Chief Executive Officer

About Employee Ownership Canada

Employee Ownership Canada (EOC) is the national voice for broad-based employee ownership in Canada. Originally founded in the 1990s as ESOP Association Canada and renamed after a 2023 merger, it brings together employee-owned businesses, service providers, and supporters to expand awareness and adoption of ownership models that keep companies rooted in local communities, protect jobs, and distribute wealth more broadly to workers.

Canada is currently experiencing a significant wave of business succession, and recent policy progress — including permanent tax treatment for Employee Ownership Trusts — has created strong momentum for this model. With that groundwork in place, EOC is now focused on long-term growth: increasing membership, elevating the organization’s national presence, and building a financially durable association.

About the Opportunity

EOC is seeking a new chief executive to guide the organization through its next stage of growth and into a stronger national industry association. This is a hands-on builder role for someone who enjoys balancing strategy and execution. The incoming leader will inherit a stable base, including a 2026 plan, an active website, membership records, and a database, and will work with the board to finalize direction, implement priorities, and help define the organization’s future.

The role centers on entrepreneurial leadership: turning an established foundation into a self-sustaining organization with recurring revenue and a strong belief in the mission.

This is a full-time remote position open to candidates anywhere in Canada and reporting to the board of directors.

Responsibilities

• Refine EOC’s current strategic and annual operating plans with the board, then carry them out while adapting to changing needs and conditions.
• Develop a longer-range roadmap, likely covering three to five years, to give the organization direction beyond the immediate planning cycle.
• Convert board guidance into priorities, budgets, work plans, and measurable targets, while maintaining the organization’s core systems such as the website, membership database, and reporting tools.
• Clarify the membership value proposition and commercial structure, including tiers, pricing, and benefits that make membership compelling.
• Expand and nurture a nationwide community of business owners, employee-owned companies, service providers, advisors, and supporters, with recognition that service providers have their own reason to participate.
• Create dependable revenue streams over the coming years through membership growth, the annual conference, and partnership opportunities so the organization can stand on its own as foundational funding declines.
• Increase national awareness of employee ownership and EOC, positioning the idea of permanence in front of business owners, advisors, and the wider market.
• Organize and support a national volunteer and ambassador network so outreach is distributed across the country and contributors feel recognized and valued.
• Identify EOC’s role within a broader ecosystem of active organizations and take a collaborative, convening approach rather than duplicating existing education or programming.
• Represent the organization confidently through speaking engagements, panels, webinars, and industry events.
• Oversee advocacy activity by ensuring the advocacy committee is in place, meeting regularly, and remaining active.
• Build a process for advocacy over time by maintaining priorities, gathering community input, and engaging contractors when needed.
• Work alongside the board and existing advocacy partners, keeping informed and connected without carrying every advocacy task directly.
• Plan and deliver the annual conference and other convening events so they are mission-aligned, high quality, and financially sound.
• Create programming that strengthens learning, community, and member value.
• Manage the budget and forecasting with the treasurer and board, with attention to sound financial oversight and clear reporting on the income statement and balance sheet.
• Handle contracts, vendors, and outside partners, and ensure compliance with nonprofit, governance, and privacy obligations.
• Establish the infrastructure needed for sustainable growth, including the evolving mix of staff and contractors.
• Provide the board with clear materials, recommendations, and regular updates, and escalate revenue and growth decisions for board direction where required.
• Build a small team over time and coordinate the existing network of contractors and volunteers.
• Shape a collaborative, accountable, entrepreneurial, and mission-driven culture across a distributed group.

Qualifications

• Strong entrepreneurial instincts, with a history of helping an early-stage or founder-led organization become durable and financially self-supporting.
• Deep alignment with employee ownership and the credibility to serve as the public representative of the cause.
• Experience building memberships and revenue by defining value, setting pricing, expanding a base, and converting programs and events into sustainable income.
• Comfort working in a lean, distributed environment and balancing both planning and execution through contractors and volunteers.
• Financial confidence, including ownership of budgets and collaboration with a treasurer and board.
• Relationship-building ability and the skill to convene people so the message spreads beyond a single leader.
• Clear, credible communication skills, with the ability to move between strategic thinking and day-to-day execution while working through ambiguity and change.

Preferred Background

• Knowledge of employee ownership structures, business succession, or related policy and market dynamics.
• Senior leadership experience in a membership-based organization, industry association, nonprofit, or social-purpose organization.
• Experience working in a national organization with members or stakeholders across several provinces.
• Familiarity with nonprofit governance and collaboration with a volunteer board.

Role Details

• Location: Remote anywhere in Canada; applicants outside major urban centres are encouraged.
• Travel: Approximately 5% to 15% across Canada for conferences and meetings.
• Schedule: Full-time, Monday through Friday, with occasional weekend work related to travel.
• Compensation: Base salary of $120,000 to $150,000, plus a performance bonus, vacation, and health and dental coverage.