Internship - Estimation (Winter 2027)

As one of the largest faculty and staff associations in BC, the BCIT Faculty & Staff Association (FSA) is a membership-driven, certified trade union that represents full-time and part-time technological faculty and staff at BCIT. Through representation on committees, negotiation with BCIT and advocacy for our members, we work to advance the employment interests of members and improve working conditions at BCIT.
Joining an innovative and creative team of 9, the Executive Director (ED) drives the "RNA" of the FSA: Representation, Negotiation, Advocacy. The role carries the primary accountability and principal responsibility for the FSA's work. The new ED will strive to support a collaborative, cohesive team, to do meaningful work to support, protect, and advance the workplace rights of the FSA membership. Our vision, mission, and values are available at https://www.bcitfsa.ca/about/.
The FSA office is at the BCIT Burnaby campus located on unceded Indigenous land belonging to the Coast Salish peoples, including the territories of the xÊ·mÉTMθkÊ·ÉTMyÌ"ÉTMm (Musqueam), Sá ̧μwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and sÉTMlilwÉTMtaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.
How you like to work You're in your element when working in an integrated team that is small, flexible, and consultative. You're eager to play a strategic, thoughtful, and compassionate leadership role, and be part of a team guided by the collective membership's best interests. You help teams collaborate effectively and efficiently. You know that dialogue, communication, and reflection drive relationships and build a healthy workplace. You like to seek creative solutions and are open to different approaches. You love learning new ways of leading teams and keep on top of information and changes in the sectors you work in.
Is this the right fit for you? The experience you bring into this role is important to us. We want to know how your story and knowledge will help you lead our high-performing team. We are looking for a strong people leader and collaborative labour rights practitioner who sees themselves and their skills reflected in the Core Competencies listed below. Some critical characteristics of the future FSA ED are the ability to effectively communicate, apply emotional intelligence to situations, and demonstrate an instinct to know what opportunities to pursue in service to the FSA mission.
Areas of Responsibility Reporting to the Board of Directors, the ED is ultimately accountable for all aspects of the FSA's operations. The key responsibilities are:
Negotiates with BCIT concerning labour relations and administrative matters and strategically leads the FSA in collective bargaining with BCIT (i.e., may serve as the Chief Negotiator)
Advises the FSA Board during strategic planning and thereafter works collaboratively with the Board to achieve FSA Board approved strategies
Advocates for, negotiates for, and represents FSA members possibly including hearings and other bodies
Stakeholder Relations Fosters effective and constructive relationships with all stakeholders
Represents the FSA to, and works with, BCIT, governmental, community, labour audiences, and other stakeholders to advance the FSA's vision, mission, and strategic plan
Sector Knowledge With the input from the FSA board and greater membership, seeks to understand the sectors BCIT serves and stay informed about threats and opportunities across these sectors at the government, labour, and economic levels
Monitors BCIT and external organizations for issues, trends, and practices that are relevant to the strategic directions of the FSA and FSA member rights, and advises the FSA Board accordingly
Presents issues of relevance from the FSA membership to the FSA Board and membership through channels such as FSA Tech Reps, General Membership meetings, and FSA communication channels
Ensures resources are in place to provide education and training on items in the Collective Agreement
Critical Operations Management Works collaboratively with the Associate Executive Director to foster a respectful, healthy, and collegial work environment through exercising strong leadership capacities such as support and direction, coaching, and performance development
Acts as a positive and strategic catalyst to foster culture change towards responding to membership feedback and bettering service standards while maintaining positive relationships between governance and operations branches
Strategically balances leadership versus management activities to support the FSA staff team to develop efficiencies and optimize their strengths
Exercises accountability for all matters relating to organizational systems, personnel, and operations within the approved budget and policies in a way that ensures the continuity and high quality of FSA activities
Complies with the FSA staff CUPE collective agreement and speaks for the FSA in staff grievance and collective bargain