JOB OPPORTUNITY

Position: Events & Development Coordinator
Organization: rare Charitable Research Reserve
Location: Cambridge, Kitchener-Waterloo Region, Ontario

Who You Are

You follow a passion for people and the environment and want to work towards a greater good by contributing to a diverse team. You understand that your success is only as good as the whole, and you contribute in a humble way, for example by being the key lead on major events from planning to volunteer coordination to being the go-to person on the day-of. You have high expectations for yourself and your work and a healthy appetite for risk and experimentation while willing to learn from failure. You are someone who enjoys being independent and the freedom to develop yourself over being micromanaged. You are excited to represent rare and increase our visibility around town through collaborations and attendance at events. You are keen to ask donors and supporters for what you want and are prepared to get it and celebrate!

Who We Are

We are a community-based urban land trust and environmental institute that stewards over 1,500 acres of land in Waterloo Region/Wellington County. The lands we live on, work on and derive benefit from were taken away from the original stewards, and it is our goal to restore that connection and to work towards building ethical, reciprocal relationships. This includes learning about and acting on our responsibilities as settlers and unlearning our cultural and historical biases. Most of the land currently in our care is located within the Haldimand Tract, which is territory of the Onkwehon:we peoples of the Six Nations of the Grand River and the Mississaugas of the Credit Anishinaabe First Nation. In addition, we steward land at the border of the Upper Canada Treaty No. 3 and Treaty 19 which is also territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit. We honour and respect the sovereignty of these First Nations and their ancestors.

Conservation is our priority, and our goal is to make the environment more relevant in peoples’ lives through environmental research and education. Modelled after an academic institute or research lab, the culture we strive for is a casual work environment that is positive, supportive, collegial and often experimental. As a registered charity, we are not working towards making the biggest profit for a corporation but working towards finding the best ways on how we want to live sustainably. You can find more about our culture and values, who we are looking for and what you can expect in the Frequently Asked Question section at: https://www.raresites.org/about/careers#jobs

The Role

Reporting to the Major Gifts Manager, the Events & Development Coordinator will work collegially as part of the fundraising and communications team with program advisors, colleagues and volunteers, to represent rare and our needs to the broader community to build support – both social and financial – for our mission and programs. You will work in close collaboration with the Communications Officer.

The role requires sensibility, creativity and flexibility to build a strong community outreach and engagement system, with the ultimate goal to support rare’s major campaigns. You will have three overlapping areas of responsibility all with a focus on community engagement – events, annual fundraising, and volunteer and alumni engagement:

1. Planning, overseeing and leading rare’s all-hands-on-deck fundraising and community events, including the:

• Annual Trail Party, a family-friendly walk and fun run event with a community BBQ and peer-to-peer fundraising component
• Spring Art Auction or similar engagement-based online fundraising event
• Annual Pickleball tournament or similar in-person fundraising events
• Annual Spring Plant Sale & Eco Market
• Annual Ambassador donor recognition event
• Annual Volunteer recognition event
• Annual Long Dash Festival bringing together art and science
• Events related to the annual Eastern Comma/Question Mark Butterfly art fellowships
• Conversations for Conservation in-person speaker series
• Staff holiday party and other staff social events, including the JEDDI (Justice, Equity, Decolonization, Diversity and Inclusion) Snack ‘n Learn

All these activities involve planning the event, recruiting and leading volunteer teams and leading the day-of activities. Many of these events involve raising cash and in-kind sponsorships where needed, or leading peer-to-peer fundraising efforts. In addition, you will support your colleagues in hosting occasional program-specific events that occur on a less frequent basis, for example bioblitzes, environmental career fairs, donor cultivation events, etc. Many events involve tasks such as setting up online registration, organizing food, rentals, entertainment, soliciting items, sharing information for promotion etc.

2. Supporting two key annual fundraising activities - grant management and direct mail, including:

• Overseeing the grant management process by proactively researching upcoming grant opportunities and deadlines
• Hosting the grants meetings and bringing grant opportunities forward to colleagues for consideration and assignment
• Maintaining the database to track the status of all grant applications and to pull information for board and fundraising meetings
• Overseeing the direct mail process by working with the fundraising team to develop an annual plan for direct mail and ensure it coordinates with the annual communications plan
• Researching and developing direct mail themes and topics
• Writing direct mail letters
• Coordinating the printing and distribution of direct mail, including pricing and assembly – recruiting volunteers, as necessary
• Tracking and analyzing results in relation to previous years

3. Volunteer and alumni engagement, including:

• Working with colleagues to identify volunteer opportunities and needs
• Working with colleagues to draft volunteer job descriptions
• Working with colleagues to post and interview volunteers, where needed
• Identifying and implementing opportunities for volunteer feedback and recognition
• Starting an alumni network and identifying and implementing opportunities for alumni engagement

Requirements:

• Minimum 2 years of work experience in fundraising events and working with volunteers.
• Post-secondary education in fundraising/business/event planning is an asset, or an equivalent combination of education, training, and experience.
• Demonstrated interest in and passion for the environment.
• Excellent people skills, authenticity, genuine interest in interacting with people from all backgrounds.
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision, while supporting a collaborative team.
• Meticulous attention to detail and high degree of accuracy.
• Ability to collaborate and keen interest to push boundaries and seek unconventional or non-traditional events and/or partnerships.
• Positive attitude; ability to take responsibility and be accountable; ability to deal with change in the workplace and be innovative; respect for others.
• Interested in participating in collaborations with various community organizations across the Region that help advance your personal and professional interests.
• Ability to plan, direct and set realistic goals and lead and oversee others in following your plan.
• Demonstrated ability to manage and supervise others, particularly volunteers.
• Ability to evaluate success of various fundraising efforts and approaches.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently and on various tasks simultaneously, producing new ideas, and to have appropriate communications with others.
• Superb supporter and donor relations skills.
• Outstanding oral and written communication, interpersonal and presentation abilities.
• Ability to speak to groups of people in a variety of settings.
• Demonstrated experience in problem solving and good judgement.
• Demonstrated time-management and organizational skills.
• Flexibility with changing priorities and ability to remain focused to meet targeted timelines.
• Versatile in social media, and in platforms such as Adobe PDF Editor, Microsoft Office Suite.
• Ability to work in a collaborative team environment where everyone’s goals and progress are understood and considered.
• Demonstrated experience in using databases and ability to be able to train on databases; and the ability to learn and adapt to new technology.
• Experience with DonorPerfect, Canva, Photoshop, Illustrator, Webflow, RaceRoster and TicketTailor are an asset.

In addition to following all COVID-19 safety measures to ensure the safety of our staff, volunteers and guests, the rare Charitable Research Reserve requires all staff be fully vaccinated (at least two doses) against COVID-19 as a condition of employment.

Don’t meet all requirements?

We don’t expect you to be perfect, but we want you to have confidence in your own ability to progress. Know how to run events but you haven’t written a direct mail letter before? If we decide to hire you, we want you to succeed and we will support and train you in areas that need developing. Conferences, training and mentorship by more experienced colleagues and volunteers are all considered part of your work and encouraged.

Work Environment

• A hybrid work model, responsibilities for this role are carried out primarily in our office and on site, and remotely when possible. This position requires in-person visits with sponsors and donors, venue visits and attending events in the community. Tuesdays are in-office collaboration days.
• Required to work outside of regular office hours to accommodate event schedules which is adjusted by flexible tracking system for time worked.
• Supported fully by the rare team, event days require a high degree of precision to ensure all aspects of the event are carried out successfully.
• Physical activity may include lifting boxes with materials, setting up equipment, etc., up to 20kg, ability to attend hikes/outdoor events during all seasons/weather conditions.
• Invitation for voluntary participation on the JEDDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, Decolonization and Inclusion) committee.
• We operate across different sites, many of which are not accessible by public transit. This role may involve transporting promotional materials and related items. Access to a vehicle and a driver’s license is required

Compensation Package

• This is a 58-week maternity leave coverage contract that is a full-time position with a salary range of $50,000-$62,000 annually – based on experience, skills, education and training of the successful candidate.
• The anticipated start date is March 10, 2025 with an end date of April 17, 2026.

Additional Benefits

• Additional days off – beyond your annual vacation leave. In 2025, there are 11 extra paid holidays in addition to statutory holidays.
• Generous amount of paid Personal Days off.
• 3 paid Volunteer Days to support community organizations/programs.
• Overtime in lieu of regular working hours (35 hours/week) accrued at time and a half.
• Possibility for flexible hours, easy to manage using the organization’s HR portal (BambooHR).
• Opportunities for training, mentoring and professional development.
• Support for taking initiative and pursuing aligned personal interest projects as time permits.
• Monthly team building and social opportunities, including outings, lunches, and being together on the land.
• Dogs are welcome to visit the office in accordance with related policies.
• Free employee parking.

Deadline for applications is January 6, 2025.

How To Apply

Applicants are invited to send their application as ONE attachment to the following email address: jobs@raresites.org .

Only documents including a cover letter and resume compiled into ONE PDF file will be reviewed. Any application materials provided within the body (text) of your email or as separate documents will not be considered. Cover letters for this position may be addressed to Christine Thompson. Please include the name of the position for which you are applying in the email subject line.

Please mention you saw this posting at GoodWork.ca.

No phone calls or social media outreach please. Only selected candidates will be contacted for an interview.

As part of our commitment to racial justice, reconciliation, and equity building, we welcome individuals from marginalized communities including Black people, Indigenous people, people of colour, 2SLGBTQIA+ and self-identifying women candidates to apply for this position. We encourage people with disabilities to apply. Accommodations are available upon request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process.

We are dedicated to removing bias from our hiring process. For this reason, we have implemented an anonymous review component in our recruitment process. What does this mean? We will be removing your name, address, and e-mail address and any other potential identifying information from your application/resume prior to it being reviewed by the hiring manager, during the first stage of the recruitment process. If you are selected for an interview, this information will become available to the hiring manager only at that time.