City for All Women Initiative (CAWI) Policy Director
The City for All Women Initiative (CAWI), Initiative: une ville pour toutes les femmes, in Ottawa, is seeking a visionary, passionate and innovative Policy Director to lead the organization through an exciting period of growth and development. As part of its journey towards a more horizontal organizational structure, CAWI has a co-director leadership model. The Policy Director will be focused primarily on policy analysis, community engagement, municipal relations and program management. The other co-director is the Operations Director and focuses on fundraising, governance, finance, HR, and operations.
City for All Women Initiative (CAWI) ensures that gender equity is systematically considered in municipal policy and practice by working with decision-makers to make Ottawa a more inclusive city. We do this by working alongside diverse women, non-binary and gender-non-conforming folks with lived experiences of marginalization as well as community organizations to train and support their capacity building, civic engagement, and collective advocacy.
Reporting to the CAWI Board of Directors, the incoming Policy Director will be responsible for policy analysis, program management, outreach engagement and advocacy.
- Provides innovative policy analysis, proposals and recommendations on the Caring Cities model and other intersectional feminist approaches to urban planning and policies
- Manages ongoing programs, including Making Voices Count, Maamawe (Women Reducing Poverty Together), the Women’s Action Circle and other civic engagement programming
- Develops creative civic engagement programming and training to respond to community needs and which works to elevate a diversity of perspectives in government policy and decision-making
- Monitors, tracks and reports on qualitative aspects of programming to funding partners
- Coordinates and continues relationship building with City staff and City Councillors on advocacy issues and development of CAWI activities and resources
- Supervises CAWI staff/students/volunteers in the engagement of women and other marginalized genders and community partners in CAWI activities (e.g. Action Forums)
- Fosters the building of coalitions and networks to support CAWI activities and mandate
- Sets CAWI’s advocacy directions in collaboration with the board, and civic engagement tables and other external stakeholders
- Contributes to the research, development, and implementation of policies that support and augment CAWI’s vision and mission, and brings an intersectional feminist analysis to management, leadership and change processes
- Develops and leads advocacy campaigns
- Together, the Policy and Operations Directors will share responsibility for strategic planning and general advocacy, communications and public relations as well as human resources.
Qualifications
Education and Experience
- Relevant university degree (i.e., Indigenous Studies, Adult Education, Gender Studies, Sociology, Psychology, etc.)
- Experience using education as a tool to inspire social change and facilitation and/or public speaking/training experience
- Demonstrated ability to understand, influence and collaborate with government decision-makers, grassroots organizations, academia, or community leaders on issues of gender equity to affect broad systemic change
- Knowledge and experience with the Caring Cities framework would be an asset
- Experience applying principles of gender equity and intersectionality to building coalitions with individuals who have diverse values, perspectives and lived experiences
- Knowledge and understanding of issues affecting Indigenous, racialized, immigrant women, 2SLGBTQQIA+, and women living with disabilities
- In-depth understanding of systems of oppression related to intersectionality, systemic inequalities, power dynamics and their impacts on CAWI membership and achieving equality
- Commitment to CAWI’s mission, vision and an intersectional feminist, anti-oppressive workplace and culture
- Ability to effectively communicate orally and in writing for a wide variety of audiences
- Ability to work independently and collaboratively
- Ability to address and resolve conflict effectively
Languages
- Fluency in English and French is an asset
- The ability to communicate in other languages is an asset
Employment Conditions and Process
Please send your cover letter and resume by July 8, 2024 to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Due to the volume of applicants, only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted. Candidates who are interviewed will be provided $150 to compensate for their time.
While we are happy to provide a hybrid work environment, the successful candidate must reside in the greater Ottawa-Gatineau region due to the nature of the work.
We offer a competitive health benefits package with no wait time, which includes 4 weeks annual vacation plus the week between Christmas and New Years, paid sick time, and a 4-day work week.
CAWI seeks to be representative of the communities we collaborate with. To that end, applications from qualified candidates belonging to historically disadvantaged groups (i.e. Indigenous people, racialized people, women, persons with disabilities, 2SLGBTQI+ individuals) are strongly encouraged. We encourage candidates to self-identify in your cover letter. To let us know how we can make an accommodation to facilitate the selection process and beyond, please reach out to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.