CURE CONCORDIA IS HIRING A CAMPUS-COMMUNITY OUTREACH ASSISTANT FOR THE WINTER 2018 TERM

***UPDATE: Due to circumstances beyond our control, the application deadline has been moved forward to noon on Friday, February 16th.  We apologize for any confusion this may cause.  The pool of eligible applicants has also been widened – any Concordia student who has been authorized for Work Study, whether out-of-province, Québec resident or international may apply. ***

Please note that this position is funded through a work study grant and applicants need to be eligible for Concordia Work Study funding (any designation. This means you must have already received your Work Study authorization for the Winter semester. More info here

If you are hired, your primary work will be to conduct outreach to BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour) student groups on Concordia campus. You will also maintain CURE’s social media presence.

The application deadline is 12:00 pm on Friday, February 16th. Send your application to hiring@cureconcordia.org. For further questions e-mail hiring@cureconcordia.org or call one of our Coordinators at 514-808-8432.

As permanent staff of CURE we have found that job postings for advocacy organisations can be somewhat confusing. We want you to have the greatest possible chance of success as an applicant to this position, and so we are trying a Q&A format for this job listing.

ABOUT THE JOB

When does the position start?

The position start date is February 26th, 2018.

How long does the position run for?

This is a ten week position, from late February – early May.

How much does the position pay?

This is a part-time position that pays $260.00 per week.

What do you mean by outreach to BIPOC student groups on Concordia campus?

Basically three things:

1. Help us to develop a list of current contact information for BIPOC-identified groups on campus, both formal and informal groups.
2. Reach out to those groups to set up outreach meetings, either with their leadership]\ or with their members (or both! 🙂 ).
3. Attend and help facilitate those meetings. CURE permanent staff will join in at these meeting, so facilitation will not be all on your shoulders – but we look forward to your active participation!

What do you mean by maintaining CURE’s social media presence?

Primarily, this means keeping our Facebook page updated with content by following an existing social media plan that we will share with you. This plan has a schedule of which days to post, as well as a list of suggested sources and post topics.
You will receive training on how to develop and follow a social-media plan, and on how to use Facebook’s Page-management tools to schedule posts and track their performance.

What does success look like in this position – in terms of outreach to racialised students on campus?

Given the scale of the issues that we take on in our advocacy work, it can be honestly difficult to measure success in traditional terms. At the same time outreach to other student organisations can be impeded by the capacity of those other organisations. We recognise that these are factors outside of a student-employee’s control. As such our definition of your success in this position will be based on compiling contact information and planning initial interactions with relevant campus groups – and not on any specific expected outcome of those interactions.

What does success look like in this position – in terms of maintaining CURE’s social media presence?

Success in this aspect of the job really simply means keeping CURE’s feed updated with fresh and relevant content according to our social-media plan.
While the succesful candidate will receive training on how to monitor and consider social-media metrics like Likes and Shares, these metrics are fickle and based more on Facebook’s algorithm decision than on individual contributions. As such outreach assistants will not be measured on any particular aspect of these metrics at CURE.

What kind of schedule will I work?

CURE’s permanent staff primarily work afternoon hours, so we ask that candidates be able to work two afternoon or early evening times most weeks, in order to meet and work together with us. There is also some space for flexibility. Part of your work can be done from home and according to your preferred schedule.

ABOUT YOUR APPLICATION

Where should I send my application?

Please send applications by email to hiring@cureconcordia.org

What is the application deadline?

The application deadline is Friday, February 16th at noon.

What should I include in my application?

Please include your CV/Resume as well as a cover letter of between 0.5 and 1 page.

What are you looking for in a cover letter?

We would like to see a cover letter that:

1. Indicates some familiarity with CURE’s work and mandate; You can see our mandate online at http://www.curemontreal.org/our-mandate/
2. Describes why you feel you will be a good candidate to conduct outreach with Concordia BIPOC groups [note: this does not mean that we require specific professional or activist experience in this area – we consider personal lived experience equally valid here]
3. Shows an enthusiasm for sharing CURE’s mandate with these specific groups, and for growing CURE’s role and visibility on campus.
4. Notes an interest in learning about communications, activist outreach, and social media work.
5. Confirms your eligibility for Concordia Work Study

Do I need to have previous work or volunteer experience doing social media?

Nope! This is an entry-level position, and we are committed with providing you with the tools and skills to succeed in this area. What we would like to see is simply an interest in learning to do this kind of work.

Do I need previous work or volunteer experience in community activism?

Again, no – we are seeking candidates that share CURE’s values and are excited to help fulfill our mandate, but we are very open to this being your first experience doing community work.

Do I need to have some personal experience interacting with communities of colour?

Yes – we hope to approach our outreach to BIPOC groups on campus from a position of respect and awareness, and due to the sensitivity of this work we are seeking a candidate who can approach with care the specific lived experience of racialised Concordia students. We want to re-emphasise here that this does not mean any particular kind of professional or volunteer experience in community outreach. A personal lived experience of these issues is directly valued by CURE in this hiring process.

Does CURE consider employment equity in hiring?

Yes – people from oppressed groups and with diverse life experiences are encouraged to apply for this position. This includes but is not limited to: Black people, Indigenous people, people of colour, people with disabilities, people identifying as LGBTQIA*, migrants and people from working class backgrounds.

Do I need to detail my experience of oppression in my equity statement?

Nope! To be considered for employment equity simply state “I wish to be considered for employment equity.”  If you want to name or describe your experience you are welcome to, but we do not require or expect any further elaboration.

Is the workplace accessible?

CURE prioritizes accessibility from many angles. We share an office with another organization, and detailed accessibility info can be found here on their website. In a case where an aspect of our workplace is not accessible to you, we can arrange to meet and work with you in another space on campus that meets your access needs. For any questions or access requests, please contact us by e-mail at hiring@cureconcordia.org or phone at 514-808-8432.