We're Hiring! Indigenous Project Manager

Job Description

The Indigenous Voices Awards (IVAs) and Poetry in Voice / Les voix de la poésie (PIV/LVP) are seeking an Indigenous Project Manager to oversee both of their existing Canada Council for the Arts grants.

The IVAs, established in 2017, is a literary contest that honours the sovereignty of Indigenous creative voices, and supports and nurtures the work of Indigenous writers in lands claimed by Canada. The awards recognize the diversity and complexity of Indigenous literary production and resist the inividualism of prize culture. The IVAs Indigenous Voices and Processes Project endeavours to create opportunities for mentorship, professionalization, and collaboration among emerging Indigenous authors, jurors, and wider literary communities.

Poetry in Voice / Les voix de la poésie is a registered charity that wants all Canadians to speak poetry. To achieve this, we are striving to become the essential resource for teaching and learning poetry in Canada—and beyond. We provide educators with engaging content and experiences, in English and French, to inspire their students to read, recite, and write poetry. Our Indigenous programming seeks to include more resources on our website, more classroom visits to schools, and more reading, writing, and reciting opportunities for and by First Nations, Métis, and Inuit people.

IVAs and PIV/LVP are seeking an Indigenous Project Manager to share responsibilities at our organizations. This part-time position (22.5 hours per week) requires an Indigenous candidate who will provide dynamism and attention to detail to support both organizations in managing the activities as outlined in the two Canada Council grants. With the IVAs, the Project Manager will oversee the mentorship programs while also planning and managing the annual awards program. With PIV/LVP, the Project Manager will curate content for the website, oversee classroom visits, and help grow programs in Indigenous-serving schools and communities.

 

IVAs Activities

Project Coordination & Administration

  • Manage the annual awards schedule, including submission periods, communication with interested members of the public, the jury, and applicants, and finalist and award recipient announcements, in coordination with IVAs co-Chairs and publicist.
  • Organize and file submissions, ensuring all required information and materials are complete.
  • Coordinate with jurors, including confirming logistics, distributing materials, and tracking progress.
  • Maintain and update spreadsheets or tracking systems for submissions, finalists, and award recipients.

Communications & Outreach

  • In consultation with the IVAs publicist, act as the primary contact for publishers, authors, jurors, and the IVAs co-chairs, ensuring clear and timely communication.
  • Manage email correspondence, follow up for missing information, and send reminders to applicants.
  • Prepare and distribute press releases, announcements, and congratulatory or follow-up emails to finalists, award recipients, and applicants.
  • Update the IVAs website and social media platforms regularly with relevant information, including submission deadlines, award announcements, and promotional materials.

Event Planning

  • Plan and execute virtual and in-person events, including mentorship initiatives, readings, and launch events.
  • Coordinate mentorship opportunities for finalists, connecting them with jurors or other experts for professional development.

Facilitating Mentorship

  • Organize mentorship workshops and foster professional development among applicants, finalists, and jurors.

 

PIV/LVP Activities

  • In conjunction with current and former IVAs Poetry in English finalists, create content for our website, including but not limited to:
    • Publishing IVAs finalists’ poems
    • Creating Dive-Ins, Lesson Plans, Mixtapes, and Writing Prompts with the finalists or based on their poetry
  • Place IVAs finalists in schools via our Poet in Class program
  • Imagine and carry out longer “Poet in Residence” visits with rural and remote schools that serve Indigenous populations
  • Manage communication and outreach to relevant poets, teachers, schools, and communities
  • Collaborate with the PIV/LVP team on related projects, such as FutureVerse, VOICES/VOIX, and National Finals to ensure excellent, meaningful representation of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit students, poets, and content
  • Create an annual project report for the Canada Council for the Arts

 

Skills and Qualifications Required for the Joint Position

The IVAs and PIV/LVP recognize the value of paid and unpaid work in developing skills and gaining experience. We encourage applicants who meet some or all of the following competencies to apply:

  • Experience working with First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities, especially in a literary or educational context.
  • Broad knowledge of the diverse educational environments in First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities.
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English, and French language skills are an asset.
  • Strong organization and prioritization skills to oversee the management and fulfillment of projects.
  • Capacity to collaborate and engage with a variety of stakeholders.
  • Ability to work well both independently and with diverse team members in a virtual office environment.
  • Comfortable with Word, Excel and/or Google Mail, Docs and Sheets, basic knowledge of a content management system (CMS), and social media platforms.
  • Studies in a related field (education, arts, Indigenous studies, or other).
  • Interest in poetry is a major asset.
  • Knowledge of the Canadian secondary education system is an asset.

 

Activities Schedule

The IVAs Project Manager will follow a structured, year-round schedule aligned with key IVAs milestones. These include submission processing (December–February), jury coordination (March–April), organizing of mentorship opportunities for applicants, i.e., coordinating with Indigenous Editors Association (IEA) and with Festival of Literary Diversity (FOLD) (April May); finalist announcements (May), and award recipient announcements (June). Post-event activities include planning for the following year’s awards, managing publishing opportunities for finalists, and proposing additional mentorship initiatives or other initiatives that you think of during the course of the year.

The PIV/LVP Project Manager will work throughout the year, with the busiest period typically occurring in April. 

The overall time worked will average 22.5 hours per week.

 

Remuneration

Payment for this joint Project Manager position will be administered by PIV/LVP at an annual pay between $42,000 and $45,000. Six weeks of vacation are offered along with paid sick days.

 

Hiring Process

Please send a cover letter and your CV to David at david@poetryinvoice.ca. Be sure to include "Indigenous Project Manager" in the email subject.

Only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted. The deadline to apply is October 22. Interviews will be conducted in English and should take place from October 26 to November 7.

 

Employment Equity

Poetry in Voice / Les voix de la poésie values the contribution made by individuals who identify as members of marginalized communities. We encourage Indigenous people, people of colour, people with disabilities, people who identify as 2SLGBTQIA, among others. We understand that candidates may experience many of these identities simultaneously and that this can nuance and reinforce these experiences in different ways. We are committed to creating an organization as diverse as the communities we serve.

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