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Advocacy and Public Affairs Assistant

Program stream:
Young Canada Works at Building Careers in Heritage
Job title:
Advocacy and Public Affairs Assistant
Organization name:
Galeries Ontario/Galleries Ontario
Job location:
Toronto, Ontario
Length of assignment:
2017-10-16 to 2018-02-23 (17 weeks)
Hourly wage:
$15.00
ONE POSITION: Advocacy and Public Affairs Assistant (17 weeks contract)
CONTRACT: Oct 16, 2017 – February 23, 2018, 9am-5pm, Monday to Friday (17 weeks for 30 hours per week)
COMPENSATION: $15/hour
APPLICATION DEADLINE:October 6, 2017, 5pm

LOCATION:
Ontario Association of Art Galleries (OAAG)
401 Richmond St. W., Suite 395, Toronto, ON
email: hr@oaag.org
website: http://oaag.org/
About the Ontario Association of Art Galleries (OAAG)
Through network-building, professional development and advocacy, the Ontario Association of Art Galleries (OAAG) fosters sustainable, healthy, diverse public art galleries, furthering the visual arts as a key component of the cultural life of Ontario. OAAG serves and represents 116 public art gallery and visual art organization members in 62 municipalities across the province.

Completed applications must be emailed to hr@oaag.org by October 6, 2017, 5pm.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Ontario Association of Art Galleries (OAAG) is accepting applications for a contract position of Advocacy and Public Affairs Assistant. This Internship position is funded through the Young Canada Works (YCW) program through the Government of Canada and applicants must be eligible for YCW as a graduate, in order to apply.

The Ontario Association of Art Galleries (OAAG) seeks a YCW Advocacy and Public Affairs Assistant to work with accomplished staff in the OAAG Secretariat and work on province wide initiatives that provide visibility, service and benefit to Ontario’s art galleries and the museum sector. This position will significantly increase OAAG’s ability to provide adequate advocacy and increase strategic communications on the role and contribution of public art galleries and museum sector, across the province. The reach will include all levels of government funders, politicians, charitable donors and program sponsors, project participants, members and other stakeholders.

The Advocacy and Public Affairs Assistant will assist in the development of advocacy and public affairs goals using the platform of OAAG Awards; Produce Advocacy toolkit; Conduct research on policy issues pertaining to the gallery sector; Develop policy and advocacy related issue-sheets; Develop advocacy content for website and newsletter; Create Public relations materials and press releases; Develop a media strategy; Enlist issues for advocacy messaging through social media and other media; Develop and conduct member survey for Advocacy tool kit content. Represent organization at designated meetings with stakeholders. The Advocacy and Public Affairs Assistant will also assist with other administrative tasks as necessary. The Advocacy and Public Affairs Assistant can expect to learn key skills in advocacy, public affairs, communications, project administration and cultural policy.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Current graduate in a visual arts, arts administration, public policy, journalism, economics, non-profit management or related program;
• Keen interest in the area of public affairs and advocacy;
• Declared interest in a career path in the visual arts and heritage sector;
• Possesses some knowledge about OAAG, and the organizations membership and programs;
• Highly motivated to learn about project coordination and administration, advocacy, policy development, public affairs and communications in the arts & culture sector;
• Well-organized with a keen attention to detail and ability to take initiative and produce desired results; some experience in project management or coordination desired;
• Superior time-management and organizational skills: Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment and possess the ability to work independently as well as work collaboratively with staff and volunteers in a shared work environment;
• Must be an effective communicator with excellent oral, written and research skills: must have a pleasant and patient telephone manner; must be able to analyze problems and communicate solutions clearly.
• Will be comfortable with speaking to small groups;
• Prior experience in digital media is an asset (audio/photo/video/html/CMS);
• Intermediate comprehension and speaking skills in French considered a significant asset;
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills: Able to act independently and make sound decisions within the framework of established programs and direction to produce results; able to research and collect, collate and analyze data;
• Strong interpersonal skills: Able to interact effectively with staff, volunteers, partners and the general public; must contribute to a collegial, productive office team atmosphere;
• Proficient information management skills, particularly with databases: will handle sensitive information and situations with tact and diplomacy;
• Will have strong computer and Internet literacy skills: Knowledge of MS Office Suite, particularly word and excel spreadsheet. Some familiarity with Survey Monkey, Adobe Creative Suite, Google docs, SUMAC and WordPress is highly desirable. Must be proficient in social media platforms. Ideal candidate will be comfortable and efficient working on a Mac operating system;
• Driver’s license and willingness to drive is an asset, but not required.

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS: Friday, October 6, 2017 by 5pm.

TO APPLY: Please send your application in one pdf document (YourLastName_FirstInitial_Application_AdvocacyPublicAffairsAssistant.pdf) which includes cover letter highlighting your eligibility for the position (including YCW eligibility), a resume, and three references (including one current school reference) via email to: hr@oaag.org with the subject line “Advocacy and Public Affairs Assistant”.

This job is funded through the Government of Canada’s Young Canada Works (YCW) Program. To be eligible for the position you must qualify for the YCW program. You are eligible if you:
• are a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident, or have refugee status in Canada; Note: Non-Canadian graduate holding temporary work visas or awaiting permanent status are not eligible;
• are legally entitled to work in Canada;
• will be between 16 and 30 years of age at the start of employment;
• are willing to commit to the full duration of the work assignment;
• will not have another full-time job (over 30 hours a week) while employed with OAAG;
• have been a graduate (as defined by your educational institution) in the semester preceding the job

Note: Interns with a disability are eligible for part-time work.

For more information about the Young Canada Works Program and eligibility please visit: https://www.youngcanadaworks.ca/
For more information about OAAG, please visit: http://oaag.org/.
For more information on OAAG’s human resource policies, including
Ontario Association of Art Galleries Anti-Racism, Access and Equity Policy & Human Rights Complaints Procedure, please visit http://oaag.org/policies.html#antiracismpolicy.

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