Director, Indigenous Partnerships & Commercial Development

Work. Wonders.

Get inspired - Face Your Wild in Alberta come and be a part of this amazing organization. 

At Travel Alberta, we are redefining what it means to be a tourism and economic development leader in Canada. As the provincial destination management organization, we’ve embraced an ambitious goal: doubling Alberta’s tourism sector to $25 billion in annual visitor spending by 2035. This bold vision reflects our commitment to transforming Alberta into a premier destination for both visitors and investors, driving sustainable economic growth while creating unforgettable itineraries and experiences that showcase our breathtaking landscapes, vibrant cities, and rich cultural heritage. 

Position Summary 
Reporting to the Chief Commercial Officer, the Director, Indigenous Partnerships & Commercial Development plays a pivotal 

leadership role in shaping Alberta's tourism future by championing the commercial development of Indigenous tourism in Alberta. As a member of Travel Alberta's leadership team, they provide strategic and operational leadership for Indigenous tourism development, stakeholder engagement, the creation of opportunities for commercial investment, and the growth of Indigenous product and experience offerings across the province. The role requires an adept leader who can effectively balance the demands of contributing to the broader vision related to Travel Alberta’s destination and commercial development strategy while at the same time being committed to rolling up their sleeves and taking direct ownership of executing programs, managing budgets, collaborating with stakeholders, and working with internal teams across various initiatives. 

They also serve as the organization's senior lead for Indigenous engagement and economic reconciliation and manage the day-to-day relationship with partners, including Indigenous Tourism Association of Alberta (ITA) and Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corp (AIOC).  Across the organization, the role ensures that Indigenous perspectives and opportunities are meaningfully considered in destination development, industry investment, strategic partnerships, marketing, and other business initiatives.  In addition to their external focus, they will collaborate with fellow team members to lead and contribute to Indigenous cultural awareness, education, and knowledge-sharing initiatives across Travel Alberta. 

This is a highly visible role for a leader who can represent Travel Alberta with confidence, credibility, and purpose. The Director, Indigenous Partnerships & Commercial Development will be called upon to listen, convene, influence, and build alignment among diverse stakeholders, often serving as the face and voice of the organization in important public and industry forums related to Indigenous tourism. Their ability to earn trust and inspire collective action will be central to converting Alberta’s tourism ambition into results and helping the province achieve $25 billion in annual visitor spending by 2035 as it strives to be known as “Tourism’s Next Destination”. This role will define and demonstrate the contribution of Indigenous tourism to Travel Alberta's 2035 visitor spending ambition, including clear sector targets, performance measures and reporting of results. 

Furthermore, beyond their priority focus on the Indigenous tourism sector, they may be asked, on select occasions, to collaborate or even lead specific destination and commercial development opportunities in partnership with industry stakeholders, operators, entrepreneurs, investors, and communities across Travel Alberta’s identified regions and Tourism Development Zones. 

Key Responsibilities 
1. Indigenous Tourism Strategy, Sector Growth & Commercial Development:  

• Lead the design, implementation and measurement of Travel Alberta's Indigenous sector strategy in alignment with organizational direction and Alberta's ambition to become a leading Indigenous tourism destination in Canada. 

• Translate strategic priorities for the Indigenous tourism sector into practical work plans, deliverables, performance measures, budget recommendations, partner agreements, and implementation of key programs. 

• Develop and manage a pipeline of Indigenous tourism investment and commercial development opportunities, from early-stage concept and investment readiness through to execution and growth. 

• In collaboration with Indigenous Tourism Alberta and other partners, ensure Indigenous tourism products and experiences progress from development to market readiness, including pricing, packaging, distribution, booking capability, demand generation and commercial scalability. 

• Actively participate in the delivery of Travel Alberta’s industry investment funds with business plan reviews, assessing proformas, operating models, cash-flow forecasts, and capital requirements to assess investment readiness and commercial viability for commercial development of indigenous tourism products and experiences. 

• Monitor economic conditions, political developments, market shifts, policy changes, and emerging trends affecting Indigenous tourism and Indigenous economic development. 

• Collaborate with Travel Alberta's Investor Services team to support investment attraction, proposal assessment, approvals, and project execution around Indigenous tourism products and experiences. 

• Prepare briefings, recommendations, presentations, and decision-support materials for senior leadership and, where required, Board materials through the Chief Commercial Officer. 

2. Indigenous Relations, Strategic Partnerships & Government Relations: 

• Lead day-to-day management of Travel Alberta’s strategic partnership with Indigenous Tourism Alberta, including strategic planning and aligning programs, activities, and outcomes/measures.  

• Build and maintain trusted, respectful, and long-term relationships with First Nations governments, industry organizations, financial institutions, including the Alberta Investment Opportunities Corp (AIOC), and other partners.  

• Identify and help resolve barriers to Indigenous tourism investment and development, including but not limited to access to capital, infrastructure, land, permitting, workforce, market readiness and business capacity.  

• Lead culturally appropriate industry engagement that advances economic reconciliation, shared priorities, long-term relationship building, investment opportunities and practical tourism growth opportunities for Indigenous communities and entrepreneurs.  

• Identify and respond to emerging opportunities, concerns, and external issues that may affect Indigenous tourism development, Travel Alberta’s sector strategy, or organizational reputation.  

• Represent Travel Alberta at Indigenous gatherings, government engagements, industry conferences, stakeholder events, and leadership forums.  

3. Organizational Influence & Indigenous Cultural Awareness:  

• Identify and advance an Indigenous tourism and economic development perspective to enterprise planning, marketing, sales, investment attraction, strategic initiatives, risk discussions, organizational initiatives, and cross-functional work. 

• Lead the development and team’s execution of Indigenous cultural awareness, education, and knowledge-sharing initiatives across the organization. 

• Promote organizational understanding of Indigenous rights, histories, traditions, governance structures, protocols, and contemporary priorities – including the design and engagement of a “council of elders”. 

• Provide informed advice to the CEO, CCO, CMO and other organizational leaders to support culturally aware strategies, programs, investments, and business decisions. 

4. Financial Stewardship & Business Planning: 

• Contribute to the development of annual corporate business plans, operational plans, budgets and forecasts, as well as performance reporting in alignment with Destination & Commercial Development priorities. 

• Ensure appropriate governance, risk management, financial stewardship, procurement, documentation, approvals, and reporting practices are followed accordingly. 

• Manage departmental resources, external consultants, service providers, and partnership agreements, including drafting, reviewing, negotiating, and coordinating agreement documentation. 

• Prepare executive briefings to the CCO for funding recommendations, business cases, strategic presentations, and other materials required to advance portfolio priorities. 
  
   

Required Qualifications 
1. Education & Experience: 

• Post-secondary degree in Business, Economic Development, Tourism, Indigenous Studies, Public Administration, Social Sciences, Community Development, or a related discipline.  

• A minimum of 7 years of progressive experience across Indigenous relations, Indigenous economic development, tourism development, destination development, commercial development, investment attraction, or a related field.  

• Demonstrated experience working directly with First Nations entrepreneurs and organizations.  

• A balance of public and private-sector experience, with exposure to economic development, entrepreneurship, investment, and commercial initiatives.  

• Demonstrated leadership experience in strategic planning, program or initiative design, implementation, and performance measurement.  

• Experience working with multiple levels of government, including grant, funding, policy, or development programs.  

• Demonstrated experience leading team members, consultants, partners, or cross-functional project teams.  

• A strong people leader who provides clear direction, coaching, feedback, and development support to team members while fostering accountability and collaboration.  

• Senior leadership experience in a destination management organization (DMO) or tourism-based organization is considered an asset.  

• Commercial lending experience is an asset.  

2. Technical Skills & Competencies: 

• Deep knowledge of the historical and contemporary context for Indigenous Peoples in Canada, including rights, governance, protocols, economic priorities, and relationships with provincial and federal governments.  

• Knowledge of Indigenous research approaches and OCAP Principles.  

• Demonstrated cultural competence and ability to engage constructively, respectfully, and effectively with Indigenous communities and organizations.  

• Strong ability to balance strategic leadership with hands-on execution, including developing business cases, partnership agreements, funding recommendations, implementation plans, and stakeholder engagement materials.  

• Can effectively balance a strategic planning mindset along with a problem-solving orientation in the day-to-day execution of initiatives.  

• Proven commercial and financial literacy, including the ability to review business plans, financial statements, proformas, forecasts, operating models, and capital requirements.  

• Strong ability to synthesize complex information and effectively communicate through presentations, briefing notes, business cases, stakeholder reports, and recommendations.  

• Naturally inclined to pay attention to detail with the ability to manage competing priorities, deadlines, budgets, approvals, and implementation requirements.  

• Demonstrated competency in managing projects from conception through execution, including overseeing administration (vendor management), tracking progress, budget management, and ensuring the delivery of outcomes aligned with the statement of work on time and within budget.  

• A comprehensive understanding of the visitor economy ecosystem, including accommodations, attractions, experiences, transportation, and tourism distribution systems, is an asset.  

*We kindly thank all agency partners, we will NOT require support to fill this role. We kindly request no phone calls nor emails*