Application deadline: January 6, 2012
Internship Overview:
Ecology Ottawa is looking for a dynamic activist that wants to learn more about
how environmental organizations work and make a meaningful contribution to a
grassroots environmental movement. This is an opportunity to work directly
alongside someone with 20 years of campaign experience at an exciting time in
the evolution of one of Ottawa’s leading grassroots environmental organization.
You will act as the direct assistant to the Chair of Ecology Ottawa (see bio
below) for a four to five month period (January-May 2012). During this time you
will:
• learn how organizations develop and execute campaigns and strategic plans by
assisting with the development of Ecology Ottawa’s long-term strategic plan;
• learn how organizations manage relations with active supporters by helping to
overhaul Ecology Ottawa’s systems for communicating with roughly 10,000 active
supporters, more than 1,000 individual donors, and over 400 volunteers;
• learn how organizations structure their fundraising efforts with
institutional donors and foundations, as well as major donors and individuals,
by assisting with fundraising efforts;
• help to build a new Ecology Ottawa campaigning arm that will be at the centre
of our organizational structure and grassroots public mobilization for years to
come; and
• organise meetings with local leaders across the City of Ottawa to discuss the
above issues and attend many of those meetings with Ecology Ottawa’s Chair.
This is an unpaid internship that requires a commitment of at least 30 hours
per week from mid-January through May. You will report directly to the Chair of
Ecology Ottawa who will ensure that this is both a demanding job and a
meaningful learning experience.
Qualifications:
The successful candidate will have some combination of the following:
• A demonstrated passion for environmental issues and commitment to community
activism.
• Excellent communication skills (written and verbal).
• A university degree or equivalent work experience.
• Fluency in English is essential and fluency in French is a major advantage.
Interested?
Please send a resume and a cover letter detailing why you are interested in
this position to Graham Saul, Chair, Ecology Ottawa, at graham.saul [at]
ecologyottawa.ca
Ecology Ottawa would like to thank all who apply. We will confirm receipt of
all applications but will only be able to follow-up with those applicants
selected for an interview. No phone calls please.
Please note: This is an unpaid internship and the successful candidate is
expected to make a time commitment of at least 30 hours per week.
Deadline
The deadline for applications is 5pm Eastern Time on January 6, 2012.
About Ecology Ottawa:
Founded in 2006, Ecology Ottawa has grown into one of the largest organizations
in the city focused on local environmental issues. We are a volunteer-driven,
non-profit organization working to make Ottawa the green capital of Canada. We
believe that Ottawans want sustainable communities and that they care about
issues such as public transit, pollution, greenspace, global warming, renewable
energy, waste disposal, and recycling. We are helping residents come together
to nurture sustainable communities and build a grassroots, city-wide movement to
ensure that these concerns are heard at city hall.
Cities are home to 80 percent of Canada’s population, and there is no way to
tackle the scale of the environmental crisis that we are facing in the
twenty-first century without leadership from every sector of society and all
levels of government. Ottawa is where we live, work, learn, and grow, and it is
where we must learn to do so in ways that don’t degrade our ecosystems.
By increasing citizen participation in decisions that shape Ottawa’s
environment, we can hold city council accountable for its environmental
performance and bring our nation’s capital back to the forefront of efforts to
foster healthy communities and develop sustainable solutions.
Biography: Graham Saul, Chair of Ecology Ottawa:
Graham Saul is a co-founder and Chair of Ecology Ottawa and the outgoing
Executive Director of Climate Action Network Canada.
Graham has almost 20 years experience working on global justice and
environmental issues. In 1993, Graham worked as a Research Fellow at the South
African Institute for International Affairs in Johannesburg. He returned to
Africa the next year and worked with Oxfam International in Maputo, Mozambique,
for five years (1994 to 1999). There he designed and implemented a joint Oxfam
advocacy capacity building program that provided support to a range of
Mozambican coalitions involved in struggles around the debt crisis, the role of
the World Bank, landmines, land rights and persistent organic pollutants. From
1999 to 2004, Graham worked for the Washington, D.C.-based Bank Information
Center (BIC). BIC is a non-profit organization that provides information and
strategic support to organizations and communities on the policies and
practices of the World Bank Group and other Multilateral Development Banks.
Graham was responsible for establishing BIC’s Africa Program, and sustaining its
Europe and Central Asia Program and Transparency Program. Graham has also
served as the International Program Director for Friends of the Earth Canada
and Oil Change International respectively. From 2007 to January 2012, Graham
served as the Executive Director of Climate Action Network Canada, a coalition
of more than 80 environmental, faith, aboriginal, labour, youth, health, and
international development organizations that are working together to push for
action on climate change. He is a co-founder of the Global Transparency
Initiative and Ecology Ottawa, and has served on the board of directors of the
U.S.-based 50 Years is Enough Network and the review committee of the Central
and Eastern European Bankwatch Network. He is currently a member of the Board
of Directors of the Canary Institute for Mining, Environment and Health. Graham
holds a degree in Political Science from McGill University.
