Assistant City Manager

destinationone Consulting has been retained by the City of Maple Ridge to recruit an accomplished and strategic Assistant City Manager.

This executive leadership opportunity presents a rare chance for a seasoned municipal leader to play a pivotal role in supporting the City Manager and executive leadership team in advancing the City’s strategic priorities, operational excellence, organizational transformation, and long term community growth. As one of British Columbia’s fastest growing municipalities, the City of Maple Ridge continues to make significant investments in infrastructure, community development, public service delivery, and sustainable growth, creating an exciting environment for forward thinking leadership and meaningful impact.

In this dynamic and high-impact role, the Assistant City Manager will serve as the City Manager’s primary internal second-in-command, helping drive corporate strategy execution, cross-departmental coordination, and enterprise-wide initiatives that support Council priorities and the organization’s long-term vision.

Working closely with the City Manager and senior leadership team, the successful candidate will help ensure alignment across departments, strengthen organizational leadership capacity, and support the effective delivery of municipal services to a growing and diverse community.

This role forms part of the municipality’s long-term leadership succession planning, offering the opportunity for the successful candidate to progressively expand responsibilities while contributing to the continuity of executive leadership within the organization.

The Opportunity

Reporting directly to the City Manager, the Assistant City Manager is a senior executive responsible for supporting enterprise-wide leadership and ensuring that Council-approved priorities, corporate objectives, and organizational initiatives are executed effectively.

The Assistant City Manager works across the organization to coordinate strategic initiatives, remove operational barriers, and ensure that departments are aligned with the municipality’s strategic plan, corporate priorities, and service delivery expectations.

The role also supports the City Manager in maintaining strong relationships with Mayor and Council through coordinated briefings, committee participation, and the delivery of high-quality information to support effective decision-making.

This position plays a critical role in strengthening organizational leadership, operational execution, and strategic coordination across the municipality.

Key Responsibilities

Executive Leadership and Corporate Coordination

• Support senior leadership across the municipality on behalf of the City Manager, supporting the coordination and advancement of corporate priorities and initiatives.
• Identify and advance key initiatives that require cross-departmental coordination and strategic alignment.
• Support the City Manager in providing leadership oversight, coaching, and direction to team members as assigned.
• Strengthen organizational leadership capacity through mentorship, leadership development, and succession planning initiatives.

Strategic Planning and Enterprise Performance

• Support the development and execution of the municipality’s Strategic Plan and corporate business planning processes.
• Support enterprise performance management and multi-year business planning, ensuring alignment between strategic priorities, departmental work plans, and measurable outcomes.
• Lead or sponsor enterprise-wide initiatives such as service reviews, organizational transformation projects, and process improvement efforts.
• Monitor progress of corporate initiatives and support corrective action where required to maintain alignment with Council priorities.

Council Relations and Governance Support

• Support the City Manager in maintaining effective communication with Mayor and Council on operational and strategic matters.
• Provide delegated Council briefings and support Council committees or commissions as required.
• Integrate information from multiple departments into clear briefing materials and recommendations to support informed Council decision-making.
• Attend Council meetings and committees as delegated to present staff reports, respond to questions, and coordinate follow-up.
• Coordinate corporate responses to Council direction by assigning actions across departments and monitoring progress.

Operational Leadership and Risk Management

• Through collaboration with senior leadership, ensure that municipal operations are implemented in accordance with Council policies and approved budgets.
• Identify emerging operational risks, strategic issues, and cross-departmental challenges and escalate appropriately.
• Lead/support corporate problem-solving on complex files with organization-wide impact, ensuring decisions reflect a corporate perspective.

Organizational Communication and Alignment

• Maintain a strong internal communication environment so leaders and staff clearly understand corporate priorities and organizational decisions.
• Foster collaboration across departments to ensure coordinated service delivery and organizational alignment.

Executive Leadership Continuity

• Act for the City Manager when delegated to ensure continuity of executive leadership and organizational decision-making.

External Representation

• Represent the municipality externally as delegated by the City Manager in meetings with other levels of government, regional partners, agencies, and community stakeholders.
• Maintain strong relationships with key stakeholders to support collaboration and alignment with municipal priorities.

Requirements

Ideal Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate is a collaborative and strategic municipal leader who brings strong political acumen, business judgment, and the ability to navigate complex organizational environments.

They are a trusted advisor capable of balancing competing priorities while maintaining a corporate perspective that aligns resources, risks, and strategic objectives across the organization.

The successful candidate will demonstrate

• strong municipal governance knowledge
• the ability to build alignment across departments and stakeholders
• experience advising senior elected officials and executive leaders
• outstanding communication, briefing, and presentation skills
• the ability to lead complex initiatives and drive organizational change

Core Leadership Capabilities

Business and Financial Acumen

The successful candidate will demonstrate strong commercial thinking and operational discipline, approaching municipal leadership with the strategic focus and financial accountability of a well-run organization.

Experience supporting executive-level decision-making related to budgeting, capital planning, and fiscal oversight is essential.

Economic Development and Growth Awareness

Experience supporting initiatives related to

• economic growth
• investment attraction
• land development
• commercial development initiatives

Land Development and Infrastructure Awareness

Understanding of

• development processes
• land use planning
• infrastructure planning
• growth management strategies

Operational Leadership

The successful candidate must demonstrate the ability to:

• drive execution across departments
• ensure complex initiatives move forward
• remove organizational barriers
• mobilize teams to achieve results

People Leadership

The role requires exceptional leadership capability including

• supporting senior leaders
• building strong internal relationships
• motivating teams across departments
• achieving results through collaboration

Governance and Legislative Awareness

The successful candidate must demonstrate a strong understanding of British Columbia’s municipal legislative and governance framework, including legislation such as the Community Charter, Local Government Act, and related public sector governance practices.

Cultural Fit

The executive leadership team operates within a collaborative and close-knit environment that values trust, humility, and professionalism.

The successful candidate must demonstrate

• humility
• emotional intelligence
• strong interpersonal awareness
• professionalism and respect for others

The ideal leader is someone who builds trust easily and focuses on results, collaboration, and long-term impact rather than personal recognition.

Required Qualifications

• Master’s degree preferred in Public Administration, Business Administration, Urban Planning, or a related discipline
• Minimum 10+ years of progressively senior leadership experience in a complex public-sector environment, with municipal experience strongly preferred
• Demonstrated success in corporate strategy execution, cross-departmental leadership, and executive-level advisory roles
• Strong understanding of British Columbia municipal governance and legislative frameworks
• Valid driver’s license

Compensation

The anticipated compensation for this executive leadership role is up to approximately $208,000 - $275,000 annually, along with comprehensive municipal executive benefits (depending on the band).

About destinationone Consulting

destinationone Consulting is a North America based strategic recruitment, executive search, and HR advisory firm serving purpose-led organizations across high-impact industries. Our sector expertise spans CleanTech, Education and EdTech, Health and Med Tech, Healthcare and Wellness, Government (Municipal, State, and Federal), Non Profit, Sustainability and other public sector domains.

How to Apply

If this opportunity aligns with your skills and career goals, please apply with an updated resume in MS Word format.

While we may not be able to contact everyone, we will connect with candidates whose profiles most closely match the requirements of the role.

Rest assured, your profile will remain in our network, and we will reach out when a suitable opportunity arises.

To learn more about us and stay updated on opportunities, follow destinationone Consulting on LinkedIn.

Thank you for considering destinationone Consulting - we look forward to supporting you in your career journey.