Reproductive Justice Advocacy Coordinator (17-month contract position)
Who We Are
The Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF) is a national non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the equality rights of women, girls, trans, and non-binary people in Canada through litigation, law reform, and public legal education. For more than 35 years, LEAF’s work has influenced the evolution of constitutional equality principles in Canada and made an important difference in the daily lives of women, girls, and people who experience gender-based discrimination across the country.
LEAF’s national office is located in downtown Toronto, or Tkarón:to, which is a Mohawk word that means “the place in the water where trees are standing.” This land is governed by the Dish with One Spoon Wampum Belt Covenant, a nation to nation peace agreement between the Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee, the Wendat, and other allied nations.
LEAF also has eleven volunteer-run member branches across the country. LEAF branches run public education programs for youth, hold events on gender equality in their communities, and engage in law reform initiatives at the local level.
Who You Are
You are a staunch advocate of reproductive justice for all, and who sees law reform and policy changes as an important aspect of making this a reality. You can design and lead advocacy campaigns, but also love helping others build capacity to take on their own projects. You are energized by working as part of a team and in collaboration with volunteers from across Canada committed to gender equity. You bring an intersectional feminist lens to your work – including your analysis, collaborations, and communication style.
Primary Job Responsibilities
The Advocacy Coordinator will provide important support to LEAF’s Reproductive Justice Project and, in particular, to the development of law reform proposals and advocacy by LEAF branches.
More specifically, the Advocacy Coordinator will be responsible for the following:
Reproductive Justice Project (70%)
- Serve as the main day-to-day contact for branch Project Leaders
- Provide branch Project Leaders with assistance on accomplishing provincial and territorial law reform advocacy objectives
- Assist branch Project Leaders in creating research, communication, and advocacy plans
- Design and facilitate trainings and resources to strengthen branch capacity to engage in law reform advocacy
- Review branch law reform proposals and provides research support where necessary, with support from the Project Director
- Assist branches with identifying and communicating with key political stakeholders and media
- Help prepare for and facilitate quarterly branch Project Leader meetings
- Help prepare for and facilitate fall 2023 Project stakeholder meeting
- Provide regular reports to the Project Director on branch law reform advocacy efforts
- Work with the Office and Branch Relations Coordinator to ensure all branches have the information they need to meaningfully participate in the Reproductive Justice Project
- Supervise interns and volunteers
- Implementing day-to-day communications in collaboration with the Communications and Advocacy Manager
Other Related Advocacy Tasks (30%)
- Contribute to other LEAF communications, including through providing advocacy-related content for LEAF newsletter, website, and social media
- Support LEAF government relations activities (communications and meetings with policymakers)
- Identify potential areas of law reform, advocacy, or coalition work for LEAF
Essential Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and experience, plus one to three year’s experience in advocacy, strategic communications, public policy, and/or political outreach
- Demonstrated commitment to intersectional feminism and/or social justice, including experience within social justice movements and/or organizations
- Knowledge of and experience with provincial and/or territorial legislation and policy-making processes
- Experience developing digital engagement strategies, communications plans, and advocacy campaigns
- Experience implementing communications plans, including designing, writing, and editing materials with an eye for accessibility and organizational brand/tone
- Experience with project management, ideally with multiple projects at the same time
- Excellent communication skills, interpersonal skills, and emotional intelligence
- Strong time management and organizational skills
- Proficiency and effectiveness with Office Suite
The Ideal Candidate Will Also Have
- Proficiency in French;
- Experience working with volunteers;
- Experience designing and facilitating trainings; and
- Experience working in the non-profit sector.
Personal Qualities
- Exercises sound judgment, accepts responsibility, and treats others with respect;
- Approaches learning with curiosity and humility;
- Comfortable with giving and taking direction in a collaborative environment;
- Shows initiative and collegiality; motivates and encourages others;
- Demonstrates flexibility, perspective-taking, and reliability;
- Has a passion for gender equality and social justice.
Compensation and Benefits
This is a full-time, approximately 17-month contract position with an anticipated start date of October 24, 2022 and an anticipated end date of March 31, 2024.
The salary range for the position is $65,000 to $70,000. The Advocacy Coordinator will be enrolled in LEAF’s benefits plan, which includes health and dental benefits.
Location
As this project in national in scope, the successful candidate will not be expected to work from the Toronto LEAF National office and can choose to work fully remotely.
Hiring Process and Timeline
Please submit the following in one combined PDF to [email protected]: a cover letter, your CV, and a list of three references (contact name, phone number, and email address). Please address your application to Kat Owens, Project Director. Please use the reference “Advocacy Coordinator” and your name in the subject line.
Applications are due no later than Sunday September 18, 2022 at 5pm EDT. Interviews will take place on Monday October 3 and Tuesday October 4, 2022.
Download the PDF of this posting (English)
Download the PDF of this posting (French)
We have made adjustments to our hiring processes due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. At this time, the interview process will occur remotely. We acknowledge that COVID-19 has caused disruptions to many lives and people may require additional accommodations.
We thank all applicants for their interest, but only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.
LEAF welcomes and encourages applications from people with disabilities for all available positions.
Where possible, accommodations will be made available upon request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process.
LEAF encourages applications from candidates who reflect the diversity of our communities. We strongly encourage applications from Black, Indigenous, and racialized people, as well as from newcomers, gender-diverse people, and members of other equity-deserving groups. If you are comfortable, please indicate in your cover letter if you identify as a member of an equity-deserving group.
