Indigenous Activities Assistant

Title: Indigenous Activities Assistant

Classification: Grant-funded Employee

Rate of pay: $22.94* per hour (+16% in lieu of benefits) (*$23.63 per hour effective July 1, 2025)

Hours of work: 35 hours per week

Term: May 5, 2025 – August 22, 2025 (16 weeks)

Reports to: Executive Director

Our Indigenous activities assistant supports the planning and execution of Indigenous student activities during the summer term, and supports grassroots community-building and organizing among Indigenous students at Capilano University. While the Indigenous activities assistant receives direction and mentorship from the Indigenous initiatives director on a day-to-day basis and can expect to interact and engage with our student leadership, they ultimately share a reporting relationship with the executive director.

Duties

In particular, the Indigenous activities assistant performs the following job duties:

Student Activities (45%)

• Assists in the planning and execution of student programming for National Indigenous History Month, National Indigenous People’s Day, the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, and other assigned activities.

Student Organizing (45%)

• Develops and executes student recruitment and engagement activities to assist the Indigenous initiatives director, the vice-president equity and sustainability, and the Indigenous students liaison in building a volunteer leadership team.


• Assist the Indigenous initiatives director in building resources and capacity for the Indigenous students collective to organize collective/constituency meetings and contribute more independently to students’ union decision-making.


• Develop orientation activities for new and returning Indigenous students, delivered before the start of the new academic year, to help the Indigenous students collective start the academic year active and engaged.
  

Other Duties (10%)

• Works safely, in accordance with our health and safety program.


• Protects the personal information of coworkers, students, and the public.


• Perform other duties as assigned by resource staff or the executive director.

Qualifications

• Lived Indigenous experience is required (see “Indigenous Identity” note).


• Six months or more experience in community-based organizing work.


• Knowledgeable about post-secondary campus life.


• Personable, professional, and well-organized.


• Ability to work effectively independently or as part of a team.


• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Why work at the Capilano Students' Union?

We strive to be a diverse workplace. We’re working hard to make sure that our staff team reflects the diversity of our membership, guided by the CSU’s equity strategy. Over half of our team members self-identify as women, and people from visible minorities comprise half of our unionized workforce.

We are a certified Living Wage employer. We provide fair (and competitive) compensation packages for all members of our team, including employees who are students, because we believe that everyone who works deserves to make ends meet. As a part of our compensation and benefits package, you can expect:

• Flexible weekly and daily work schedules
  


• Paid sick, bereavement, and compassionate care leave
  


• A flexible benefit fund of over $450 for wellness and educational expenses


• Partial reimbursement of child care expenses


• RRSP employer-matching contributions of up to 7.5%

We take our guiding principles really seriously. We think that our values create a fun, dynamic, and challenging work environment – one where no two days are the same, and where our team members look forward to coming to work. If these principles resonate with you, you should think about joining the team:

• Divesting from colonial power and championing Indigenization


• Demonstrating leadership, value, and impact


• Centring justice, equity, and sustainability


• Delivering results with excellence


• Connecting with students to drive our work

Think you've got what it takes?

Apply now via this platform to join the team!

Please submit your résumé, showing clearly how you would be the ideal candidate for this position and meet the qualifications set out above. You can address your correspondence to Christopher Girodat, Executive Director. This position is open until filled, and we are conducting interviews (which are scheduled during business hours) on a rolling basis starting on Wednesday, April 23, 2025.

The CSU hires on the basis of merit and is committed to employment equity and achieving team diversity that mirrors our student population. Folks with disabilities; Indigenous folks; self-identified women; folks from visible minorities; queer folks; and trans, two-spirit, and gender non-binary candidates are encouraged to self-identify during the application process. We are committed to removing barriers in our selection process for people with visible and invisible disabilities — please do not hesitate to reach out to us at [email protected] if you need an accommodation to participate fully in our application and selection process. Our employees are represented by CUPE 1004 in a unionized work environment.

Program Requirements

This position is made possible by financial contributions from the Canada Summer Jobs program. Applicants must be between the ages of 15 and 30 as of the date of their appointment and must have citizenship, permanent residence, or be under refugee protection — this means that, unfortunately, international students are not eligible to apply for this position.

Indigenous Identity

Please note that under our interim procedure for Indigenous-reserved positions, we will contact shortlisted candidates for verification of Indigenous identity, membership, or citizenship via one of the following methods:

1. Government-issued records (such as a status card, Métis Nation citizenship card, Nunavut trust certificate or Inuit enrollment card, or ID issued by a nation with a modern treaty or self-government agreement); or


2. Self-declaration accompanied by a written statement with specifics about the candidate’s First Nation, Métis, or Inuit community and a verification letter issued by the First Nation, Métis, or Inuit community; or


3. Self-declaration that you are an Indigenous person whose records connecting you to your First Nation, Métis, or Inuit community were interrupted or lost by having been adopted out or by you or your family having survived the Sixties Scoop, residential school, or Indian day school.