Permanent unionised position at 28 hour per week

Wage rate: $38.58/hr (with Cost of Living Increases)

Starting date: November 2 or as soon as possible

We will be conducting interview on a rolling basis. We will not consider applications received after October 23.

The Simon Fraser Public Interest Research Group (SFPIRG) is a student-funded and student-directed resource centre dedicated to engaging students in social and environmental justice. Established in 1981, the organisation is a registered non-profit governed by a student board of directors and managed by a unionised staff collective (CUPE Local 3338, Unit 7). SFPIRG strives to be non-hierarchical in its structure and consensus decision-making is used at all levels of the organisation.

Position Overview:

The Director of Engagement is one of the four Co-Executive Directors that make up SFPIRG’s staff collective. The four Co-Executives are jointly responsible for the overall management of SFPIRG, including operating in accordance with SFPIRG’s values, strategic planning, ﬁscal management, personnel management, policy development, board relations, and member welfare. The Director of Engagement’s specific responsibilities include campaign organizing, volunteer recruitment and engagement, and developing, managing, and implementing the overall communications strategy for SFPIRG. The position involves extensive work with volunteers, the SFPIRG board, temporary staff, and students.

Applicants must be able to balance workloads across multiple tasks, work efficiently in a busy environment, and provide a strong leadership role in organizing and mentoring SFPIRG’s communications systems and the organization as a whole. Applicants must value process, collective work, and consensus decision-making within an intersectional anti-oppression framework. Flexibility and willingness to support long-term visioning and projects is an asset. Professional experience in the non-profit sector, familiarity working with Unions, and experience with rebranding will be considered an asset.

Values, Skills, and Experience Required:

Commitment to social and environmental justice and progressive social change. Strong intersectional anti-oppression analysis and practice, grounded in transformative justice principles, including compassionate accountability, non-disposability, and making space and opportunity for learning and growth.
Experience with on-campus student and/or grassroots community organizing. Knowledge of broader student movements and their histories is helpful.
Experience with campaign organizing and volunteer mobilization.
Interest and experience working in a mentorship capacity with young adults.
Experience in progressive non-profit/community organizations: ability to translate vision into action, understand long-term communications and networking strategy, prioritize and delegate tasks.
Education and/or work experience doing communications in a community or non-profit setting.
Excellent communication skills: clear written and verbal communication, conflict resolution, facilitation, ability to dialogue with diverse parties, ability to openly give and accept feedback.
Human Resources experience such as annual general meeting planning, hiring, coordinating, working with student workers and volunteers.
Experience and interest in working in a collective setting using consensus.
Experience with website maintenance, including WordPress.
Experience with graphic design such as Canva, Photoshop or Publisher
Extremely well-organized, attention to detail, excellent time-management skills.
Interest in social media, creative and persuasive writing, and community engagement.
Excellent knowledge of MS Office, Windows, excellent computer and technical skills.
Ability to be self-directed and efficient in a busy environment.
A sense of humour and a commitment to compassion.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Position Specific Duties

Campaigns: coordinate SFPIRG campaigns, and be a key representative for SFPIRG in on- and off-campus coalitions and projects. Develop campaign materials and statements as appropriate. Manage and respond to requests for endorsements.
Communications strategy: develop and maintain a cohesive communications strategy, branding style, and organizational voice. Act as the key spokesperson representing SFPIRG on campus, in the community, and in the media, using tact and strategy. Respond to general email inquiries, requests for interviews and statements, etc.
Organizational outreach: coordinate on- and off-campus outreach, such as through volunteer fairs and orientations, classroom talks, postering, tabling, and campus orientations, with the purpose of promoting SFPIRG’s programs, resources, events, and governance activities, and more. Maintain SFPIRG’s bulletin boards and on-campus information sites with up to date information and materials.
Volunteer Recruitment and Coordination: recruit and onboard new volunteers for all SFPIRG campaigns, projects and programs.
Student Organizing Support: support student organizers by providing resources and mentorship for their movements. Support with development of new SFPIRG action groups.
Social media and communications: coordinate and maintain SFPIRG’s social media (Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter or additional platforms as they emerge) and online presence. Promote online awareness of and engagement with SFPIRG and SFPIRG’s events. Represent the organization online by writing posts, updating content, and maintaining an appropriate presence online consistent with communications strategy. Posting notices of key organizational events
Website: maintain organizational website, including: updating and coordinating content; maintaining systems; and arranging for maintenance as necessary.
Networking and relationships: build and maintain relationships with student societies, on-campus NGOs, student groups and clubs, labour unions, SFU administration, and other on-campus groups.
Stewarding the SFPIRG Lending Library: Inputting new library members into the Bibliovation library database and tracking borrowing. Coordinating with other student groups sharing our online database system.
Room Bookings/Events: Coordinating room bookings through SFU’s Meeting, Events and Conferences Services. Managing SFPIRG events and buying food/related supplies. Book ASL interpretation and coordinate other accessibility accommodations as needed for events. Hosting the Annual General Meeting (AGM) using Zoom or other conferencing software and preparing AGM materials/annual AGM portfolio.
Graphic design: design posters, leaflets, booklets, website and social media images, and other outreach materials. Update signs, forms and print materials.
Student Engagement/Work Study Program: Administration and recruitment for SFPIRG’s Work Study Program. Publicising work study program to increase student participation and interest, posting deadlines via promotional materials. Reminding students to apply each semester. Setting up students with SFU payroll and submitting their bi-weekly hours, and completing related paperwork to submit to SFU. Training Work Study students to submit and track their hours. Supervising and mentorship for the Communications and Social Media Mobilization Work Study Student.

Shared Duties

Work with the other staff to manage SFPIRG: staff and maintain the office; respond to requests from students and the public; participate in SFPIRG organizational work, initiatives and events; mentor and advise the Board of Directors.
Contribute to ongoing organizational development of SFPIRG including strategic planning, hiring staff and work study students, working with volunteers, Action Group support, and staff collective development.
Collaborate with the staff collective to determine and prioritise the goals for each semester and to delegate the day-to-day management of the organization.

Application Procedure:

SFPIRG is an affirmative action employer. In order to increase the range and diversity of skills, perspectives and experience presently existing within SFPIRG, hiring preference shall be given to qualified applicants from groups who face systemic barriers to employment, including systemic barriers that often go unnamed and unacknowledged. We acknowledge that folks applying may have intersecting forms of oppression, and encourage BIPOC, LGBTQIA2S+, disabled, and folks with lived experience related to any type of social justice/advocacy campaign(s) to self identify. Applicants who wish to be considered for affirmative action are encouraged to discuss this in their cover letter. We also encourage applicants to include other skills and experiences in addition to those outlined above. SFPIRG is committed to accommodating people with mental and physical disabilities, including, for example, obtaining necessary adaptive technologies.

Please submit your cover letter and resume by email to:

Email: hiring-committee@sfpirg.ca

Attention: Director of Engagement Hiring Committee

Please include cover letter and resume in ONE attached document, with your name as the title of the file.

Applications will be considered on a rolling basis, so we encourage applicants to apply as soon as possible. We will not review applications received after October 23.

Important – Please note: Short-listed candidates should be prepared to share a portfolio briefly highlighting your previous communications work. This could include posters, artwork, blog posts, written calls-to-action, websites, screenshots from social media campaigns, or other campaigning work.

Interviews will be scheduled on a rolling basis and are expected to run through October. Interviews will be conducted with the hiring committee virtually. We encourage applicants to notify us of any access needs they have, so we can make accommodations during the interview process.