School & Sport Program Development for Special

**School & Sport Program Development Workers for Special Olympics Ontario**

**One Year Contract**

This is a thirteen-month contract position at 37.5 hours per week is responsible for the administrative support and execution of our school programs and events.

**About Special Olympics Ontario**

Special Olympics Ontario is a charitable non-profit organization that offers year-round sports opportunities, training, and quality competition experiences for individuals of all ages with intellectual disabilities. As a grass-roots organization, Special Olympics Ontario relies on volunteers at all levels of the movement and enthusiastic partners to empower and transform the lives of athletes of all abilities, helping them reach their full potential through inclusive sports and leadership opportunities.

When you join Special Olympics, you become part of a global movement that promotes inclusion, acceptance, and positive social change through the power of Sport.

In addition to the benefits listed, Special Olympics proudly promotes a strong and inclusive office culture. Our employees have access to connect and engage with many athletes and volunteers along with many sport and competition events across Ontario.

The Special Olympics Ontario School Program offers sports, competition, and leadership opportunities for students with intellectual disabilities. Competitions are available for elementary (ages 4-12) and secondary (ages 13-21) students. The sports include basketball, soccer, bocce, track & field, and floorball. The scheduling of school-based competitions is a joint effort in partnership with host schools and school boards.

The School Sport Program Development Worker will design, relaunch, and implement unified sports, leadership, awareness, and educational programs at both elementary and secondary levels throughout Ontario.

**What is Unified Sport**

Unified Sport is an inclusive sports program that **brings people with and without intellectual disabilities** together through competition. It was motivated by the straightforward idea that friendship and understanding may be quickly attained via playing and training together. Teams in Unified Sports are composed of individuals with comparable ages and skill levels. Unified Sport enables every student to become part of their school's social fabric.

**Responsibilities**

**Program Development**:

- Design and implement new and innovative Special Olympics programs in alignment with organizational goals.
- Responsible for developing and implementing the Unified Champion School program throughout Ontario's elementary and secondary schools, including the athlete leadership and full school engagement model.
- Educational content and resource development to support program launch and sustainability.
- Develop transition programming within school structures to support athlete transition within the school framework and then into the community.
- Integration and design of sports-based and unified programming into elementary schools
- Support the integration of Special Olympics programs and initiatives into education systems and curriculums at all levels of education.
- Implement a strategic unified program targeting communities with limited programming and infrastructure.

**Event Management/Oversight**
- Facilitate and provide support for sport competitions and events across the province.
- This will include.
- Securing host facilities (local high schools, universities, community and corporate facilities)
- Securing volunteers & officials
- Assist with outreach and advertisement of events to local schools and to engage the local community.
- Monitoring online registration of events
- Creating and building on the competition schedules
- Executing and coordinating day of competition
- Create post-competition reports and recommendations.

**Communications & Promotion**
- Employ a new outreach, communications and engagement strategy within schools.
- Design and launch a school awareness campaign to promote the Unified Champion School program and its impact and success
- Collaborate with the communications and marketing department to promote new program initiatives, develop content, and implement campaign and social media strategies.

**Stakeholder Engagement & Partnership Development**:

- Identify and establish strategic partnerships with government agencies, community organizations, grassroots sports organizations, corporations, and other entities to support program initiatives.
- Cultivate relationships with School Boards, Special Education Advisory Councils, schools, educators and other key stakeholders in the education system.
- Build relationships with colleges and universities to expand programs and event capacity.
- Collaborate with the marketing and communications team to promote new program initiatives and partnerships and enhance the organization's visibility.

**School Program Support**
- Support the development of new competition and event frameworks
- Suppo