Senior Executive Leader (Chief Administrative Officer / Chief Operating Officer)

Senior Executive Leader (Chief Administrative Officer / Chief Operating Officer)

Full-Time, Permanent | Executive Leadership
Cranbrook, British Columbia

Strong, healthy citizens and communities, speaking our language and celebrating who we are and our history in our ancestral homelands, working together, managing our lands and resources, within a self-sufficient, self-governing Nation.

Ktunaxa Nation Council (KNC) is seeking an accomplished senior executive to translate established Leadership direction into coordinated, accountable, and timely organizational action. This is a significant opportunity to help guide KNC through a transformative period while maintaining operational stability, advancing current priorities, and supporting the continued clarification of KNC’s mandate, governance model, organizational functions, and senior leadership structure.

The successful candidate will initially report to the Nasuʔkin, with broader governance reporting refined as KNC’s leadership model develops. The role will work in parallel with the Chief Financial Officer and Senior Governance Lead. These leaders have distinct but complementary accountabilities and are expected to collaborate closely, provide constructive checks and balances, hold one another accountable, and support continuity. The final title and configuration may be confirmed as a Chief Administrative Officer, Chief Operating Officer, or another senior executive model based on KNC’s evolving needs and the strengths of the successful candidate.

This highly relational role calls for cultural legitimacy, sound judgment, humility, courage, resilience, approachability, and confidence grounded in competence. The leader must be respectful without being passive, decisive without being dismissive, and able to maintain high expectations through coaching, mediation, appreciative inquiry, and clear accountability.

What You Will Lead

• Direction and alignment: Translate Leadership direction into clear operational mandates, priorities, performance expectations, and coordinated action across directors, teams, and resources.
• Transformation and continuity: Implement approved organizational changes through practical timelines, transition planning, implementation analysis, risk management, and consistent follow-through while sustaining current workplans and essential services.
• Operational accountability: Establish clear expectations and guardrails; hold directors accountable; strengthen policy, protocol, complaint, investigation, documentation, and evidence-based decision processes.
• People leadership: Coach and support directors, clarify roles, ensure appropriate capacity and expertise, address performance and relationship concerns early, and build confidence that workplace concerns will be handled fairly and respectfully.
• Relationships and communication: Maintain close, respectful, and productive relationships with the Nasuʔkin, Ktunaxa First Nations’ senior management, directors, staff, governments, industry, and United States Ktunaxa/Kootenai Tribes. Provide regular, timely, and transparent reports that support discussion, feedback, and informed decisions.
• Strategic judgment and execution: Assess complex information and relational impacts, identify risks and policy gaps, distinguish legitimate concerns from unverified information, prioritize the most important issues, delegate appropriately, and move practical solutions forward with urgency and care.
• Cultural and contextual leadership: Ensure technical expertise and organizational practices are applied through a Ktunaxa worldview and support community-driven, Nation-based
• priorities rather than individual agendas or default Western assumptions.

What You Bring
We recognize cultural, academic, professional, community, and lived experience as valuable forms of learning. We encourage candidates whose combined experience closely reflects the following to apply:

• Significant senior executive or senior management experience in a First Nations, Indigenous government, public administration, complex non-profit, or similarly accountable environment.
• Demonstrated ability to translate governance or board direction into coordinated operations, measurable outcomes, and timely implementation.
• Strong knowledge of governance, policy, organizational risk, accountability systems, and evidence-based decision-making.
• Proven success leading organizational change while protecting continuity, employee confidence, relationships, and service delivery.
• Experience coaching senior leaders, resolving conflict, mediating difficult relationships, and addressing performance concerns with clarity and respect.
• Demonstrated cultural humility and respect for Ktunaxa culture, protocols, values, community knowledge, relationships, and ways of working; direct experience with Ktunaxa or another Indigenous Nation is a strong asset.
• Exceptional relationship-building, written communication, reporting, facilitation, and issue-management skills.
• Post-secondary education in public administration, business administration, governance, organizational leadership, or a related field is an asset. An equivalent combination of cultural knowledge, lived experience, education, and senior leadership experience will be considered.
• Ability to travel within Ktunaxa ʔamakʔis and, where applicable, meet cross-border travel or work requirements for engagement with United States Ktunaxa/Kootenai Tribes.

Ktunaxa candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. All applications will be reviewed; preference will be given to qualified Indigenous applicants in keeping with KNC’s hiring philosophy and commitment to strengthening Ktunaxa capacity.

Why Join KNC
This is an opportunity to serve during a defining period for KNC and to help build a stable, accountable, culturally grounded organization that advances community direction and Nation-level priorities. Candidates should be comfortable working in an environment where responsibilities and structures may evolve as governance and organizational design work progresses.

How to Apply
Please submit a cover letter and résumé through our careers website:

Applications will be reviewed according to the recruitment timeline established by KNC. The process will remain open long enough to support a thorough search and careful assessment of organizational fit.

We thank all applicants for their interest. However, only those selected for interviews will be contacted.