PIRG Job at Brock U
ORGANIZATIONAL, RESEARCH and VOLUNTEER
CO-ORDINATOR
OPIRG-Brock is a student funded and directed, non-profit organization, which is committed to facilitating the active participation of volunteers in addressing critical social and environmental issues of public interest. OPIRG endeavours to foster a non-hierarchical working environment by following consensus decision-making processes.
The Role of Term Staff
OPIRG has a high turnover of volunteers. Term Employee: Any Employee who is hired on contract to temporarily replace a Bargaining Unit Member on leave of absence, in whole or in part, as approved in writing by the Union. Said contract may not be renewed without consent of the Union. Term employees are members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 1281.
The Organizational and Research Co-ordinator
The primary responsibilities of the Organizational and Research Co-ordinator are:
Organizational/Board Development, Public Interest Research and Provincial Board. There are also expectations of participation in areas of Shared Responsibility.
A. JOB DESCRIPTION:
i. Organizational/Board Development
· Coordinate strategic planning, the development of annual goal plans and budget, and staff/board recognition
· Assist with regular, special and committee meetings of the Board, elections and participate in meetings as appropriate and/or required
· Assist the Board of Directors in board recruitment, orientation, placement, training, policy development, and local AGM preparation and facilitation.
· Establish and maintain systems that support organizational learning and memory (e.g overall filing systems, archives, operating manuals, computer systems)
· Grant-writing and administration
· Manage community memberships and opportunities for involvement
· Supervise grant staff as required and/or appropriate
ii. Public Interest Research/Research for Credit
- Assist students in the identification of research projects relevant to the goals of the organization.
- Provide direction and assistance for students in the completion of such research projects.
- Promote research projects with students and faculty.
iii. Provincial OPIRG Network
- Serve as OPIRG-Brock’s staff representative to the Provincial OPIRG board.
- Attend Provincial staff meetings.
- Participate in the provincial network activities (policy development, joint projects) as appropriate and/or required.
- Assist in the planning and implementation of provincial functions as appropriate and/or required.
- Participate in CUPE 1281 as necessary and/or needed
- Participate in hiring’s at other locals when required and/or necessary.
- Prepare the OPIRG-Brock Annual Report.
- Assist with budget and funding formula development.
iv. Volunteer Co-ordination:
Management of the volunteer program including:
Orientation and Placement
· Ensure each participant in OPIRG receives adequate orientation to the organization and is placed in a suitable volunteer role. A variety of methods should be employed including: meetings, personal interviews, introduction to other volunteers, documentation etc.
Training
· Establish training needs of volunteers and develop training opportunities and methods. Training is provided in a variety of ways: workshops by skilled facilitators, OPIRG staff or volunteers, one-on-one instruction, documentation and by example. Facilitate training to meet organizational anti-oppression goals. Facilitate participation of volunteers in the Provincial Public Interest School.
Tracking
· Review the activities of volunteers and working groups to offer assistance, determine needs, ensure adherence to the organizational policies and procedures and to evaluate the volunteer program; maintain the volunteer database.
Support
· Provide on-going assistance to volunteer/working group initiatives via: development of volunteers guides and documentation; attend working group meetings as needed; assist with literature production; networking assistance; ensure office support (e.g. filing, reference, record keeping, and communication materials); assist with goal planning and budget development, evaluations, group dynamics, research, troubleshooting and record keeping; assist in application for Provincial Networking Meeting funding; assist with logistics (e.g. room bookings, equipment rentals); assist with networking and providing sources of information (e.g. media contacts, campus groups, community groups, web page management, community events listings); facilitate communication between volunteers and working groups; facilitate co-sponsorship requests as required and/or appropriate supervise volunteer placement positions as required and/or appropriate.
v. Shared Duties
Financial Administration: Support staff in the creation of the annual budget as appropriate and/or required.
Office Administration: Participate with other staff and volunteers in the maintenance of regular office hours, cleaning, maintenance, and improvements.
Resource Centre: Assist with acquisitions and processing new materials. Assist resource centre users.
Volunteer Program: Attend volunteer appreciation events as appropriate and/or required. Assist volunteers as appropriate and/or required.
Communications: Participate in general communications (mail, phone, fax, email) and organizational networking as required and/or appropriate.
Staff: Participate in regular staff meetings. Participate in an annual performance review. Participate in job description, performance review, work plan development, and hiring as appropriate and/or required. Acquire training for professional development as appropriate and/or required.
Board: Attend regular, committee and special meetings of the Board of Directors as appropriate and/or required. Implement board policy as it relates to work responsibilities. Participate in organizational planning.
Programming: Support and assist staff in fundraising/programming/coalitions as appropriate and/or required. Participate in programming to meet organizational anti-oppression/anti-racism goals as required and/or appropriate.
Provincial: Attend Provincial staff meetings and participate in provincial network activities as appropriate and/or required.
B. QUALIFICATIONS:_______________________________________________________
· Strong administration level experience
· Demonstrated organizational and grant writing skills
· Candidates should have a strong background, understanding and analysis of anti-oppression issues.
· Candidates must demonstrate an ability to apply this analysis to systems and structures in society as well as to individual and group dynamics
· Solid knowledge and demonstrated experience with popular education techniques
· Self-motivated, creative, demonstrated organizational skills, communication skills and leadership
· Dedication to social justice and environmental issues
· Excellent ability to write and speak English; experience with other languages is an asset
· Some familiarity with activist/political organizations on campus and/or in the community
· Ability to use off-the-shelf computer software, including word processing, email, internet browsing, and spreadsheets, to increase work efficiency.
· Ability to work flexible and irregular hours if necessary.
· Ability to manage numerous tasks simultaneously and take initiative while working in a group.
C. OTHER:___________________________________________________________________
i. Job Specifics
This is a unionized position for a one year contract.
There is a 6 month probationary period.
Work hours: 30 hours per week.
Wage: 19.44 per hour.
Application deadline: August 17th, 2010
Start Date: August 23rd, 2010.
ii. Application Process
Interested applicants should send or deliver the following materials to OPIRG-Brock no later than August 17th .
• A resume
• A cover letter (approx. 1 page) that relates their experience to the job qualifications and duties.
• An essay (please see details below).
• Three references (with phone numbers)
Applications may be submitted by email, mail, or in person. It is the responsibility of the applicant to follow up with a call to ensure that the application has been received.
All applicants must include an essay/piece of writing (not to exceed 500 words) that answers one of the following:
1. The relevance of anti-oppression work in social change organizations
2. The most pressing issues facing our community today
3. The role of public interest research in society
4. The role of students in social change
Applicants that do not include this written piece will not be considered for short listing.
Only those applicants selected for an interview will be contacted.
Send Application Materials to:
Attn: OPIRG Hiring Committee
email: opirgbu@gmail.com
OPIRG welcomes the contributions that individuals from marginalized communities bring to our organization, and invites aboriginal people, people of colour, women, gays, lesbians, bisexuals, queer-oriented people single parents, members of ethnic minorities, immigrants and people with disabilities to apply. We encourage applicants to describe the contributions and experiences they, as individuals who identify with marginalized communities, would bring to the OPIRG organization in their cover letter. All applicants are asked for a brief statement on their views of power and oppression. OPIRG is currently wheelchair accessible