Partnership Liaison

**Employment Opportunity**

**Partnership Liaison**

**About Keepers of the Circle**

Keepers of the Circle is an Indigenous Hub operated by the Temiskaming Native Women’s Support Group (TNWSG), a non-profit organization founded in 1997 to promote the economic, cultural, and social equity of Indigenous women. The TNWSG was also mandated to establish culturally based programs and services to for Indigenous women and their families in the District of Temiskaming. In 2018, the mandate extended across the province with our appointment as the Ontario representative for the Native Women’s Association of Canada. Keepers of the Circle (KOTC) programming is focused on the restoration and retention of Indigenous languages and Indigenous Traditional Knowledge; economic security and self-determination; and creating culturally safe spaces for Indigenous women and families.

**About the Role**

Keepers of the Circle is looking to recruit Partnership Liaisons to engage and develop partnerships with communities, industry partners, and other organizations across Ontario and nationally within a diversity of sector including, but not limited to: mining, construction, renewable energy, community support care, and healthcare. The role of the Partnership Liaison is to create these partnerships to support Indigenous women, girls, and gender-diverse people who have completed our _Culture, Confidence, and Competence (CCC) _pre-employment training program to obtain sector-specific work placements that are aligned with their personal and professional goals.

Culture, Confidence, and Competence program is a culturally-rooted and trauma-informed program that is focused on personal and professional development. All members who complete the program will develop a training plan that will identify their post-training goals. The Partnership Liaison will be responsible for identifying employment or work placement opportunities for members that support their individualized goals and training plans through newly established or existing industry/community partnerships. As Indigenous women, girls, and gender-diverse people face various barriers and challenges in the workplace, the Partnership Liaison will be focused on ensuring that industry partners and employers provide culturally safe work environments for our members. This includes conducting company assessments on workplace diversity, identifying strategies to improve cultural competency, and organizing regular evaluations of employers to monitor progress.

**Roles and Responsibilities of Partnership Liaisons include**:

- Identify provincial and national industry partners and organizations through partnership mapping and create an outreach strategy for partnership engagement
- Conduct community outreach with Indigenous communities to identify opportunities for partnership and community-specific training
- Deliver presentations to industry partners, community partners, and other organizations to support with establishing agreements to offer Indigenous women, girls, and gender-diverse women work or employment opportunities
- Negotiate and create agreements between industry partners and Keepers of the Circle to provide work placement or employment opportunities for members who have completed our Culture, Confidence, and Competence training program
- Collaborate with the Skills Development Team to coordinate work placements and additional sector-specific trainings that are aligned with member’s personal and professional development training plans
- Assess industry employer’s workplace diversity, equity, and inclusion practices
- Identify and implement strategies to improve employer’s cultural competency and reconciliation efforts
- Monitor and evaluate cultural competence progress for employers as well as the ongoing cultural safety of their work environments
- Properly maintain documentation of partnerships and progress and provide monthly updates and reports to the Executive Director
- Assist Program Practitioners to provide support for Indigenous women, girls, and gender-diverse people during their work placements and address any workplace environment challenges or issues that may arise with employers
- Advocate for the safety and inclusion of Indigenous women, girls, and gender-diverse people in the workplace
- Coordinate and co-host knowledge exchange dialogues on career pathways within sectors in the skilled trades
- Other assigned duties to support the Skills Development Team at Keepers of the Circle
- Act as a positive representation of Keepers of the Circle at all times

**Requirements and Skills**
- Non-judgemental and inclusive
- Excellent oral and written communication skills and is comfortable leading presentations and workshops with management teams
- Strong interpersonal skills
- Experience working in a group within an Indigenous community setting
- Organized and efficient with time management
- Working knowledge of MS Office
- Excellent problem-solving ability
- Respe