CONSULTANT POSITION AVAILABLE!

Position: Consultant
Tentative Start Date: April 1, 2021
End Date: October 31, 2021 (tentatively)
Location: Niagara region
Position Type: Contract

Deadline to submit proposal: Friday, March 12, 2021 at 4:30pm ET

About OUTniagara

OUTniagara is a community organization that began in November 2004 with the purpose of uniting Niagara’s sexual and gender-diverse community.

The mission of OUTniagara is to:

• Celebrate, inform, support and collaborate with the sexual and gender-diverse community of Niagara
• Contribute to the success of our partner organizations
• Preserve Niagara’s queer history

Summary of Role

Working with OUTniagara’s Project Coordinator and Project Assistant and guided by the Regional Advisory Committee, the Consultant will work within an anti-oppression, anti-racism, equity, and inclusion lens to deliver a Community Strengths and Needs Assessment for a new project: Informed, Inclusive, Indivisible: Collectively Advancing 2SLGBTQ+ Equality in Niagara+.

About the Project

The project’s purpose is to strengthen the capacity and networks of OUTniagara in advancing equity by increasing access and awareness of barriers and challenges faced by 2SLGBTQQIA+ people through the completion of a Community Strengths and Needs Assessment. Based on the outcome of the needs assessment, the project will help to build collective capacity through skills development; and building managerial capacity through governance, organizational, and strategic planning.

Goals/Purpose

The goals and purpose of the Community Strengths and Needs Assessment are to:

• increase access to evidence and stories of 2SLGBTQQIA+ people;
• strengthen network collaboration and foster at least five partnerships through:
  • a participatory Community Strengths and Needs Assessment process;
  • collective identification of 3-8 priority recommendations for more fulsome representation of and service provision to 2SLGBTQQIA+ communities;
  • collaborative identification/design of initiatives to address priority recommendations in 2022-2025
• advance 2SLGBTQQIA+ equity through an intersectional approach by including community members and service providers from communities OUTniagara has not worked with previously, including: urban Indigenous communities, trans youth and their families, racialized and newcomer communities, and Niagara’s francophone community, as well as community members and service providers from across sexual- and gender-diversities with our partners
• determine key recommendations to offer workshops and build capacity and skills of Niagara’s growing 2SLGBTQQIA+ community and service providers.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Consultant will lead the entire Community Strengths and Needs Assessment component of this project and develop a comprehensive report and action plan recommendations for future actions. Though the Consultant ultimately reports to the Board, the Consultant will work under the supervision of the Project Coordinator and be guided by the Regional Advisory Committee (RAC) and related working groups and partners. In particular, the Consultant will:

• Work with the RAC and Project Coordinator to develop Community Strengths and Needs Assessment Work Plan and Implementation Tools, including:
  • Develop statement of Commitment to Ethical Practice (RAC to sign, participants to receive for informed consent)
  • Develop detailed work plan
  • Design assessment tools
  • Prepare materials for translation to French
  • Develop community engagement plan
• Conduct Community Strengths and Needs Assessment across all 12 municipalities in collaboration with numerous partners:
  • Conduct secondary data review;
  • Hold 3 (2 English/1 French) participatory mapping sessions of existing services across the region;
  • Conduct community survey (online and print) (Target response: 300 completed surveys, with specific targeted responses from key populations).
  • Conduct 15 interviews and/or 5 focus groups and sharing circles, including 1 French-language focus group (6-12 participants each).
  • Conduct 4 Arts-based engagement/information gathering activities such as participatory theatre, photography, and/or muralling.
  • Conduct 3 Community Forum/Public Meeting(s)
  • Conduct up to 3 additional activities as identified by the RAC/Project Coordinator/Consultant
  • Work with Project Coordinator to design, translate, disseminate communication tools for invitations, social media, etc.
• Analyze information collected from the Community Strengths and Needs Assessment:
  • Hold meetings with the RAC and Project Coordinator to discuss the findings and identify areas where further information is needed, identify themes, etc.
• Promote and disseminate preliminary findings for community awareness and engagement:
  • Develop and translate key messaging to amplify preliminary findings, including for social media
  • Conduct 3 community meetings to present preliminary report
• Finalize report and Community Information Briefs:
  • Final review of resources with RAC
  • Work with Project Coordinator on print, design and translation

Competencies/Knowledge

• Thorough knowledge and understanding of the 2SLGBTQQIA+ community, current issues affecting our needs, lived experiences, and knowledge of programs, legislation, and supports across the Niagara region
• Cultural and SOGIE (Sexual Orientation Gender Identity and Expression) sensitivity
• Knowledge of anti-oppressive, anti-racist, and inclusive professional practices
• Extensive experience working with 2SLGBTQQIA+ communities/youth
• Sound knowledge of research software, data processing and analysis tools, and MS Office software packages
• Understanding of mixed research methodologies
• Strong organizational and project management skills
• Excellent interpersonal, communication, and facilitation skills
• Sound knowledge and familiarity with popular social media and digital engagement tools

Language

• Excellent knowledge of written and spoken English
• The ability to speak and write French is an asset

Required Education and Experience

Education:

• Post-secondary degree or diploma in a related discipline, with a Master’s degree in a relevant field being an added advantage.

Work Experience:

• At least 5 years of increasingly responsible professional experience conducting community needs assessments, including a track record of conducting analysis
• Recognized expertise in facilitating groups, conducting focus group discussions, and a demonstrated understanding of group dynamics
• Experience conducting and documenting individual interviews and demonstrated experience in internal and external communication
• At least 5 years of work experience from any of the following areas: lived experience or allyship with the 2SLGBTQQIA+ community within the Niagara region, partnership fostering, relationship management, equity, inclusion, diversity and/or social work-related fields
• Understanding of mental health disparities faced by 2SLGBTQQIA+ community

Scope of Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments

The total amount quoted shall be the Consultant’s all-inclusive fee (professional fee, mileage, incidentals, and any other applicable cost that may be possibly incurred by the consultant in completing the assignment). OUTniagara has budget for French translation/facilitation, graphic design, and printing. These elements do not need to be costed in the Consultant’s proposal.

The contract price will be fixed output based. Payments will be done upon completion of the deliverables/outputs and as per below percentages:

• Deliverable 1: Work Plan and Implementation Tools (20%)
• Deliverable 2: Conduct Community Strengths and Needs Assessment across all 12 municipalities in collaboration with numerous partners (40%)
• Deliverable 3: Analyze information collected from the Community Strengths and Needs Assessment (20%)
• Deliverable 4: Promote and disseminate preliminary findings for community awareness and engagement (10%)
• Deliverable 5: Finalize report and Community Information Briefs (10%)

Recommended Presentation of Offer

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualification:

1. Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability
2. Personal resume, indicating all experience from similar projects as well as personal information
3. Technical proposal (maximum 3 pages), including a) a brief description of why the individual considers themself as the most suitable for the assignment; and b) methodology on how they will approach and complete the assignment.
4. Financial proposal that indicates the all-inclusive fixed total contract price, supported by a breakdown of costs

Budget range for this project = $17,000 to $19,500, inclusive of HST

Incomplete proposals may not be considered.

Please note: We strongly encourage members of all equity seeking groups within the 2SLGBTQQIA+ communities to apply. We are specifically seeking Consultants from 2SLGBTQQIA+ communities who bring lived and/or employment experience in relation to working with 2SLGBTQQIA+ communities and especially youth.

Deadline for applications: Friday, March 12, 2021 at 4:30pm ET

Please forward Presentation of Offer to: Laura Ip, Project Coordinator
E-mail: laura@outniagara.ca
Subject Line: Presentation of Offer: Community Strengths and Needs Assessment