Director of Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security

Director of Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security

Competition Number: FAL.CON.26.27.0321

Posted Date: June 9, 2026

Closing Date: June 19, 2026

Employment Type: 1 Contract

Division: Executive Support

Department: Department of Forestry, Agriculture and Lands

Position Group: Management

Location: Corner Brook

Salary: $91,765- $119,294 per annum (HL-27), 35 hours per week

Benefits: Onboarding

Position Details

Department of Forestry, Agriculture and Lands

The Director of Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security is a senior leadership role responsible for developing, leading, and implementing Newfoundland and Labrador's 10-Year Agriculture Strategy. This position provides strategic direction, policy leadership, program alignment, and cross-government coordination to strengthen local food production, support sector sustainability, and enhance provincial food security. The Director will guide a province-wide transformation of agriculture and agrifoods capacity, ensuring alignment with provincial priorities, federal cost-shared program frameworks, and industry needs. This will involve overseeing the full development cycle of the 10-year agriculture strategy, conducting comprehensive sector assessments, jurisdictional scans and identifying best practices in the industry. The incumbent will provide strategic oversight and coordination across FAL divisions and other GNL departments, establish and lead cross departmental governance and ensure integration with provincial and federal programs; coordinate province-wide engagement with farmers, new entrants, Indigenous communities, retailers, processors, industry associations and subject matter experts; lead initiatives that strengthen local food production and market access; and facilitate partnerships across public, private and community sectors. The candidate will lead initiatives to strengthen local food production, reduce reliance on imports, support sustainable farm practices and improve environmental and economic resilience; support the development of controlled-environment agriculture, season extension technologies and modern farming systems to increase year round production; and provide guidance on maximizing use of provincial and federal funding to support sustainability and food security objectives. The incumbent will evaluate current agricultural programs and services to improve policy coherence, program controls and effectiveness; identify opportunities to better align provincial initiatives with federal programs and leverage additional investment; and develop recommendations that strengthen sector competitiveness, encourage new entrants and support value added processing. The candidate will monitor progress against strategy goals and outcomes through clear performance indicators and annual reporting, lead development and evaluation frameworks, implementation tracking to provide strategic updates to Cabinet as required; and ensure evidence-based decision-making informed by data, analysis and stakeholder insights. The candidate will prepare Cabinet Papers and briefing notes; and other related duties as required.

Screening Criteria

1. Completion of a Degree in Agriculture, Environmental Science, Public Policy, Economics or another relevant field
2. Experience in project management and multi-year planning
3. Experience in stakeholder engagement, including rural communities and Indigenous communities
4. Knowledge of agriculture systems, sector demographics, land tenure, farm succession, and new entrant challenges

Assessment Criteria

1. Knowledge of the Canadian Agriculture Industry
2. Knowledge of strategy development and leadership
3. Knowledge of project management and multi-year planning
4. Knowledge of policy development and program design
5. Knowledge of economic and environmental analysis
6. Stakeholder engagement and facilitation skills
7. Program evaluation and performance measurement skills
8. Ability to think critically
9. Ability to exchange information
10. Professionalism

Conditions of Employment

Conditions of Acceptance

1. Willing to accept daytime and overnight in-province and out-of-province travel (occasional)

Information for Applicants
For more information about this opportunity please contact, ADM Stephen Balsom at stephenbalsom@gov.nl.ca.

• The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador values inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility, and a workplace culture that benefits from varying ideas and lived experiences.
• Accommodations and alternate assessment formats are available upon request at any stage of the recruitment process by contacting recruitment@gov.nl.ca , 709-729-0130 or toll free at 1-888-729-7690. Video Relay Service (VRS) calls are welcomed.
• We are committed to providing an inclusive recruitment process with a focus on removing barriers. For common potential accommodations and adjustments during the recruitment process, click here . Accommodation information will be kept confidential.
• Preference will be given to applicants who are a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada or those who are legally entitled to work in Canada.
• Applications must be received by the closing date stated in the job posting.
• It is the responsibility of applicants to submit a resume that clearly demonstrates the required screening criteria outlined in the job description.
• Applications must contain current contact information, including phone number, mailing and, e-mail addresses.
• Application information must be factual, complete and current, to date of submission.
• This competition may be used to fill future similar vacancies with the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador.

How to Apply

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