Summary

The Community Connector will engage and support community-led actions and advocacy work. They will play a vital role in knowledge dissemination, sharing and accessing resources for temporary foreign workers, newcomers and immigrants and other racialized communities and groups who face challenges in understanding and in accessing legal information due to language or cultural barriers.

Description

Job Posting No. 2024-14
 
Position Title:     Community Connector
Reports To:            Project Coordinator
Project:                Bridging Legal Gaps Through a Community Led Approach Initiative

About the organization, project and position:
 
ActionDignity’s mission is to collaborate with ethnocultural, racialized, and equity seeking groups to create transformational changes in communities and society.  The approach is to catalyze collective impact by building the capacities of grassroots racialized community members to strengthen their communities and bring about systems change. This is achieved through a range of programs aimed to create change at multiple levels: individuals and families, communities, and policy advocacy for systems change.  Currently, ActionDignity provides different programs relating to social inclusion, gender equity, mental health collaboration, workers’ rights advocacy and public safety, using the intersectional lens of anti-racism. 

The Bridging Legal Gaps Through a Community Led Approach Initiative is designed to bridge the gaps in accessing and understanding legal information for newcomers, refugees, and other racialized populations. The project will implement activities aimed at empowering these communities and improving their understanding of legal rights, responsibilities, and available resources, fostering empowerment and inclusion.  This one-year initiative is funded by Alberta Law Foundation.

The Community Connector will engage and support community-led actions and advocacy work.  They will play a vital role in knowledge dissemination, sharing and accessing resources for temporary foreign workers, newcomers and immigrants and other racialized communities and groups who face challenges in understanding and in accessing legal information due to language or cultural barriers.

This is a part-time position of 25 hours per week, with benefits and requires flexible time commitment. 

Key responsibilities: 

Community Engagement and Mobilization

  • Coordinate with ethnocultural community organizations to collect data on workers' lived experiences. Develop and maintain working relationships with these organizations, supporting their leaders and members through capacity-building efforts.
  • Build and sustain relationships with community members and groups, tracking referrals to resources that support their needs and interests related to workers' rights.
  • Expand the network of member-partner organizations associated with ActionDignity.
  • Recruit and engage participants from diverse ethnocultural communities for agency-wide events and activities.

Capacity Building

  • Conduct community asset mapping to identify and document existing resources, integrating these strengths into community development efforts.
  • Collaborate with and guide community members and leaders in creating Community Action Plans (CAPs) that address specific legal needs or gaps.
  • Assist in the implementation and monitoring of CAPs, ensuring that activities are executed and progress is tracked.
  • Identify and recruit participants for the self-learning module, providing necessary support.
  • Facilitate the formation and operation of peer and natural support groups (Justice Navigators) to serve as intermediaries, connecting community members with resources, services, and legal professionals.
  • Contribute to workshops and training sessions aimed at enhancing legal knowledge within ethnocultural community organizations and equity-seeking groups.
  • Assist in developing translation materials for legal education resources in multiple languages.

Systems Change and Policy Advocacy

  • Participate in strengthening legal knowledge through the “knowledge hub,” and workshops.
  • Participate in policy advocacy training to enhance personal capacity of ethnocultural leaders and justice navigators for systems change and policy advocacy.
  • Assist in planning, organizing, and facilitating activities such as community conversation circles (CCCs), focus group discussions (FGDs), surveys, and community-based research to address legal challenges, identify service gaps, and explore solutions. This includes documenting or taking notes during these engagement sessions.
  • Contribute to advocacy campaigns and provide support materials for policy engagement.
  • Identify and build relationships with community policy advocates, mobilizing them for policy dialogues.

Program Support

  • Provide logistical support for training and events.
  • For events/activities, coordinate with Admin for logistical requirements (e.g. venue, food orders, technical).

Admin

  • Prepare payment requests, as applicable
  • Compile regular reports, such as bi-weekly reports, event participants list, expense reports.
  • Attend and participate in trainings (core and function-specific).
  • Attend and participate in staff meetings.
  • Perform other duties as assigned to support the organization’s objectives.

Qualifications: 

Asset

  • A minimum of 2 years of experience and knowledge around legal challenges faced by immigrant workers, including relevant concepts and issues.

Essentials

  • Post-secondary education in a relevant field (e.g., sociology, community development, law) or 2 years of equivalent work experience in community engagement, outreach, or advocacy.
  • Strong understanding of the ethnocultural communities in Calgary, including their specific needs and challenges.
  • Proven experience in community outreach, engagement, mobilization, and organizing with diverse ethnocultural communities.
  • Knowledge of community resources, particularly in areas such as legal aid, social services, and support networks for immigrant workers.
  • Excellent communication skills with the ability to work cross-culturally and effectively communicate complex legal concepts.
  • Fluency in a second language (aside from English) is an asset.
  • Flexibility to work occasional evenings and weekends as needed.

Kindly submit both the cover letter and resume specifying Job Posting No. 2024-14 through any of the following channels:

Human Resources Department,
Action Dignity Society
915 33 Street NE, Calgary, AB T2A 6T2

This post will remain open until January 6, 2025, or until we find a suitable candidate.
 
We thank all applicants for their interest, however, only those being considered for an interview will be contacted. Thank you.