Oki!
Rural Routes to Climate Solutions (RR2CS) shines a spotlight on the climate solutions that Alberta’s farmers, ranchers and rural communities can benefit from. RR2CS is seeking three Project Coordinators to support our Siksikaitsitapi Agriculture Project (SAP) and join our great team of community organizers, facilitators and communications specialists.
The Project Coordinator will be responsible for the following activities:
- Organizing and running events like workshops and land-based field days
- Organizing and hosting webinars
- Facilitation/consulting with community members
- Partnering and working with other organizations where possible
- Ensure the above activities are designed and undertaken following the appropriate Blackfoot cultural protocols.
The Project Coordinator will contribute to and support the rest of the RR2CS team with the following activities::
- blog, podcast, video production
- updating social media channels and the website
- supporting webinars, workshops and field days
- grant writing and sponsorship development
- meetings with stakeholders
- attending fairs, expos and events on behalf of RR2CS
Who you are:
You’re awesome. Come on, don’t be modest. We know you were thinking it when you were looking in the mirror this morning.
Some might say you’re a wizard at the three C’s: communication, coordinating, and comfortability. You make people feel welcomed and wanted. The past few years have been hard, but you’ve taken the changes in stride and can thrive when working remotely and independently. You understand the challenges of working with a team that works independently too, so you strive to stay connected and positive. We’re not the type to hover over your shoulder, asking “Whatcha doing? Whatcha doing?”, which you’re relieved to hear. At the same time, the rest of the RR2CS team is there to help during times of uncertainty or when clarification is needed, which you greatly appreciate.
You see mistakes as an opportunity for growth. You know how and when to pivot, and when to ask for help. We’re all in this together, after all, and a high tide raises all boats.
You’re a delight to speak with, thoughtful, flexible, and passionate about either Mokaksin (traditional Blackfoot knowledge), agriculture, community health and food security (or maybe it is all of the above). Empowering Siksikaitsipoyi (Blackfoot people) is something you’re almost too excited about (we love that!).
You believe in people and their ability to bring about positive change.
If this describes you, we’d love to hear from you!
What is the Siksikaitsitapi Agriculture Project?
A “participant-driven project” may sound like some sort of Lord of the Flies-esque management nightmare. Rest assured, this is not the Siksikaitsitapi Agriculture Project.
SAP empowers Siksikaitsitapi agricultural producers and traditional harvesters with traditional knowledge, resources and peers to engage with and implement culturally-appropriate agricultural climate solutions (i.e. they align with Blackfoot culture). The vision of SAP is the widespread adoption of these solutions within the Siksikaitsitapi, helping to address the social, economic and environmental issues its members and many Indigenous Peoples face.
SAP began its journey in 2021 and in 2023-2024, the project aims to build a collaborative platform for Siksikaitsitapi members to learn together and decide on two things:
- which agricultural climate solutions align with Blackfoot culture, and
- how these solutions can positively impact community health and food security.
‘Building’ this collaborative platform looks a little something like this:
- Organizing ‘community convening moments’ (e.g. meetings, workshops, field days) for Blackfoot agricultural producers and harvesters to learn about and discuss agricultural climate solutions together and explore where they intersect with traditional knowledge, food security and community health.
- Celebrating, widely sharing and learning from Blackfoot success stories in land stewardship by using Rural Routes’ tried and tested communications tools (e.g. podcast, Farmer’s Blog, videos) to support and supplement the conversations happening in the community convening moments.
There are likely project activities we haven’t even thought of yet for SAP and that’s the beauty of a participant-driven project. If it fits into the ‘bucket’ of agricultural climate solutions that align with Siksikaitsitapiissinni or Blackfoot culture and can address either community health or food security, we can consider it for the project. Don’t let this job posting hold you back.
Wages: $27.50/hour. You will be working as a contractor and are responsible for ensuring that necessary payments for income tax / CPP have been made.
Hours: 20 hours/week. A typical work week with Rural Routes is Monday to Thursday.
Duration: January 8, 2023 – July 31, 2024. Rural Routes is currently fundraising to extend this role beyond July 31, 2024. There is the possibility of a contract extension if we are successful in our fundraising efforts.
Location: Alberta
Qualifications:
- Knowledge of Siksikaitsitapi (Blackfoot) culture
- Previous event management and hosting experience
- Strong facilitation skills, particularly in community engagement
- Excellent team-communications skills, especially when working with participants, RR2CS team and partners
- Experience and comfort, or willingness to learn, in using online tools (e.g. Google Workspace, Trello, Slack, Asana) and working virtually, as this is a remote position
Assets:
- Membership with either Kainai, Piikani or Siksika First Nations
- Knowledge and awareness of Blackfoot history, cultural protocols and language
- Understanding on-reserve challenges
- Ability to communicate clearly and confidently
- Experience in fundraising, especially completing grant applications
- Understanding of climate change mitigation and adaptation including agricultural and/or nature-based climate solutions, especially regenerative agriculture
- A willingness to problem solve to overcome challenges
- Related to the above, an ability to ask for help when needing clarity or support
- A sense of humor. Listen to our podcast episodes The Coordinators, What We Do and 50 More to better understand our sense of humor.
Requirements and Expectations:
- Report to the Project Manager
- Participate in 2 weekly team meetings–one with the RR2CS team and one with the SAP team—and participate in quarterly advisory committee meetings.
- Overnight travel. SAP will likely have 3 one-day, in-person events per year. In addition to this, Rural Routes has two 2-3 day team building meetings per year. Your mileage and accommodation will be covered by Rural Routes and if child care is a barrier to participation, we’ll work with you to try and address it. Most of our team has kids so we get it.
- Using online tools like WordPress, Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Zoom and Trello
- Keep track of and manage your own hours, invoices and expense claims
Interested applicants should submit a cover letter and resume as a PDF and email it to adminrr2cs@stettlerlearning.com by November 6, 2023. Please include “Project Coordinator Application” in the subject line of your email. Also please indicate in your email or your cover letter which Nations—Siksika, Piikani or Kainai—you are interested in working with. Unfortunately, at this time we are unable to create a project coordinator role for Amskapi Piikani due to the limitations of our funding.
Only considered candidates will be contacted for interviews.
In the event a successful candidate is not found, the application process will be reopened.
Rural Routes to Climate Solutions (a Stettler Learning Centre initiative) was established in 2017 to assist Alberta’s agricultural producers and rural communities to become aware of, engage in and implement climate solutions. Rural Routes achieves this through educational and capacity-building activities and innovative projects like our Regenerative Agriculture Lab (RAL) and Siksikaitsitapi Agriculture Project
The vision of Rural Routes is for all rural Albertans to benefit from the climate solutions that make sense for where they live, work and play.
