General Manager, British Columbia

About CarbonFree

CarbonFree Technology Inc and its affiliates (“CarbonFree”) is one of the most successful solar developers in Canada. Headquartered in Toronto and active across Canada and the Americas for over two decades, we develop, finance, construct and operate utility-scale solar and battery storage projects. We hold a contracted portfolio of 484 MWp now heading into construction, won in Ontario’s competitive long-term procurement, with a further 1.5 GW of development pipeline behind it across Ontario and British Columbia. We are growing the team to match, and we are looking for talented people who want to help build and scale the next generation of clean energy infrastructure.

About the role

We are seeking an experienced General Manager to lead and grow our British Columbia business. This is a British Columbia-based role, with regular travel to our project sites in the Cariboo region and periodic travel to our midtown Toronto office.

You will own CarbonFree’s British Columbia portfolio: utility-scale solar projects on Crown land in the Cariboo Region, representing several hundred megawatts of development. Your mandate is to take those projects from where they stand today to bid-ready for the next BC Hydro call for power, and to own every part of that work, from First Nations partnership and community relations through tenure, permitting, interconnection, consultant management and the bid itself.

You will be supported by our experienced Toronto-based development, engineering, legal and finance teams, and you will have genuine autonomy over how the British Columbia business is built, together with meaningful influence across the organization. This is a place for doers who roll up their sleeves, adapt quickly, and take pride in creating clarity, rigor, and trust through their work.

Position summary

You will lead all aspects of development for our British Columbia portfolio, from early-stage Crown land tenure through to a successful submission into BC Hydro’s next call for power, and onward to ready-to-build. The role combines long-horizon relationship building with First Nations and host communities, hands-on management of provincial and local regulatory processes, and the discipline to hold a bid program to a fixed external deadline.

It suits someone who understands that in British Columbia, Indigenous partnership is not a workstream running alongside the project. It is the project.

Key responsibilities

First Nations, community and stakeholder relations

• Lead and own CarbonFree’s relationships with the First Nations on whose asserted traditional territories our projects sit, building on the engagement already undertaken and establishing relationships where none yet exist.
• Negotiate and structure Indigenous equity participation that meets, and where possible exceeds, BC Hydro’s minimum requirement, and secure the confirmation evidence a bid submission requires.
• Build and maintain relationships with host communities, regional district and municipal officials, grazing and range tenure holders, and other land users whose interests overlap our sites.
• Represent CarbonFree at council meetings, community sessions, open houses and industry events in the province.

Tenure, permitting and environmental approvals

• Maintain and advance Crown land tenure, from the existing investigative licenses through to the long-term tenure a bid and a financing will require.
• Manage provincial and local authorizations, including BC Energy Regulator requirements, regional district land use, rezoning or temporary use permits, Agricultural Land Commission approvals where applicable, and environmentally sensitive development permit areas.
• Develop and execute a strategy for permit and project definition required for a successful offtake bid, project timeline and project economics.
• Retain and direct a qualified environmental professional, and scope and oversee the environmental, archaeological and heritage work program.
• Anticipate species at risk, riparian, grassland and old growth constraints early enough that they shape the layout rather than delay the bid.

Interconnection

• Own the interconnection pathway end to end, including pre-submission engagement, the interconnection request itself, execution of feasibility study agreements, payment of deposits, and the prompt cure of any deficiency within the time allowed.
• Work with our engineering team and external consultants on connection capacity and connection cost assessment, and bring the answer back into the layout and the model.

Bid preparation and delivery

• Own the bid-ready checklist and the critical path to it, and hold the program and its contributors to the milestone dates.
• Coordinate the technical, commercial and legal inputs to a call for power submission, including site control, energy production, capital cost, bid security and every required schedule.
• Work with our Toronto finance team on the project model and on bid pricing, and be able to explain what drives both.

Consultants, budget and reporting

• Scope, retain and manage external consultants across engineering, environmental, archaeology, land and legal, including task orders, fees, schedules and deliverables.
• Own the British Columbia development budget and report on spend against it.
• Report to the SVP Project Development, and provide regular updates to the executive team on progress, risk, and the decisions you need from them.

Qualifications

Education & experience

• Experience in energy or infrastructure project development, including at least 3 years in a senior or lead role carrying accountability for a project or a portfolio.
• Direct experience developing projects in British Columbia, including Crown land tenure and provincial permitting. Experience preparing or supporting a submission into a BC Hydro call for power is strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated experience negotiating Indigenous partnership or equity participation agreements. This is the qualification that matters most for this role, and we would rather have it and teach the rest.
• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, environmental science, planning, business or a related field. A professional designation (P.Eng., RPP, RPBio or similar) is an asset.
• Working knowledge of utility interconnection processes in British Columbia.
• Familiarity with ground-mount solar PV development is preferred. Strong candidates from wind, run-of-river, or transmission development with deep British Columbia regulatory and Indigenous relations experience will be seriously considered.

Skills & competencies

• Outstanding relationship-building and negotiation skills, with the judgement to hold a long-term partnership and a commercial position at the same time.
• Excellent organizational, analytical, time-management and problem-solving capabilities, with a proven ability to manage multiple priorities against a fixed external deadline.
• Strong communication skills, both verbal and written, with credibility in front of a Chief and Council, a regional district board, and our own executive team.
• Comfortable operating as the senior CarbonFree presence in a region, well supported from Toronto but without daily supervision.
• Willingness to travel regularly within British Columbia, including to remote sites, and periodically to Toronto.
• Proficient with Microsoft Office. Familiarity with GIS tools such as QGIS is an asset.

Compensation

The expected compensation range for this position is $135,000 to $175,000 per year, depending on experience, together with participation in our annual bonus program and a milestone bonus tied to a successful call for power submission. We also offer a comprehensive benefits package.

How to apply

If you want to build a business rather than administer one, and you believe that the best renewable energy projects are the ones where the host communities and First Nations are genuine partners rather than consultees, we would like to hear from you.

Please submit your resume and cover letter outlining your qualifications and why you are the ideal candidate for this role to careers@carbonfree.com

CarbonFree is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome applications from all qualified candidates and are committed to an inclusive and accessible recruitment process. Accommodations are available on request at any stage.