Current Opportunities

Vice President, Air Service & Business Development | Edmonton Airports

The Organization

 

Edmonton Airports is actively seeking the ideal candidate to join our team as Vice President, Air Service & Business Development.

More than three years of the COVID pandemic hit the industry hard. However, through strong leadership and thoughtful management, Edmonton Airports has seen a strong recovery and is well positioned to advance a thriving hub of economic activity, grow our airlines business, attract new carriers, and new routes, leveraging what we’ve already built.

We are looking for a business developer who can inspire and attract new business and investment opportunities. Someone who seeks challenges. A team leader who works with an incredible group of diverse people and respects and builds a positive, inclusive and engaged culture of belonging. A driver who thrives on building relationships with people and organizations.

 

The Edmonton Airports Opportunity

Edmonton Airports is unlike other, more traditional airports across Canada. It is an economic driver, a community builder, an inspiring environmental leader, a port of call for diverse people, businesses, cultures and industries … all of that centered on the largest land base of any major airport in Canada.

Edmonton Airports operates two airports – Edmonton International Airport (YEG) and Villeneuve Airport (ZVL), a general aviation, recreational flying and training centre located north of Edmonton. Edmonton YEG is a buzzing hive of daily passenger flights, connecting people and businesses in the Edmonton region and Canada’s north with destinations across Canada and around the world. With 24/7/365 uncongested operations, no curfews or operating restrictions, we can fly anytime, anywhere. Our location provides direct access to the CANAMEX corridor to the US and Mexico and two intermodal rail yards. We’re not only the gateway to Canada’s North, we are a gateway to almost anywhere.

We call it Airport City, because it’s more than just an airport.

We’re the fifth largest airport in Canada when it comes to passengers, serving 8.5 million passengers per year (pre-pandemic) with non-stop connections to more than 50 destinations around the world. But we’re bigger than any of the major airports in Canada when it comes to our land base, with over 7,000 acres of land.

The Edmonton International Airport terminal is the hub of an airport ecosystem that includes hotels, a casino and racetrack, an outlet mall shopping centre, a Costco centre and even a golf course. In the past eight years, we’ve attracted more than $1.3 billion in private investment. Major business and innovation developments in our Airport City Sustainability Campus include technology and agriculture accelerators connecting local and international businesses to new markets. Logistics capacity and transportation infrastructure add to our capacity to support businesses in the region. We’ve experienced record growth in cargo capacity in the past two years and a $36 million cargo expansion is underway.

Edmonton Airports is also home to the Alberta Aerospace and Technology Centre, an aerospace training hub dedicated to improving flight safety through synthetic flight training, research and innovation. Think drones, flight simulators, and remote operated vehicles.

Our commitment to ESG (environment, social and governance policies and practices) drives every aspect of our strategies. Edmonton Airports was the first airport in the world to sign on to the Amazon Climate Pledge to have net zero emissions by 2040 and in the near future we’ll be home to the Airport City Solar, the largest solar farm at an airport in the world.

 

Our Future Plans

Edmonton Airport’s strategic plan charts an exciting path to the future guided by:

• A noble cause: Uniting people for a world of new possibilities
• Vision: More flights to more places
• Mission: Driving our region’s economic prosperity through aviation and commercial development
• Overarching long-term goals:
  • 10 million annual enplaned and deplaned passengers by 2025
  • $3.8 billion in economic output by 2025 (16% growth over per-COVID output of $3.2 billion)
  • Move 100,000 tonnes of cargo

Looking ahead, our core strategies will continue to drive innovation in order to retain and grow passenger demand, grow non-aeronautical revenue and development, create an exceptional customer experience, provide a positive impact through sustainability, and accelerate employee culture, growth and development.

For more information about Edmonton Airports and its strategic plan, check out our website at flyeia.com.

 

People – the heart of everything we do

Edmonton is known for its spirit and determination, driven by the people who call this home. Not surprisingly, Edmonton Airports prides itself on an outstanding team of people with the same drive to win.  We’re led by a 15-member board of directors appointed by various municipalities in the Edmonton Metro region along with the Government of Canada and members at large appointed by the board.

People who work at Edmonton Airports take enormous pride in their work and the culture of belonging they’ve built together. Even though they’ve been through a difficult time because of the pandemic, they continue to be optimistic about what lies ahead. It’s a team of close to 1,000 people of diverse backgrounds and lived experiences. The larger airport community consists of almost 25,000 direct and indirect jobs. From the executive team to the dedicated front-line employees, Edmonton Airports is known as one of the best places to work – a place of respect, pride and teamwork.

 

The Community – Uniquely Edmonton

Young, vibrant, and energetic, Edmonton is Alberta’s capital city and home to 1.4 million people. With $105 billion in GDP, the Edmonton metropolitan region is Canada’s fifth largest economy, one of the youngest regions and the fastest growing region in Canada. Edmonton is a brilliant place to live, to work, to raise a family, to start and grow a business. Think about what Edmonton has to offer:

• Thriving arts and culture communities combining the iconic Art Gallery of Alberta, the Royal Alberta Museum, the world-renowned Winspear Centre and Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, the Citadel Theatre – and those are just the attractions in Edmonton’s downtown. Add to that 30 arts and cultural events a year. They don’t call us the festival city for nothing!
• Diverse communities and a tradition of welcoming people from around the world
• Edmonton River Valley, the largest urban park in Canada – 22 times bigger than Central Park in New York
• Home to the Edmonton Oilers and the Edmonton Elks football team, international triathlon competitions, and stadium-packed snow-covered win for Canada’s men’s soccer team in their pursuit of a World Cup birth, plus lots of amateur sports opportunities
• A world-class education system and post-secondary institutions that rival the best in Canada and some of the best in the world, including the University of Alberta, home to one of Canada’s few Nobel Prize winners
• Fort Edmonton Park, Canada’s largest living history museum, including a remarkable Indigenous Experience Centre
• Some of the best shopping at West Edmonton Mall, North America’s largest shopping mall
• Booming agriculture, food and manufacturing industries
• A rapidly growing innovation hub with emerging technologies, the third largest artificial intelligence research community in the world, a developing centre of hydrogen technologies, and petrochemical developments

Combine all of that with a diversity of wonderful, livable communities, easy commuting, hiking and biking trails and an average of over 2,300 hours of sunshine per year!

For more information about the Edmonton region and what it has to offer, check out Explore Edmonton | Alberta, Canada.

 

The Opportunity

Reports to:	President & Chief Executive Officer
Direct Reports:	3; Director of Environmental, Sustainability and Governance (ESG); Director of Air Service; Director of E-commerce, Cargo and Aviation Real Estate
Location:	Edmonton, Alberta

 

Mandate

Reporting to the President & CEO, the Vice President, Air Service & Business Development is a member of the Executive Management Team (EMT), and in that role participates in the development and delivery of the strategic planning for the corporation including a 5-year strategic plan, annual plans, and capital programs.

The Vice President is accountable to the CEO to develop and execute strategic plans to expand air service routes, establish profitable partnerships and drive revenue growth for Edmonton International Airport (YEG). A key focus will be strengthening our existing air service offerings and forging new partnerships to enhance YEG’s competitiveness on a global scale. The Vice President & Business Development will cultivate relationships with our partners and identify business opportunities that align with our strategic goals focused on our Environmental, Sustainability and Governance (ESG) strategy.

This role is focused on building the future of  YEG while simultaneously elevating YEG as a global leader in climate change, developing the future of hydrogen fuel and clean energy. Working cross-functionally to build one of the first Hydrogen hubs in Canada.

Effective communication and collaboration with key stakeholders, Executive Management and the Board of Directors is essential.

Nature of Work and Contribution

The Vice President, Air Service & Business Development is accountable to the President & CEO and operates within the context and prescribed limits established by the President & CEO.

 

The Position has the following accountabilities:

• Help craft to the Edmonton Regional Airports Authority (ERAA) strategic plans and directions, ensure an understanding of the ERAA strategy throughout Air Service & Business Development and ensure on-going effective positioning and integration of Air Service & Business Development with the rest of ERAA to create and sustain our success;
• Determine the framework for the optimal configuration of the Air Service & Business Development Strategic Business Units to ensure the optimal alignment of resources across the functions; and
• Within and across Air Service & Business Development, develop and implement initiatives in support of the corporation’s strategies, goals, and targets, including business plan development, and strategy implementation, in support of the corporate targets, with 2 – 5-year (and beyond) deliverables focusing on maintaining and expanding air service, established profitable partnerships and revenue growth in alignment with our ESG strategy. Guides team members in translating the corporate strategy into their various activities.

 

Position Specific Requirements

The position has the following requirements

 

Skilled Knowledge

Has acquired the following knowledge:

• Expertise in business development, particularly growing air service routes;
• Creating and maintaining networks of senior individuals in stakeholder groups;
• Acquired understanding of the strategic interface of non-aeronautical business development and aeronautical business development requirements;
• Leads on behalf of the airport the strategic interface with the business community and creates long term mutually beneficial business relationships; and
• Strong leadership skills with the ability to inspire and motivate teams to identify and deliver on business opportunities that aligned with our strategic goals focused on our Environmental, Sustainability and Governance (ESG) strategy.

 

Technical & Personal Skills

Has demonstrated the following technical and personal skills:

• Strategically focused, forward thinking, and able to articulate the YEG story, strategy, and community impact to broader stakeholder groups;
• Strategic thinking with proven ability to develop and execute strategic plans to expand air service routes successfully;
• Established and maintained profitable partnerships to drive revenue growth for an international airport;
• Recruit, develop, and manage a team of high potential team members;
• Demonstrated leadership skills and success in leading people to achieve a high standard of performance;
• Strong collaborator with the ability to conduct work with confidentiality and professionalism;
• An ability to be a global thinker while “rolling up one’s sleeves” and being comfortable with managing the details;
• Ability to initiate and implement changes and improvements where applicable;
• Proficient in using a broad range of communication styles and choosing appropriate, effective ways to communicate with both internal and external stakeholders;
• Understand the complexity of operating in an ever-changing multi-stakeholder environment;
• Thrive in a collegial atmosphere and prefer an open door policy;
• An appreciation of and ability to work within cross-functional teams on a consistent and regular basis; and
• Superior work ethic. Ability to effectively influence and collaborate with others both inside and outside the organization; and a self-starter with a results-oriented work style.

 

Candidate Profile

The successful candidate will have the following:

 

Information Processing Capability:

• Accountable for delivering projects in both the short term (2 to 5 years), but also able to lead into the future (10+ year objectives).

 

Skilled Knowledge and Experience:

Candidate has acquired the following knowledge

• Expertise in business development, particularly growing air service routes related to passenger growth and further development of YEG’s 2000 acre cargo hub;
• Creating and maintaining networks of senior individuals in stakeholder groups;
• Acquired understanding of the strategic interface of non-aeronautical business development and aeronautical business development requirements;
• Leads on behalf of the airport the strategic interface with the business community and creates long term mutually beneficial business relationships;
• Strong leadership skills with the ability to inspire and motivate teams to identify and deliver on business opportunities that aligned with our strategic goals focused on ESG strategy; and
• Experience working with a Board of Directors.

 

Executive Leadership Competencies:

Decision Quality

• Making smart and timely decisions based on knowing whom to engage, what information to gather, and when to apply helpful tools. Being able to balance speed and quality.

Strategic Mindset

• Looking, planning, and moving in the future with clear intentions and purposeful actions. Doing things today with an eye toward tomorrow.

Drives Vision and Purpose

• Create a vision for the future we want to achieve together. Demonstrate commitment and purpose to the vision, captivate the team’s imagination and ignite passion.

Leadership Competencies

• Customer Focus
• Plans and Aligns
• Ensures Accountability
• Collaborates
• Develops Talent
• Communicates Effectively

 

First Year Deliverables

Success in the first year will be determined by the candidate’s ability to:

• Build positive and trusted relationships with the Executive Management Team, Board of Directors, and current & potential partners;
• Provide leadership and mentorship opportunities to the Vice President’s team members;
• Continue to identify opportunities for innovation and drive economic impact within YEG and the region;
• Working effectively with the EMT to ensure success of Edmonton Airports “one YEG”;
• Maximize services in the short-term at the service of long-term improvements;
• Working effectively with peers in other departments to assure mutual success; and
• Embodies the core values of ERAA.

 

Equal Opportunity

The Edmonton Airports is committed to upholding the values of diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism in the workplace at all levels of the organization, as well as in the delivery of our services. We encourage applications from people of all backgrounds including, but not limited to, Indigenous peoples, racialized groups, people with disabilities, and people from the 2SLGBTQ+ community. In accordance with the provincial legislation, accommodation will be provided by Gallagher and the Edmonton Airports throughout the recruitment, selection and/or assessment process, upon request, to applicants with disabilities.

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How to Apply:

Please send your resume in Word or PDF format to: HRCCCanada.GBS.EdmontonPIES@ajg.com. Copy and Paste the following job title and code and place it in the subject line of your email so we can identify the job and confirm receipt of your application:
A027057 (AOML-647782) Vice President, Air Service & Business Development | Edmonton Airports - AB - Edmonton and Area (OTIAPPLY)

Please note that only those candidates meeting the selection criteria, established by our client, will be contacted further. Although we may not contact you directly for this particular role, all applications will be reviewed as we would like to consider you for future opportunities that may be appropriate. We encourage you to continue to visit our website at optimumtalent.com as our opportunities are updated on a regular basis.