| Location: | Home office with occasional travel |
| Term: | 12-months, with the intention of extension |
| Hours: | Approximately 30 hours/week. Some flexibility in scheduling. This role requires some availability outside a traditional 9-5 working schedule, as it will involve working with volunteers in different time zones across the country and who often are most available during evening or weekend hours. |
| Compensation: | $65,000 annually |
About For Our Kids
For Our Kids is a grassroots network of close to 6,000 parents, grandparents and guardians advocating for climate justice. We are organized in local teams taking action in their communities and collectively across the country known as Canada.
For Our Kids practices an organizing model in which parents and guardians (known as “members”) are the heroes in the story, choosing what to work on and stepping up into leadership. A national network support team of contracted consultants are at the service of our members, facilitating conversations, providing training and guidance, and building the capacity of parents to succeed.
Since August 2019, network members have come together to grow their awareness, confidence, and skills to impact change at the local, regional, and national levels. They engage in a range of actions from community and school events to climate policy, in-person and virtual learning sessions, and creative projects. For Our Kids brings parent voices to essential discussions about reducing emissions through a fair and equitable transition plan - at the same time being involved on the ground in actions and issues that are prioritized by the communities in which our members live. The national network support team supports parents taking action on climate no matter its scale. Our model is effective and simple: Find some friends, Take something on, Tell the story.
Overview of Role
We take a non-hierarchical approach to organizational structure, so the role of National Network Director is a little different from that of a traditional Executive Director. We are interested in a candidate who knows how to lead while placing parents at the front of the organization.
The successful candidate will have a passion for climate justice and grassroots organizing and will play a crucial role in:
- stewarding For Our Kids’ strategy
- leading the day-to-day administration of the network
- managing the multiple projects being coordinated by the network support team
- ensuring the network is adequately resourced to achieve its objectives
The National Network Director carries out their role in collaboration with the national support team and a new parent-led National Council responsible for governing the network.
Primary Role and Responsibilities
Leadership and Strategy 25%
- Lead and facilitate collaborative strategic planning with network members, the national support team, and the National Council.
- Track progress on activities and projects
- Assist the National Council to develop a governance model that reflects the unique grassroots-led nature of the For Our Kids network.
- Evaluate the effectiveness and impact of For Our Kids’ actions and campaigns, tracking and analyzing current events and issues to ensure meaningful outcomes.
Network Administration 75%
- Manage the national network support team, currently consisting of four part-time consultants who work remotely from different regions across the country and have flexible schedules. Help foster a strong team dynamic.
- Manage additional contractors and consultants as needed, including for communications and systems work (such as database, website, etc)
- Work with Fund Development Lead to manage budgeting, financial planning and fundraising. This includes fostering and maintaining relationships with institutional donors.
- Work with the National Council to ensure fiduciary duty is maintained.
- Foster and maintain positive relationships with other organizations.
- Communicate effectively with regular updates to internal and external parties to ensure cohesiveness.
- Ensure compliance with relevant legislation, such as Society requirements, CRA requirements, and workers compensation.
Required Skills and Experience
The successful candidate will be able to demonstrate the following skills and abilities:
- Deep listening, consensus-building and community-building
- Thinking and planning both strategically and practically
- Effective management of multiple priorities and projects, maintaining a foundation that supports member autonomy while delivering on a national strategy
- Creative problem-solving
- Commitment to equity, inclusivity and diversity
- Communicating in many ways across different audiences
- Attention to detail
- Strong English language skills; skills in French are an asset; proficiency in other languages is valued and appreciated
- Self-awareness and ability to manage a flexible and changing environment
- Working effectively remotely, including reliable internet service
This position requires experience with:
- Project management
- Fundraising and financial planning
- Working in a highly collaborative, non-hierarchical environment
- Leading and supporting an independent and remotely-based team, and prioritizing self-care and community care on the team
- Grassroots-led organizing models and networks and/or mentoring and supporting volunteers; working with parents or multi-generational groups ideal
- Integrating JEDI principles within an organization
- Supporting governance/executive boards
- Coalition building and/or campaigning
- Online systems such as NationBuilder, Zoom, Slack, and Google Workspace
Reporting
The National Network Director reports to the Chair of the National Council and oversees a team of 4 consultants on part-time contracts. The National Network Director will meet with the Chair once a month and the full Council four times a year, pending ongoing development of the network governance structure.
Our Hiring Approach
We are aware that not everyone will have all the skills we are seeking and we are open to finding the right candidate who is willing to learn alongside us, so please apply if interested.
We encourage applications from members of equity-seeking groups and are committed to a recruitment process and working environment free from discrimination, where individuals can participate safely and confidently. If you require accommodation during the application process, please contact us at [email protected]
Applications
Please apply by December 31 at [email protected] with “National Network Lead” in the subject line. No calls please - due to capacity constraints, we can reply only to those selected for an interview.