Director of Policy & Standards

About the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Canada

The Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) is a global not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting environmentally sound, socially beneficial and economically prosperous management of the world’s forests. FSC was created in 1993 to help consumers and businesses identify products from well-managed forests and sets standards by which forests are certified, offering credible verification to people who are buying wood and wood products. For more information visit www.ca.fsc.org

About the role

Reporting to the FSC Canada President, the Director of Policy & Standards will be responsible for coordinating and overseeing the successful development or revision of FSC forest related standards (National Forest Stewardship Standard and National Risk Assessment) and related tools; to support the implementation and coordinate the monitoring of these standards.

In the performance of his/her work, the Director of Policy & Standards will ensure that all standards related activities meet FSC policies and procedures, manage relations with key stakeholders and partners; respond to inquiries regarding the implementation of FSC related standards.

Responsibilities

Standards Development

• Provide leadership and guidance for FSC Canada standards development and revision initiatives, as necessary for the successful development, maintenance and revision of national/regional Forest Management standards;
• Plan and coordinate meetings and public consultations related to standards development;
• Establish and maintain FSC Canada standards and related material in accordance with FSC International requirements, making necessary recommendations for changes as appropriate;
• Review new policies, standards, advice notes and guidance materials related to forest management standard or National Risk assessment released by FSC International and provide feedback as required;
• Ensure that the interests of all of FSC’s Chambers are represented in a balanced and equal manner in all standards development and consultation process;
• Work with key stakeholders to come to a consensus on forest management related issues, and to ensure that these are in line with FSC policies and requirements;
• Oversee the interpretation process of the national forest stewardship standard, as required.

Implementation

• Coordinate and liaise with Certification Bodies as required;
• Coordinate calibration activities for Certification Bodies, as needed;
• Develop webinars, trainings and tools directly linked to normative requirements, to help and assist the proper implementation of the Standards (as needed and when possible);
• Respond to standards-related inquires and requests received by FSC Canada related to the implementation and application of FSC certification in Canada.

Monitoring

• Coordinate the development and the implementation of performance monitoring of the National Forest Stewardship Standard and the National Risk Assessment;
• Participate in the development of an overall monitoring system for FSC, with a focus on effectiveness monitoring of some forest normative requirements;
• Coordinate the data collection of the effectiveness monitoring of some forest normative requirements.

Chain of Custody

• Reply to inquiries regarding the Chain of Custody standard;
• Develop webinars, trainings and tools directly linked to normative requirements, to help and assist the proper implementation of the Standards (as needed and when possible);

Working with FSC International and the FSC Network

• Liaise with FSC International, Accreditation Services International (ASI) and the FSC Network as appropriate and necessary;
• Review all new/draft policies, standards, advice notes and guidance materials released by FSC International and provide feedback as required.
• Interact with FSC International and provide comment on matters relating to standards, and certification.

Relationship Building

• Maintain and build relationships with key stakeholders and partners as it relates to standards development and other certification activities.
• Respond to requests and concerns from stakeholders about standards and requirements in a timely and professional manner.

Miscellaneous

• Identify and develop work plans and funding proposals for standards-related opportunities that will further advance FSC Canada’s mission and vision;
• Provide assistance relative to other tasks, projects and initiatives as required for FSC Canada’s President, other staff members, and the Board of Directors;
• Report on issues related to FSC Standards and certification, which may affect FSC’s activities in Canada.

· Bachelor’s degree in environmental science, forestry, or other related field. A Master’s degree preferred;

· Experience working with multiple stakeholder groups and negotiating the complexity of the different interests, perspectives and objectives of these;

· Knowledge in at least two of the following areas:

o Canada’s forest policy and regulatory framework;

o Certification, standards development and public consultation;

o Forest Stewardship Council.

· Ability to build collaboration, work cooperatively and facilitate discussions;

· Knowledge of Canada’s forest management regime and tenure system;

· Understanding of the main ecologic, economic and social issues affecting forestry in Canada and globally;

· Strong interpersonal and relationship management skills in a multi-stakeholder environment;

· Solid negotiation, mediation, consensus-building, and conflict resolution skills;

· Strong organizational and management skills;

· Strategically focused;

· A comfortable and effective public speaker;

· Excellent verbal and written communication skills;

· Ability to supervise others and to work in an unsupervised environment;

· Fluent in oral and written English. To be bilingual (English & French) will be an asset.

Job Type: Full-time

Salary: $85,000.00-$95,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Dental care
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Vision care
• Work from home

Flexible Language Requirement:

• French not required

Schedule:

• Monday to Friday
• Weekends as needed

Application question(s):

• Are you knowledgeable about Canada's forest policy and regulatory framework?
• Are you familiar with the Forest Stewardship Council?

Education:

• Bachelor's Degree (required)

Language:

• English (required)
• French (preferred)

Work Location: On the road

Application deadline: 2024-02-08