Toronto Women in Action Housing Advocacy Coordinator

Full-Time Contract Until June 2026

For almost 50 years Nellie’s has been providing shelter and support for marginalized women and their children in the Greater Toronto Area. We are mandated to operate programs and services for women and children who had or are experiencing violence, poverty, and homelessness. Nellie’s works to lessen homeless for women and their children whether the cause is family violence, mental health, or any other reason that results in dealing with the impact from trauma. In addition to providing shelter, our programs are designed to reduce the isolation that often comes with abuse.

Our core operations involve our 38-bed emergency shelter for women and their children who are homeless or escaping violent situations. In addition to our shelter, Nellie’s operates Community Support and Outreach programs that provides after care support and follow-up services to women and their children after they leave the shelter, as well as transitional housing support for women living in the community who are homeless or at-risk of becoming homeless.

Nellie’s is currently looking to hire a Full Time Housing Advocacy Coordinator to coordinate the Toronto Women in Action Project (TWA).

The TWA Project is inspired by the award winning and highly respected City for All Women Initiative (CAWI) based out of Ottawa, Ontario. CAWI is a unique collaboration of a diversity of women and gender-diverse people from academia, civil society, and the grassroots working with municipalities to advance gender equity and create more inclusive cities. CAWI works to ensure that the issues that impact women, girls and gender-diverse people from diverse backgrounds are systematically considered in city decision-making. They do this by training people with lived experience of marginalization in civic engagement and community facilitation and working with the City of Ottawa. The TWA Project hopes to adapt the CAWI model to the City of Toronto context. 

Nellie’s is committed to the development of an agency that reflects the women it serves. This position is open to all women*.  Woman* signifies anyone who self-identifies as female, femme and/or woman. This includes transwomen, cisgender women, non-binary people who identify as femme or female presenting.  Applications from equity seeking groups are strongly encouraged.
 

JOB SUMMARY/DESCRIPTION

The Housing Advocacy Coordinator will coordinate and facilitate the actions and advocacy initiatives of TWA Housing programming, ensuring marginalized voices are heard in decision-making at the municipal level and beyond.

The Coordinator will do this using a community development approach that puts principles of feminism, equity, inclusion, intersectionality, anti-oppression, and social justice into action. We are seeking someone who brings strong cultural competencies to support TWA in decolonizing our workplace and advance reconciliation internally and externally. The selected applicant will bring exceptional facilitation skills to this role, with extensive experience in education for social change (popular education). The candidate will have good project management and policy analysis skills as well as experience in advocacy and addressing inequities. We are looking for someone with demonstrated experience in applying an intersectional feminist analysis to at least two of the following policy areas: affordable housing, poverty reduction, climate change, equitable transportation, childcare, and food security. In your cover letter, please specify which of the aforementioned policy areas you have worked on and describe your previous experience.

Housing Advocacy 

• Develop and facilitate community involvement/training and broad network of grassroots civic engagement.
• Establish a network of community mentors to support community women in their advocacy on community issues.
• Plan and implement housing advocacy initiatives within the community to promote affordable housing solutions.
• Design and deliver community programs aimed at educating and empowering community members on housing issues.
• Conduct workshops that inspire and equip community members to engage in housing advocacy.
• Facilitate the formation of advocacy groups, mobilizing peers to participate in protests, attend municipal council meetings, and advocate for housing justice.
• Collaborate with peers and community members to develop strategic action plans for housing solutions in Toronto, integrating feedback from diverse stakeholders.
• Partner with the construction industry to identify and promote affordable housing opportunities in the city.
• Engage with municipal government officials to influence housing policy and advocate for community driven solutions.
• Work with community partners and TWA members to identify priority issues at the municipal and federal levels as needed.
• Collaboratively coordinate collective action taken by TWA members and community partners to bring their voices and concerns to different levels of government.
• Facilitate community engagement with key city staff and city council on emerging issues.
• Network with community partners and related institutions as needed, representing TWA in communities, round tables, committees, or other initiatives.

Symposium Planning

• Plan and coordinate a comprehensive housing symposium to address housing challenges and solutions in Toronto.
• Engage with stakeholders, including community members, housing experts, policymakers, and the construction industry, to participate in the symposium.
• Organize panel discussions, workshops, and presentations that focus on affordable housing strategies, policy development, and community advocacy.
• Collaborate with partners to secure venue, and resources for a successful event.
• Develop promotional materials and outreach strategies to maximize community and stakeholder participation.
• Ensure the symposium outcomes inform the broader housing advocacy strategy, incorporating feedback from attendees into ongoing initiatives.

Education

• Plan and coordinate civic literacy and other educational activities, including on the annual city budget, place-based civic engagement, voter turnout, leadership labs, and campaign schools to engage equity-seeking groups in civic action.
• Co-design and deliver workshops for TWA members.
• Make housing knowledge and resources more accessible by explicating government policy and developing plain-language materials and messaging to educate on priority issues.

Policy Analysis and Advocacy 

• Coordinate and produce accessible research and analyses of relevant government housing policies.
• Keep informed on government decisions and community concerns as they relate to the mission of the project.
• Work with community members and mentors to bring issues to the attention of decision makers at appropriate levels of government and local institutions.

Communication

• Coordinate regular and timely communication and circulate information across project shareholders and partners.
• Liaise with residents, community partners, and City staff on TWA initiatives.
• Support social media and media outreach in coordination with the management team.
• Act as a spokesperson, representing TWA initiatives and enabling community leadership in the media and public forums alongside the executive director and other senior management.

Administration 

• Manage project budgets and coordinate with the Program Director and appropriate team members as required.
• Assist with grant writing and reports to funders.
• Handle event planning and logistics for training, meetings, and events.
• Produce and disseminate resources (liaising with printers, translators, and graphic designers.)
• Assume other tasks as needed and support the general work of TWA.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s degree in Social Work, Community Development, Public Policy, Urban Planning, or a related field; equivalent experience may be considered.
• Minimum of 3-5 years of experience in community organizing, advocacy, or social justice work, particularly in the area of housing or civic engagement.
• Proven track record of leading successful advocacy campaigns or community-based projects.
• Experience in event planning, particularly in organizing large-scale community events or symposiums.
• Experience working with diverse communities, including marginalized or equity-seeking groups.
• Strong ability to lead, inspire, and mobilize community members and partners toward collective action.
• In-depth understanding of housing issues, municipal policies, and advocacy strategies. Ability to translate complex policy information into accessible language for community education.
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously, from planning to execution.
• Comfortable with public speaking and acting as a spokesperson for the organization in various forums, including media and public events.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex ideas clearly and effectively to diverse audiences.

Hours: 35 hrs/week

Salary: $52,944 annually

Date of Posting: September 27th, 2024

Deadline of Applications: October 27th, 2024

Nellie’s is committed to the development of an agency that reflects the women it serves. Applications from Aboriginal Women, World Majority Women/Women of Colour, Lesbians, Bisexual Women, Transgendered Women and Women with Disabilities, Women who have experienced Violence and Consumer Survivors are strongly encouraged.

Please email your application to .  Only those candidates who will be interviewed will be contacted.  The successful candidate will be required to obtain a Police Records Check for the vulnerable sector.

Nellie’s is a unionized workplace with the Workers United Ontario Council.