I. Justice Education Society
The Justice Education Society of British Columbia (JES) is a non-profit organization with more than 30 years of experience providing public legal education and justice system capacity building in Canada and overseas. In Canada, JES helps more than 700,000 British Columbians learn about their justice system and address their legal issues. Internationally, JES has programs in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, and Guyana which work with national institutions to strengthen justice systems and increase access to justice and citizen security. JES has offices in Canada, Guatemala, Honduras and Guyana and diverse sources of funding including provincial, federal, and overseas governments. More information on JES is available at our website.
II. The Project
Increasing Access to Quality Childcare in B.C
This 30-month project will support a feminist response and recovery from the current impacts of COVID-19, through systemic change. The Justice Education Society of BC will achieve this by improving working conditions for childcare workers, increasing access to licensed childcare, providing education on employment rights and business operations, and increasing stakeholder collaboration and peer mentorship. At the end of the project, the organization will have contributed to addressing systemic barriers by advancing inclusive policies and practices, increasing networks and collaboration to accelerate systemic change, and supporting positive distribution of authority, voices, and decision-making power.
Through legal education sessions, we strive to increase the legal capability of BC childcare centres. By empowering ECE educators with skills and knowledge they will be better equipped to deal with workplace legal issues. This project aims to improve the working conditions of Early Childhood Educators through education on employment rights and human rights. It also aims to empower ECEs to make career choices through education on licensing and centre regulations, and government funding opportunities.
The project began in October 2021 and will run until March 31, 2024. In the first phase of the project JES conducted a needs assessment to determine the needs of ECEs and ECE employers. JES is in phase 2 of the project where we are developing materials for workshops, webinars and conferences. In the final phase 3 we will be conducting these workshops.
III. Deliverables
JES will hire a Legal Content Specialist to work with an Instructional Designer, a Childcare facilitator and the project manager to deliver on the following:
1. Develop Workshop Content (up to 300 hours)
a. Workshop topics to include:
- Employment law basics for ECEs (2 hour workshop plus a 1 hour self passed online course
- Employment law part 2 for ECEs (2 hour workshop)
- Human Rights in the workplace for ECEs (2 hour workshop plus a 1 hour self passed online course)
- Human Rights in the workplace for ECEs -Gender, Diversity and Inclusion (2 hour workshop)
- Best practices for ECE employers (2 hour workshop plus a 1 hour self passed online course)
- Childcare regulations and legal requirements (from licensing to opening a centre) (2 hour workshop)
b. Each workshop would include facilitator notes, legal backgrounders, additional handouts, or resources
2. Workshop Delivery (up to 96 hours)
a. Deliver workshops (primarily online) to ECEs and their employers
- 6 Distinct Workshops (1-2 hours in length)
- Information Sessions on workshops
IV. Qualifications
The selected candidate must have at minimum the following knowledge, skills, experience and competencies:
- Law degree from a Canadian law school or relevant experience working as a lawyer in Canada.
- Minimum 3 years’ recent and relevant experience working in employment law.
- Understanding of current employment and human rights legislation and workplace policies.
- Experience working within the childcare sector is an asset.
- Ability to provide legally accurate information with consideration to plain language best practices
- Experience developing educational content.
- Strong written, presentation, and interpersonal communication skills
- Demonstrated history of facilitating workshops
- Familiarity with various delivery models including online, blended, onsite, and community educational models
- Ability to prepare and provide clear, concise, and complete verbal and written information at a level appropriate to the audiences
V. Terms of Payment
A schedule of payments will be agreed upon with the consultant, based on the performance of deliverables.
VI. Application
Applicants must submit a cover letter and CV with subject line “Legal Content Specialist”, to our email address, as soon as possible.