DIRECTOR OF GOVERNMENT RELATIONS

Summary

Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights is seeking a full-time Director of Government Relations based in Ottawa, Canada. Are you an experienced policy or advocacy professional? Does working as part of a small, dedicated team in the nonprofit sector excite you? Are you passionate about sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR)? If so, this might be the job for you!

Description

Are you an experienced policy or advocacy professional? Does working as part of a small, dedicated team in the nonprofit sector excite you? Are you passionate about sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR)? If so, this might be the job for you!

Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights is seeking a full-time Director of Government Relations based in Ottawa, Canada.

Role Overview

The Director of Government Relations leads a team that develops advocacy strategies, legal and policy research, public engagement, and campaigns aimed at advancing sexual and reproductive rights in Canada’s development assistance, foreign policy and domestic laws, programs and policies. The Director of Government Relations is responsible for the organization’s relationships with government bodies and officials (both elected and unelected) and leads the development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of advocacy strategies and campaigns targeting the federal, provincial and territorial governments. The Director of Government Relations establishes and coordinates legal and policy research priorities and projects, and directs collaborative advocacy with diverse stakeholders towards political gains.

As part of the management team, the Director of Government Relations joins five other managers and the Executive Director in supervising the staff team and providing strategic leadership for the organization. This position reports to the Executive Director.

Who You Are

You are a seasoned policy or advocacy professional with experience in the not-for-profit/NGO sector. You actively apply anti-racist and anti-oppression principles and practices to your work, including to the development of advocacy and campaign strategies. You are deeply familiar with ways to strategically advance advocacy goals, creatively leveraging government relations strategies. You enjoy working in a fast-paced, and often reactive setting, and have successfully supervised policy and campaign staff in previous roles.

Who We Are

Action Canada for Sexual Health & Rights is a progressive, pro-choice human rights-based charitable organization committed to advancing and upholding sexual and reproductive health and rights in Canada and globally.

We are an organization that works in Canada and around the world to promote health, wellbeing, and rights related to sexuality and reproduction. Building on the 50-year legacy of the organizations that formed Action Canada, we provide direct support, referrals, and information to the people who need it most, partner with groups and organizations on a range of campaigns using a collaborative, movement-building approach, and work with decision-makers to advance progressive policies on access to abortion, stigma-free healthcare, gender equality, LGBTQ rights, sex workers’ rights, and inclusive sex-ed.

We believe in a world where every person controls their sexuality, reproduction, gender expression, and health. In our fight for sexual and reproductive rights for all, Action Canada challenges the systems that create unequal access to information, health care, and rights.

For more information, visit actioncanadashr.org. 

Position Overview

Job responsibilities include:

• Engage in direct advocacy with decision-makers towards advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights in Canada’s laws and policies, as well as Canada’s development assistance and foreign policy;
• Manage team of policy and campaigns specialists working towards the advancement of advocacy goals;
• Manage programmatic budgets, oversee grant administration (proposal development, monitoring, narrative reporting, relationship management) for multiple institutional funders, and identify new funding opportunities;
• Develop and implement advocacy strategies to advance sexual and reproductive health and rights;
• Monitor and identify opportunities to advance sexual and reproductive health and rights-related issues within Canadian parliamentary processes and other government mechanisms (e.g.  federal budget);
• Maintain existing relationships with government officials, and develop strategies to grow Action Canada’s network of relationships with key decision-makers;  
• Produce policy briefs, submissions, reports and other written advocacy-related materials, and identify opportunities for knowledge translation;  
• Oversee and contribute to the development of campaigns aimed at advancing advocacy goals, raising the awareness of individuals and other stakeholders and mobilizing the public to take action;
• Advance anti-racism and anti-oppression principles and practices in Action Canada’s internal and external work;
• Collaborate with the Global Policy and Advocacy, Domestic Health Promotion, Fundraising and Communications teams to develop collaborative and effective approaches to campaigns;
• Participate in and lead coalitions with diverse stakeholders towards securing advocacy goals;
• Represent Action Canada among external audiences, including media, partners, government officials, UN agencies, human rights mechanisms, among others;
• Participate in meetings and decision-making as a member of the management team;
• Other duties as required.

Qualifications

• Degree (or equivalent experience) in a related field, such as Political Science, Law, Public Administration, Communications, International Development, Public Health or Health Policy; 
• Minimum 5 years’ experience in government relations, policy, advocacy or similar area of work, preferably in the not-for-profit sector;
• Management experience;
• Knowledge of and commitment to Action Canada’s mission and values, including a deep understanding of sexual and reproductive health and rights;
• Demonstrated commitment to anti-racism and anti-oppression principles and practices;
• Knowledge of international human rights systems, feminist and social justice organizations and international development sector, including the United Nations and its specialized agencies, global financing instruments, and international agreements relevant to sexual and reproductive health and rights;  
• Demonstrated knowledge of Canadian parliamentary processes, and the administrative and executive structures of government;
• Experience engaging with government officials, both elected and unelected;
• Experience with media relations, and as a media spokesperson;
• Experience developing, implementing, and evaluating public engagement campaigns, knowledge translation and creative strategies to engage diverse audiences towards advancing advocacy goals;
• Demonstrated experience engaging in reactionary and responsive as well as proactive advocacy;
• Experience preparing and delivering public statements, briefings, presentations and workshops;
• Experience working with allies and other representatives from the NGO sector, including working to advance advocacy priorities within networks and coalitions;
• Strong understanding of the role charitable organizations in Canada can play in the policy landscape;
• Excellent research, writing, analytical and persuasive skills;
• Flexible and adaptive, able to respond quickly and effectively to changing circumstances;
• Priority management, strong multi-tasking skills and ability to meet deadlines;
• Commitment to and demonstrated effectiveness working as part of a diverse and participatory team;
• Ability to work with minimal supervision while exhibiting strong initiative and judgment;
• Willingness to travel and work outside of normal business hours, when necessary;
• Comfortable using digital tools to manage work and collaborate with team members (e.g. Asana, Zoom, Dropbox etc.);
• Ability to engage in lobbying activities with the Government of Canada;
• Eligible to work in Canada;
• Bilingual (English/French) considered an asset.

Location

This position is based out of Action Canada’s Ottawa office, at 240 Bank Street. However, all staff are currently working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with no set return-to-office date. The successful candidate must be based in Ottawa and able to attend at the office, due to requirements of the position.

To apply:

Send your cover letter and CV by 5pm EST on Monday, May 31, 2021 to:

[email protected]

SUBJECT: Director of Government Relations

Short-listed candidates will be contacted by Friday, May 27, 2021. We anticipate that interviews for this position will take place over Zoom during the week of May 31, 2021.

This is a full-time (37.5 hours per week), salaried position. Salary for this position is $75,000 to $80,000 per annum, commensurate with experience. Action Canada also provides a generous benefits program, including extended health and dental benefits, and RRSP contributions.

Recognizing that we are in the midst of an unprecedented and unusual time, we have made adjustments to our hiring processes. At this time, all staff at Action Canada are working from home, and the interviewing and on-boarding process will occur remotely. We acknowledge that COVID-19 has caused disruptions to many lives and people may require additional accommodations. 

Action Canada is committed to working within an anti-racism and anti-oppression framework and dismantling the white supremacy inherent to the SRHR movement We are explicitly inviting  women and gender diverse members of Black, Indigenous, and racialized communities to apply and self-identify in your cover letter. We welcome applications from people living with disabilities; please let us know if you require accommodations at any stage of the recruitment process.

We thank all applicants in advance; however, only those invited for an interview will be contacted.