Advocacy Specialist

Would you like to work for a not-for-profit organization that is dedicated to maximizing the independence and community participation of people with disabilities across Canada? Would you like to play a role in advocating for inclusion and equity for all people living with disabilities?

March of Dimes Canada (MODC) is a federally registered national charity that offers a wide variety of programs and services to Canadians living with disabilities. Since 1951, starting with the polio epidemic, March of Dimes Canada has been on the forefront of the disability movement. We are focused on a bold vision of enhancing services, financing the vision, building partnerships and creating an appropriate and sustainable infrastructure.

**Profile**:
Reporting to the National Manager, Public Affairs, the **Advocacy Specialist** contributes to the activities of the department by implementing advocacy and community engagement initiatives, managing public affairs projects, and coordinating government relations activities.

**Responsibilities**:

- Acts as the lead contact and coordinator for the Disability Advocacy Network, to engage and empower people with disabilities, their families and caregivers. Responsible for developing curriculum materials, as well as delivering and evaluating workshops and resources.
- Coordinates, administers and supports client engagement activities to ensure MODC’s advocacy is informed by people with lived experience, including leading member relations for the Disability Advocacy Network, as well as coordinating meetings with a volunteer advisory committee and building effective working relationships with and amongst committee members
- Develops and maintains relationships with government, stakeholder groups and allied organizations through preparing correspondence, presentations and briefing materials and representing March of Dimes Canada at stakeholder tables
- Leads coordination and logistics for Public Affairs events such as lobby days and community riding events, including managing invitations, guest lists, logistics, run-of-show, and supporting clients to participate
- Implements issue-based advocacy campaigns and communications in collaboration with the National Manager, Public Affairs, building an effective, broad base of advocates who support MODC advocacy initiatives in jurisdictions across Canada
- Provides back-end support to the Public Affairs department by triaging/responding to incoming inquiries; maintaining lobbyist registrations in relevant jurisdictions; maintaining the department’s stakeholder relations database; scheduling meetings with government officials; and coordinating finance and procurement processes on behalf of the Public Affairs team
- Manages, motivates and develops Public Affairs volunteers, championing and modelling MODC’s Culture Code and core values of teamwork, accountability and innovation

**Qualifications and Experience**:

- Post-secondary degree or diploma/certificate in political science, public policy/administration, disability studies, equity studies, and/or related equivalent experience
- Three to five years’ experience in the non-profit or public sector in a role including advocacy, public policy, program coordination, stakeholder relations, or similar
- Understanding of government structure and public policy processes in Canada
- Superior written and oral communication skills, and ability to present information in a professional, compelling and accessible way
- Exceptional interpersonal skills, empathy and the ability to actively support and encourage client participation in advocacy initiatives
- Demonstrated time management and ability to work independently
- Exceptional organization skills, judgement, tact and diplomacy
- Advanced MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.) skills and comfort working with a variety of digital platforms and tools
- Lived experience with disability strongly preferred

If you are interested in transforming the quality of life for people with disabilities, please submit your cover letter and resume in confidence to: Human Resources by March 10, 2023.

**Please note the following**:

- This position reports to our national Public Affairs team, based out of Toronto.
- This position has the option to work in a hybrid model of working and will require in-person meetings and travel on an ad hoc basis.
- Please indicate where you saw this posting in your cover letter, for our tracking purposes.

Please note that March of Dimes Canada has a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy. All employees must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by receiving all required doses of a vaccine approved by Health Canada at least 14 days prior to the commencement of their employment, or as otherwise recommend by public health authorities. We will provide reasonable accommodation to individuals who are unable to be vaccinated for medical reasons or on the basis of any other protected ground, as required under applicable human rights