Director of Reconciliation, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (REDI)
Overview
The City of Kitchener is a vibrant and dynamic city of over 292,000, in the heart of southwestern Ontario, recognized as an innovative leader in city-building. Kitchener’s Strategic Plan articulates a vision to build a city for everyone, where together we take care of the world around us, and each other. With a strong organizational culture, the City’s People Plan champions a collective set of values that help drive a workforce of people deeply committed to public service. As the fastest growing community in Canada, Kitchener has an increasingly diverse population and is committed to being an equitable and inclusive workplace.
Kitchener is currently seeking a Director to lead its Reconciliation, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (REDI) team. The Director will provide the organization with exceptional leadership, expertise and senior-level competencies in issues of equity and inclusion and must have a strong understanding of Indigenous reconciliation. The Director will lead the implementation and monitoring of the City’s equity framework, ensuring that the concepts of the framework are reflected and integrated into corporate decisions, policies, and programs. The Director is also responsible for the day-to-day leadership of a skilled 4-person team, and will foster strong partnerships with community organizations and groups to encourage effective community engagement.
Responsibilities
- Lead the implementation of the City of Kitchener’s “FAIR” equity framework; together with the Corporate Leadership Team (CLT), establish metrics for monitoring and evaluation of success.
- Lead the development of an updated equity learning and development program for the City of Kitchener, working closely with experts in HR to implement the program in an operationally feasible and sustainable manner.
- Work closely with CLT and HR leaders to recommend changes to policies, practices and accountability mechanisms to uphold human rights and consistently create a more inclusive workplace culture that is reflective of the community Kitchener serves.
- Provide strategic consultation and advice to internal partners on complex equity-related issues.
- Develop and oversee a strategic approach to monitor, measure and publicly report on the City’s work on equity initiatives and Reconciliation projects in order to identify successes, challenges, gaps and areas for improvement.
- Develop strong relationships with community groups and partners and ensure that the City’s equity team is meaningfully represented at significant community events and initiatives.
- Work closely with the City’s Community Engagement Consultant to provide strategic advice to internal partners on how to effectively engage historically under-represented community groups and individuals on city projects, plans and initiatives.
- Lead a team of four (4) equity staff in developing an annual workplan; oversee the development of individual workplans that align with the team’s workplan to support organizational goals and objectives; provide strong daily leadership to build a high performing team, fostering a culture of collaboration, accountability and action.
Requirements
Reporting to the General Manager, Corporate Services, the ideal candidate for this role is a collaborative and compassionate senior leader with a track record of success in advancing equity, diversity and inclusion. Your values are consistent with the City of Kitchener’s core values of trust and respect, collaboration, and change and growth and you are committed to public service. You have a deep understanding of the impacts of colonization in Canada, with a strong commitment to reconciliation. Your well-developed political acuity has enabled you to navigate and provide strategic guidance on complex issues with diplomacy. You bring credibility to this role based on a strong track record of collaborative partnerships with key stakeholders, and your lived experience provides a valuable and respected perspective.
You possess the following :
- Knowledge, skill and expertise normally acquired through a post-secondary degree in a relevant professional discipline (e.g., sociology, social work, equity studies, human rights), or an equivalent combination of education and related experience
- Comprehensive lived and professional experience working and building relationships with racialized communities and organizations.
- Significant lived and/or professional experience working and building relationships with Indigenous communities and Indigenous-led organizations.
- Superior cross-cultural communications skills, both verbal and written;
- Exceptional interpersonal skills, with the ability to foster and cultivate relationships across a diverse group of stakeholders,
- Strong leadership skills, with the ability to inspire people around a common vision, build consensus and motivate action, strong facilitation and mediation skills;
- Experience developing others, managing effective teams and delivering results;
- Experience implementing equity frameworks, and effectively operationalizing equity frameworks within a complex environment,
- Municipal experience, or deep knowledge of municipal/government process is an asset.
To help ensure the important work of the Reconciliation, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion is embedded with the city’s operations, the Director will have access to a variety of supports such as regular strategic dialogue with the Corporate Leadership Team, a formal relationship with the Chief Administrative Officer, and access to a dedicated training/development budget for their team.
