Advocacy Specialist

Overview:
The Advocacy Specialist is responsible for leading and coordinating advocacy efforts driven by and on behalf of undergraduate students at the University of Waterloo. This includes understanding current student issues, monitoring, and interpreting relevant legislation and regulations, supervising part-time staff, coordinating advocacy campaigns, and building and maintaining relationships with key stakeholders.

**Responsibilities**:
Student Advocacy Planning and Execution
- Develop and implement advocacy strategies and programs that are driven by WUSA’s long range plan to promote student engagement and representation
- Promote equity, diversity, and inclusion within the institution through the development and implementation of initiatives and policies
- Collaborate alongside their manager to ensure that advocacy priorities are known and understood by administration at the university
- Prepare regular reports on advocacy efforts and outcomes for Manager and other stakeholders
- Works closely with the Advocacy and Outreach team to plan and execute events, such as rallies, press conferences, educational campaigns and lobbying days, to advance the organization's policy and advocacy goals
- Establishes performance indicators and assessment methods to measure achievement in all areas of responsibility including program goals and objectives and individual program success
- Represents the students' interests and concerns at meetings and events with external stakeholders

Staff Management and Development
- Supervise a team of part-time staff, including student volunteers, to assist with research and advocacy efforts
- Responsible for making key decisions in times of crisis when the Manager, Advocacy and Stakeholder Relations is not present. They must therefore have experience managing difficult situations, crises and making decisions independently, with little direction
- Oversees the day-to-day operations of the student part time staff. The Specialist will be expected to provide additional program support, leadership, and assist in decision making during peak times as programs evolve and grow
- Develops and coordinates the recruitment, hiring, selection, onboarding, training, performance management, appreciation of and recognition of all direct reports

Administrative and Project Management
- Monitor and interpret relevant legislation and regulations that affect post-secondary students in Canada
- Maintain a strong understanding of current trends and best practices around the student experience in higher education
- Communicate the organization's policy positions and advocacy efforts to the media, members, and the public
- Collaborate with other departments and the organization's leadership team to ensure policy and advocacy efforts align with overall organizational strategy

Relationship Management and Collaboration
- Facilitate a strong working relationship with internal stakeholders (WUSA) and campus partners
- Works closely with other staff at WUSA to ensure a coordinated and integrated approach to program development and delivery, and communications
- Participate in and contribute to regular team and department wide meetings, as appropriate
- Along with the Manager, works closely with internal staff and campus partners to ensure the needs of current students are being met

Qualifications:

- Post-secondary degree in a related discipline or equivalent combination of education and experience
- A minimum of 3 years of experience in advocacy or related field
- Minimum of 1 year of experience supervising, evaluating and coaching part time employees
- Strong research and analytical skills
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Knowledge of conventions and standards in policy/stance writing
- Experience in determining if policies/stances align with objectives
- Strong organizational and project management skills
- Experience in supervising and leading teams
- Knowledge of relevant legislation and regulations affecting post-secondary education in Canada
- Experience in promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion
- Demonstrated ability to be creative and engaging in event/idea generation
- Passion for advocating on behalf of post-secondary students and a commitment to promoting access and affordability in post-secondary education
- Analytical and decision-making skills, creative problem-solving approaches
- Develops, writes, and follows appropriate process documentation
- Project management, leading teams and delegating to achieve results through teamwork
- Ability to work independently and as part of a team; ability to take initiative and be proactive
- Advanced: MS Word, Office Suite

Equity Statement:
The University of Waterloo acknowledges that much of our work takes place on the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabeg and Haudenosaunee peoples. Our main campus is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land granted to the Six Nations that includes six miles on each side of the Gran