility, and increasing sustainability and resiliency. Powered by our people, we provide the imagination necessary to support our customers’ visions—and to help them see what's next!

Salary Range: $118,500 - $220,000

 

This job posting is for a current addition or replacement opportunity within Parsons.

 

We value our employees and want our employees to take care of their overall wellbeing, which is why we offer best-in-class benefits such as health, vision, dental, employer paid provincial care premiums, Defined Contribution Pension Plan (DCPP), Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA), Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP), life insurance, paid time off, sick leave, all province observed holidays off, and gym membership discounts to fit your busy lifestyle!

Parsons is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in the workplace. Parsons equally employs representation at all job levels for indigenous peoples, women, individuals with disabilities, and visible minorities.

We truly invest and care about our employee’s wellbeing and provide endless growth opportunities as the sky is the limit, so aim for the stars! Imagine next and join the Parsons quest—APPLY TODAY!

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