Monday 7 January 2013

ACFOLA's Project Assistant Position

The African Canadian Federation of London and Area (ACFOLA) is a non-profit umbrella organization based in London, Ontario. ACFOLA focuses on skills development, cultural activities, professional networking, social advocacy, education, and economic empowerment. ACFOLA works closely with African community organizations and social service providers to enhance and expand access to quality, community responsive social and economic (employment) development programs for all African Canadians who are underserved and underrepresented.

At present, we are seeking to recruit a Project Assistant for an economic development project that will address key issues, resources and strategies needed to promote self-employment, entrepreneurship, and small business development.

Position Term: Ten to twelve months Full Time contract position with possibility for extension

Summary of Duties: Reports to ACFOLA’s Project Manager, providing clerical and administrative supports, assisting in research and data management, problem solving, organizing community conversations, conducting outreach and membership drives, maintaining all contact information and data relevant to marketing and research activities.

How do I qualify?
Education and Knowledge:
  • Bachelor’s degree or equivalent advanced University education.
  • Experience/knowledge of office administrative processes and procedures.

Experience:
Three years’ administrative experience including but not limited to the following skills and abilities: creative thinking, problem solving, planning, observing and providing support, and networking.

Skills and Attributes:
  • Demonstrates a strong understanding of African culture, traditions and belief systems
  • Ability to identify and facilitate connections with the African Canadian population
  • Ability to speak one or two African languages will be an asset
  • Possesses excellent interpersonal skills and charismatic qualities working with grassroots and African populations
  • Demonstrates strong verbal and written communication skills
  • Ability to organize information in a clear and concise manner
  • Possesses speedy and accurate typing skills
  • Possesses excellent organization, customer service, and time management skills
  • Must have excellent computer skills and knowledge of e-mail platforms, webmail, MS Office (including Word, Excel and PowerPoint), database systems, and internet web-based applications
  • Ability to write excellent reports (daily, weekly or monthly) detailing the project events and activities; and prepare overheads, charts and other graphics
  • Ability to work independently and meet targets, goals, deadlines and benchmarks

Detailed Duties/Job Specifications:
·         Demonstrates understanding and commitment to promoting the vision, mission and purpose of ACFOLA and a willingness to adhere to them
·         Promote ACFOLA in the African Canadian and wider community
·         Provide excellent community development, data management, secretarial, and administrative support to Project Manager and staff
·         Assist with planning, coordinating and implementing project activities
·         Create and maintain a reliable and well-kept database for quick access to contact listing, easy tracking/retrieval of information, and speedy generation of reports
·         Maintain contact information/data relevant to marketing and research activities
·         Compile directories, email addresses, mailing lists, and contact information for African Canadians in London and area
·         Help with researching and identifying best practices
·         Help with developing plans, researching information about community organizations, funders and foundations
·         Help collect, process, analyse, and present data on ACFOLA’s target populations
·         Assist with organizing a census, surveys, focus groups, and administrative records
·         Organize, attend and actively participate in weekly and monthly meetings
·         Organize conversation cafés, meetings, workshops and conferences
·         Develop, assemble and distribute promotional materials and displays as part of awareness creation and sensitization campaigns
·         Prepare reports, make effective presentations, prepare newsletters and design promotional tools like posters, flyers and brochures
·         Design, maintain and author content on ACFOLA’s website
·         Learn about and use web-based applications like Google analytics for tracking website performance and visits, and for generating relevant statistics and reports
·         Navigate and extract data from web-based portals and other relevant database systems
·         Performs related duties as assigned

How to Apply: All applicants are required to send in a cover letter and resume by email to info@acfola.ca. Only short-listed applicants will be contacted for an interview.

Application Deadline: January 18, 2013 @ 5:00 p.m.

ACFOLA's Researcher Position

The African Canadian Federation of London and Area (ACFOLA) is a non-profit umbrella organization based in London, Ontario. ACFOLA focuses on skills development, cultural activities, professional networking, social advocacy, education, and economic empowerment. ACFOLA works closely with African community organizations and social service providers to enhance and expand access to quality, community responsive social and economic (employment) development programs for all African Canadians who are underserved and underrepresented.

At present, we are seeking to recruit a Researcher for an economic development project that will address key issues, resources and strategies needed to promote self-employment, entrepreneurship, and small business development:

Position Term: Ten to twelve months, full-time contract position with possibility for extension.

Summary of Duties: Report to the Project Manager and ACFOLA’s Project Steering Committee, provide knowledge, demonstrate research expertise, solve problems, organize and analyze research results, and provide reports.

How do I qualify?
Education and Knowledge:
·         Master’s degree or equivalent advanced University education.
·         Excellent knowledge of research methodologies, analytical techniques and skills.

Experience:
Two to three years’ research experience and good understanding of community development and project management work.

Skills and Attributes:
·         Demonstrates a strong understanding of African culture, traditions and belief systems
·         Ability to speak one or two African languages will be an asset
·         Possesses good interpersonal skills and charismatic qualities working with grassroots and African populations
·         Ability to research and assess the needs of African Canadians and to better understand their situation
·         Possesses excellent computer skills and knowledge of MS Office including Word, Excel and PowerPoint
·         Possesses excellent organization and time management skills
·         Ability to work independently and meet targets, goals, deadlines and benchmarks
·         Demonstrates a strong and advanced verbal and written communication skills
·         Ability to organize a census, surveys, focus groups, and conversations cafés.

Detailed Duties/Job Specifications:
·         Demonstrates understanding and commitment to promoting the vision, mission and purpose of ACFOLA and a willingness to adhere to them
·         Promote ACFOLA in the African Canadian and wider community
·         Plan, design and conduct research/ data analysis for internal and external stakeholders
·         Create and maintain reliable databases as repositories for research and statistical information
·         Create, use and manage complex and multiple databases
·         Analyse and advise on the impact of policy changes at the federal, provincial and municipal level
·         Navigate and extract data from web-based portals and other relevant database systems
·         Learn and use specialized web-based applications, including Statistics Canada’s Beyond 20/20 browser
·         Design, plan, and implement project’s research activities
·         Help develop, assemble and distribute promotional materials and displays as part of awareness creation and sensitization campaigns
·         Provide reports, make effective presentations, help prepare newsletters and help design promotional tools like posters, flyers and brochures
·         Help prepare weekly/monthly written reports detailing the project’s events and activities
·         Attend and participate in meetings to review project plans, activities, and priorities
·         Provide assistance for developing projects and writing proposals
·         Develop ACFOLA’s Strategic Economic Development Plan (SEDP) to address the needs, situation and economic barriers of African Canadians in London and area
·         Performs related duties as assigned

How to Apply: All applicants are required to send in a cover letter and resume by email to info@acfola.ca. Only short-listed applicants will be contacted for an interview.

Application Deadline: January 18, 2013 @ 5:00 p.m.


ACFOLA's Project Manager Position

The African Canadian Federation of London and Area (ACFOLA) is a non-profit umbrella organization based in London, Ontario. ACFOLA focuses on skills development, cultural activities, professional networking, social advocacy, education, and economic empowerment. ACFOLA works closely with African community organizations and social service providers to enhance and expand access to quality, community responsive social and economic (employment) development programs for all African Canadians who are underserved and underrepresented.

At present, we are seeking to recruit a Project Manager for an economic development project that will address key issues, resources and strategies needed to promote self-employment, entrepreneurship, and small business development. This position reports to the Project Steering Committee and the Board of Directors.

Position Term: Ten to twelve months, full-time contract position with possibility for extension.

Summary of Duties and Responsibilities: In this role, you will:
·         Provide leadership, managerial, research and administrative expertise
·         Be responsible for planning, leading, and managing the implementation of all aspects of the project
·         Manage relationships with various community partners and other stakeholders
·         Organize and analyze community conversations; manage outreach and membership drives
·         Perform other duties and responsibilities as assigned.

How do I qualify?
Education and Knowledge:
·         At least a Master’s degree or equivalent advanced University education
·         Working knowledge of project management methodologies and best practices
·         Excellent knowledge of research methodologies, analytical techniques and skills

Experience:  
A minimum of three years of related experience in community development and project management, including but not limited to the following skills and abilities: creative visioning, strategic problem solving, project planning, and networking.

Skills and Attributes:
·         Possesses excellent interpersonal skills and charismatic qualities working with grassroots and African populations
·         Demonstrates a strong understanding of African culture, traditions and belief systems
·         Ability to speak one or two African languages will be an asset
·         Highly developed influencing, negotiating, communications and presentation skills
·         Possesses excellent organization and time management skills; and, excellent computer skills and knowledge of MS Office Suite of programs and Database Management software
·         Able to work independently and meet targets, goals, deadlines and benchmarks
·         Demonstrates strong and advanced verbal and written communication skills
·         Able to establish community partnerships and collaborative work environment in order to achieve project objectives
·         Able to do research, develop projects, write proposals and obtain funding for community and/or social projects.

Detailed Duties/Job Specifications:
·         Demonstrates understanding and commitment to promoting the vision, mission and purpose of ACFOLA and a willingness to adhere to them
·         Promote ACFOLA in the African Canadian and wider community through the media to increase its visibility
·         Provide excellent leadership, managerial and administrative supports as Project Manager
·         Lead the day to day management and administration of projects
·         Build the economic capacity of ACFOLA; serve as conduit for micro-financing and small business loans and supports, and create opportunities to access existing employment supports and programs
·         Manage and assess the needs of African Canadians and better understand their situation
·         Identify employment barriers for African Canadians, develop job opportunities and/ or refer them for help through employment and business agencies
·         Design, plan, coordinate and implement project activities
·         Oversee the maintenance of reliable databases as repositories for research, statistical and other information  
·         Develop, assemble and supervise the distribution of promotional materials and displays as part of awareness creation and sensitization campaigns
·         Provide reports, make effective presentations, prepare newsletters and design promotional tools like posters, flyers and brochures
·         Review content on ACFOLA’s website
·         Prepare weekly/monthly written reports detailing the project’s activities
·         Oversee the organization of a census, surveys, focus groups, conversations cafés and conferences
·         Call, attend, participate in and chair meetings to review the project’s plan, activities, and priorities
·         Oversee research, develop projects, write proposals, and obtain funding to meet identified needs
·         Lead the development and implementation of ACFOLA’s Strategic Economic Development Plan (SEDP) to address the needs, situation, and economic barriers of African Canadians in London and area
·         Perform related duties as assigned

How to Apply: All applicants are required to send in a cover letter and resume by email to info@acfola.ca. Only short-listed applicants will be contacted for an interview.

Application Deadline: January 18, 2013 @ 5:00 p.m.