We are hiring!

The Food Policy Council (FPC) for Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington (KFL&A) is hiring a part-time Community Researcher to work on two principle tasks:

1) To identify the key elements of a regional food strategy through broad and participatory engagement

2) To produce a food strategy that will lay out a framework for regional food systems development and guide the FPC's ongoing education, assessment, and policy activities. 

To achieve these objectives, the Community Researcher will organize a series of outreach events throughout the region. These will guide participants through an iterative and participatory process of dialogue and discussion to share their experiences and knowledge in the food system and co-produce with other citizens the content for the food strategy. The position will also require building a strong network of community contacts in the local food realm, covering all aspects of the regional food system including: food access, food production, education & literacy, governance, infrastructure & distribution, culture & community.

Job Responsibilities

Reporting to the Project Committee of the FPC, the Community Researcher will:

• Review background work on food strategy developed by the Queen’s University PhD Community Initiative and research other recent community food strategy development processes
• Attend monthly FPC meetings
• Create and maintain a project database, cataloguing existing FPC documents as well as research, interviews and work in progress on an accessible Google Drive
• Finalize a consultation process with support from the project committee, reporting to the FPC regularly
• Schedule and carry out a series of community consultation events, documenting and summarizing all feedback and participation
• Draft a food strategy document for review by the FPC and community partners

The work can be carried out primarily remotely, but some FPC meetings are held in person, and community consultations will occur throughout the KFL&A area, so ideally, the candidate will reside in the Kingston area. When required, a workspace can be available at Kingston Community Health Centre (263 Weller Avenue). Project funding also includes the hiring of a Queen’s University student as a research assistant.

Currently, the funding covers 12 hours per week for 50 weeks, from December 2024 to October 2025. If additional funding is secured, an extension of the contract may be possible.

Requirements

• Master’s degree in a relevant field and/or equivalent work experience
• Previous experience in conducting community-based research and evaluation
• Ideally, the candidate should already be involved in some aspect of the food sector
• Strong written and communication skills
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with FPC Members, non-profit, municipal government, private sector partners, and the community
• Experience in preparing and making presentations to various audiences and providing technical assistance and support to various stakeholders and staff
• Training in research methods
• Experience in project management and meeting deadlines
• Proficiency with MS Office Suite
• Experience with a volunteer board is an advantage
• Must be a self-starter, able to work independently and collaborate with others
• A driver's license in good standing and access to a vehicle

To Apply:

Please send a cover letter, a resume including 3 references, and a writing sample (report, paper, article, blog, etc.) to foodpolicykfla@gmail.com. The deadline for submission is November 22, 2024 or until position filled.