Climate Transition & Resilience Planning Program Manager

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Date: Feb 13, 2026

Location: North York - Toronto, ON (Hybr, CA Calgary, AB (Hybrid), CA Vancouver, BC (Hybrid), CA Winnipeg, MB (Hybrid), CA Moncton, NB (Hybrid), CA Edmonton, AB (Hybrid), CA Ottawa, ON (Hybrid), CA Kitchener, ON (Hybrid), CA Dartmouth, NS (Hybrid), CA Montreal, QC (Hybrid), CA

Company: Wawanesa Insurance

 

Job ID: 9766 


Employment Type: New Role 

Working Business Language: English. This role is considered a head-office role and will be required to communicate with internal stakeholders across Canada where the primary business language utilized is English.
 

Salary: At Wawanesa, salary is only one component of a holistic, comprehensive and competitive offering that we provide to our employees. In addition to salary, full-time and part-time permanent employees are eligible for an annual bonus plan, leave of absence top-up programs and provided with generous vacation time, personal days, premium free benefits and pension plan. 
 

The salary offered for this role is determined with consideration to various factors, including but not limited to: your work location, local labour market conditions, external market salary data, internal pay equity and the knowledge, skills, experience and anticipated proficiency in the role. The salary offered is estimated to be within the following range: $115,000 - $135,000. Candidates with salary expectations outside of the range are still encouraged to apply.

 

About Us
At Wawanesa, we offer a hybrid work environment that offers flexibility to our employees in balancing in-office (2 days per week OR 15 hours per week in a Wawanesa office) and remote work. You may work from any of the following locations: Winnipeg, MB; Vancouver, BC; Calgary, AB; Edmonton, AB; Toronto (North York), ON; Kitchener, ON; Ottawa, ON; Montreal, QC; Moncton, NB; Dartmouth; NS. 
 

The Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Company (“Wawanesa Mutual”), founded in 1896, is one of Canada’s largest mutual insurers, with over $3.5 billion in annual revenue and assets of $10 billion (CAD). Wawanesa Mutual, with its National Headquarters in Winnipeg, is the parent company of Wawanesa Life, which provides life insurance products and services throughout Canada, and Western Financial Group, which distributes personal and business insurance across Canada. Wawanesa proudly serves more than 1.7 million members in Canada, and we are home to more than 3,300 employees distributed across the Canadian regions and communities where we operate. We give back to organizations that strengthen communities, donating more than $3.5 million annually to charitable organizations, including over $2 million annually in support of people on the front lines of climate change. We are also proud to be recognized as one of Manitoba’s Top Employers. To learn more visit wawanesa.com. 


We are currently looking for dedicated, driven, and enthusiastic individuals who thrive in an environment that welcomes change and are looking for an opportunity for diverse experience and advancement on a growing team.
 

Job Overview

The Climate Transition & Resilience Planning Program Manager supports the development and execution of Wawanesa’s enterprise-wide climate transition and resilience strategy, serving as a subject matter expert on sustainability and decarbonization. Acting as a strategic advisor and internal advocate, the role drives innovation, ensures regulatory compliance, and fosters collaboration across teams to advance Wawanesa’s sustainability goals. 

 

Job Responsibilities  

  • Serve as an internal subject matter expert on a broad range of corporate sustainability topics, including greenhouse gas emissions standards, decarbonization strategies, transition planning best practices, climate-related opportunities, and emerging concepts such as nature-based solutions and carbon removals.   
  • Orchestrate the development of Wawanesa’s enterprise-wide climate transition and resilience plan, providing strategic guidance, education, and science-aligned insights to inform business decisions.
  • Oversee the quantification of Wawanesa’s GHG emissions baseline across all scopes in line with regulatory expectations.  
  • Advise on the creation and refinement of sustainability metrics and targets, ensuring alignment with regulatory requirements and industry best practices. 
  • Design and implement a multi-year roadmap to establish robust data infrastructure and integrated systems for collecting, standardizing, and analyzing climate transition indicators, embedding these into enterprise strategy and decision-making. 
  • Identify opportunities to leverage Wawanesa’s mutual structure to advance climate objectives, including the pursuit of public-private partnerships where appropriate. 
  • Develop and manage efficient processes for producing sustainability-related reports, both voluntary and regulatory.
  • Collaborate with the Risk function to assess climate-related risks and develop mitigation strategies using a data-driven approach. 
  • Work with business functions and central functions, in collaboration with the Risk team, to identify and document their strategies in response to climate-related risks. 
  • Oversee the annual assurance engagement for climate metrics and continuously enhance processes to achieve financial-reporting-level rigor. 
  • Identify and pursue opportunities for thought leadership by researching and recommending strategic initiatives such as industry recognition programs, collaborative publications, and/or partnerships with external organizations to develop and publish case studies and insights. 
  • Continuously monitors sustainability trends, standards, frameworks, regulations, and industry best practices to inform and influence Wawanesa’s sustainability strategy 
  • Act as an internal advocate, providing guidance, support, and encouragement to teams on sustainability and climate-related initiatives.
  • Coaches and mentors junior team members in the department and performs other duties as assigned. 

Qualifications

  • Minimum 3-5 years of experience in sustainability with a focus on developing and leading enterprise-wide sustainability initiatives, preferably in insurance or financial services sector, and/or in a large, complex, national or multinational organization.
  • Undergraduate or master’s degree in business, sustainability, environmental studies or science, engineering, or related field.
  • Experience in quantifying GHG emissions, in line with industry standards such as GHG Protocol or PCAF would be considered an asset. 
  • Experience in designing and implementing an enterprise-wide climate transition plan would be considered an asset.
  • Strong research and analysis skills; ability to frame key analyses required to address critical business issues. 
  • Strong interpersonal, presentation and communication skills with the ability to effectively convey ideas in a persuasive and eloquent manner. 
  • Ability to deal with ambiguity and conceptual ideas; creative thinker; can work under minimal supervision. 
  • Strong stakeholder management skills; ability to reach consensus with a variety of teams bringing different perspectives.  
  • Team-oriented, collaborative and flexible. 
  • Advanced skills in Excel and PowerPoint.
  • Advanced skills in Python considered an asset.


Diversity Equity, Inclusion & Belonging

At Wawanesa, we are committed to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) and believe that our strength lies in the diversity of our people – this is supported by having a representative workforce.

We welcome applications from all qualified candidates, including racialized persons, women, Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities, members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, gender-diverse and neurodiverse individuals, and anyone who can contribute to the further diversification of thought and ideas. 
 

We aim to ensure our recruitment process is accessible to all candidates. If you require accommodations during any stage of the recruitment process, please reach out in confidence to jobs@wawanesa.com.
 

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Please note that the recruitment process for this position may involve the use of AI tools to screen, assess, or select applicants. All final decisions are taken or reviewed by human recruiters and human hiring leaders in compliance with all applicable legislation.