Community Engagement Lead

**Location**: Halifax, Nova Scotia (HYBRID)
**Reports to**: Head of Community and Regulatory Engagement
**Type**: Full-time

**About pHathom**:
pHathom is a climate technology company based in Atlantic Canada, developing a novel pathway for **biomass carbon capture and storage (BECCS)** through **Accelerated Weathering of Limestone (AWL)**. By capturing CO₂ from coastal biomass plants and safely storing it in the ocean as stable bicarbonates, we are pioneering a durable, science-led approach to carbon dioxide removal (CDR). We work with local communities, Indigenous nations, forestry partners, scientists, and regulators to ensure our technology creates economic, environmental, and social value.

Our work is guided by values of **Respect, Courage, Openness, Innovation, Empowerment, Integrity, Intimate Technical Knowledge, and Focus**. These values shape how we engage with each other, our partners, and the communities we serve.

**Role Summary**:
We are seeking a **Community Engagement Lead** to guide and strengthen our community and Indigenous engagement efforts. Reporting to the Head of Community and Regulatory Engagement, this role is responsible for ensuring that **pHathom’s projects are developed in alignment with community priorities, Indigenous protocols, and our core values**.

The Community Engagement Lead will work closely with external consultants, internal teams, and local partners to design and oversee engagement strategies. They will bring expertise, frameworks, and facilitation approaches that fit the Atlantic Canadian context, while ensuring feedback and commitments are integrated into decision-making. The role requires a **strategic mindset, excellent communication skills, and the confidence to lead on the**_how_** of engagement while staying aligned with company goals.

**Key Responsibilities**:
**Strategic Engagement Leadership**:

- Design and oversee community and Indigenous engagement strategies in alignment with pHathom’s values.
- Guide internal teams and external consultants on effective methods of dialogue, consultation, and trust-building.
- Ensure that engagement is inclusive, transparent, and responsive to community concerns.

**Tactical Leadership**:

- Manage relationships with consultants, ensuring deliverables align with company goals.
- Track commitments, feedback, and outcomes from engagement processes.
- Ensure integration of engagement insights into broader company strategies and decisions.

**Communication & Storytelling**:

- Produce clear, accessible communication materials that connect scientific and technical work to community priorities.
- Capture and share community perspectives in ways that inform internal decision-making and external storytelling.
- Represent pHathom in community forums, workshops, and dialogues as appropriate.

**Values & Agency**:

- Uphold pHathom’s values of respect, courage, openness, innovation, empowerment, integrity, technical knowledge, and focus.
- Use participatory and facilitative approaches that build trust and empower community voices.
- Operate with independence and judgement: anticipate needs, proactively shape processes, and bring forward recommendations — not just answers — so that leadership can make better, faster decisions.

**Qualifications**:

- Significant experience in community engagement, Indigenous relations, or stakeholder management.
- Proven ability to design and lead engagement strategies that balance inclusivity, transparency, and outcomes.
- Strong facilitation and communication skills; ability to translate technical concepts into accessible language.
- Experience coordinating consultants or multi-party processes.
- Familiarity with participatory approaches (e.g., Art of Hosting, circle practice, world café) is an asset.
- Knowledge of Atlantic Canadian **Indigenous, social, cultural, and environmental** context (forestry, fisheries, marine, or rural development) is a strong asset.
- Passion for climate solutions, sustainability, and equitable community development.

**Attributes**:

- Empathetic and people-first, skilled at listening and building trust.
- Highly organized, with the ability to manage multiple streams of work and deliver with consistency.
- Comfortable leading on “the how,” advising leadership on best-fit tools, processes, and approaches.
- Strong upward communication skills — able to filter, prioritize, and surface what matters most.
- Adaptable to the fast pace and uncertainty of a scaling startup.

**Why Join pHathom?**:

- Be part of a **world-leading climate innovation company** tackling one of the biggest challenges of our time.
- Lead how communities and Indigenous partners engage with pioneering carbon removal solutions.
- Collaborate with a multidisciplinary team spanning science, engineering, policy, and sustainability.
- Competitive salary and benefits, with opportunities for growth in a rapidly scaling company.