Summary
Director of Capacity Building and Engagement
The Ontario Justice Education Network (OJEN) invites applications for a full-time Director of Capacity, Building and Engagement.
Type: full-time, permanent employment
Location: Toronto, with limited, occasional travel throughout Ontario
Compensation: starting salary range $70,000 - $80,000 (depending on experience) plus medical & dental benefits
Qualifications Requirements:training or experience in law; experience in volunteer orientation, training, management and engagement
Application Deadline: Wednesday, May 25, 2022.
About OJEN
OJEN is a charitable not-for-profit, non-governmental organization with a province-wide mandate. We develop innovative educational tools that introduce young people to the justice system, help them understand the law, and build their legal capability. We work to help prepare young people to manage the legal aspects of problems that arise in their own lives. Our programs are delivered across Ontario by a staff of 12 and a pool of approximately 1600 justice sector volunteers, including judges, lawyers, police officers, and law students. Thousands of high school students and their teachers participate in OJEN programs each year. We also partner with community organizations, after-school groups, and summer programs to bring our workshops to hundreds of youth in under-served communities. For more information about OJEN, please visit our website: www.ojen.ca.
Position Summary
OJEN’s Capacity Building and Engagement department focuses on justice sector volunteer training and professional development initiatives for educators, youth workers and other trusted intermediaries who support youth in their public legal education needs. To do this, OJEN’s Capacity Building and Engagement team works closely with colleagues in OJEN’s Outreach Programs and Educator Support departments.
Capacity Building and Engagement is OJEN’s newest department. Certain strategic directions and specific activities are set for 2022 and 2023, but oversight of this department will require vision and guidance from the new Director. The successful candidate will work closely with OJEN’s Executive Director to establish departmental priorities that align with organizational goals.
To learn more about the department, please visit OJEN’s website. The Director of Capacity Building and Engagement will oversee a team of two part-time staff, ten Justice
Education Fellows (law and paralegal students), in addition to a few summer and part-time student interns throughout the year. Part-time staff supervised by the Director work in the Toronto office, while Justice Education Fellows and summer/part-time student interns are often employed across the province.
Job Description
The Director of Capacity Building and Engagement will:
- Oversee OJEN’s Capacity Building and Engagement department to meet annual departmental goals. These include (but are not limited to):
- Development of standardized orientation and training materials for OJEN volunteers.
- Oversight of OJEN’s Justice Education Fellowship program.
- Design, development and oversight of a new volunteer management strategy.
- Design and delivery of (mostly virtual) professional development activities for teachers, youth workers and other trusted intermediaries. (This is done in collaboration with other OJEN staff from Outreach and Educator Support departments.)
- Work with the Executive Director and other OJEN staff on the development of public legal education workshop materials intended for both OJEN volunteers and people generally interested in facilitating legal workshops. This could include standardized replication templates (e.g. agendas, activity guidelines, workshop materials, feedback forms, etc.) for OJEN’s youth-focused public legal education programs, or resources like OJEN’s Guidelines for Better Legal Workshops.
- In collaboration with other OJEN staff, liaise with and support OJEN’s 17 local committees across the province.
- Set (annually) and monitor (periodically) departmental goals.
- Monitor budgets for any project grants that fall within the department.
- Ensure departmental compliance with required record keeping and information sharing.
- Convene periodic departmental meetings.
- Supervise OJEN staff members and students/interns working within the department.
- Monitor performance management and work plans for departmental staff.
- Work with the Executive Director to address performance or disciplinary issues within the department.
- Work with the Executive Director to train new departmental hires.
- Participate in organizational activities. These include (but are not limited to):
- Relationship-building with organizations and individuals involved in justice education activity.
- Work with the coordination team to share information and develop collaborative approaches to meeting organizational goals.
- Comply with OJEN Board policies and procedures.
- Participate in the development, monitoring and reporting of OJEN’s strategic plans. o Contribute to organizational projects as requested.
- Participate in communications strategy.
- Participate in the development of project funding proposals with the Executive Director.
Qualifications
OJEN’s staff complement is comprised of lawyers, educators and individuals with a background in community-building or the not-for-profit sector. This position requires the following:
- Training or experience in law
- Training or experience in volunteer orientation, training, management and engagement
Additionally, all candidates are expected to have some combination of the following qualifications:
- Training or experience in education (especially knowledge of effective public legal education strategies)
- Supervisory/management experience
- Experience in program design
- Project management skills
- Experience with project evaluation and reporting
- Experience in the not-for-profit sector
- Collaborative approach to working (both within the organization, and externally with community organizations, the education and justice sectors)
- Strong critical thinking skills and a motivated problem-solver
- High degree of professionalism in both demeanour and communications
- Familiarity with Ontario’s legal system and different areas of law
- Excellent written and oral communications skills
- Plain language writing and editing skills
- Comfort and familiarity with public speaking
- Strong administrative ability
- Ability to work in both official languages is an asset (but not required).
- High standard of commitment, ethics, respect, care in service delivery to partners and volunteers
When public health recommendations do not require us to work from home, OJEN staff have the ability to work part-time from home, part-time at the downtown Toronto office. The Director of Capacity Building and Engagement is expected to meet with their colleagues in person on a regular basis. This position is not open to individuals who wish to work 100% remotely from home.
How to Apply
Please send a cover letter and CV/resume to recruitment@ojen.ca, addressed to the attention of Jess Reekie, with the subject line “Director of Capacity Building and Engagement: Application from [your name]”. Please note, we will only consider applications from individuals who provide both a cover letter and CV/resume. Applications are due by 11:59 pm on Wednesday, May 25, 2022. A small number of candidates will be selected for interviews, which will take place the week of May 30, 2022. (Only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted by May 28, 2022.) Anticipated start-date is July 4, 2022.
