Overview: The Coast Salish Programs Assistant will assist with the design and delivery of Coast Salish education and cultural programs for Maplewood Flats. Working closely with our Programs Committee, and other Maplewood Flats summer staff, you will assist with the delivery of online and carefully managed special events and community engagement opportunities for events such as Chief Dan George: Homecoming exhibit, Osprey Festival and education workshops, talks and plant walks. 

COVID-19: While observing protocols that ensure health and safety of workers and members of the public, we will adjust schedules and work set-ups that include a mix of in-person/on site and online engagement with the use of digital tools, remote and telework options for safe project and program delivery. 

Background: The area has been occupied by Səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) and Coast Salish People since time immemorial. Prior to settler contact and industrialization, the region featured contiguous mudflats across Burrard Inlet. Since 1993, on these lands and flats, the WBT has been managing the North Shore’s only wild bird sanctuary with 5km of trails, nursery, and nature house. The Indigenous knowledge of wild birds and Coast Salish culture in this public space signals a collaborative path forward where the local ways of knowing are honoured and shared in culturally appropriate ways. In this way, Maplewood Flats’ programs connect Coast Salish culture with the greater Vancouver public and promotes reconciliation and redress.

Responsibilities:

1. The Programs Assistant is responsible for supporting events on-site, at the Nature House, and online. Depending on your areas of experience and skills, this could include community engagement, event coordination, and/or documentation.
2. The Programs Assistant will assist with the delivery of online webinars and events (via zoom, and livestreamed on Facebook), and (where safe) in-person nature and cultural walks, talks, workshops, children’s programs, and community celebrations.  
3. The Programs Assistant will attend meetings, take notes, assist with paperwork and follow-up, and be supported in keeping programming records, managing spreadsheets, event scheduling, and minor budgets for events. Some weekend and evening work is required.

Optional Skills: Please highlight if you have experience with any of the following: Coast Salish culture and language, event planning and/or production, video and audio recording and editing, communications and/or social media.

Eligibility: Funded through Aboriginal Community Career Employment Services Society (ACCESS), participants in these programs are those who: 

• Were registered as full-time students during the preceding academic year; 
• Intend to return to school on a full-time basis during the next academic year; 
• Are 30 years or under at the time of intake/selection; 
• Are not attending full-time classes while carrying out the job; 
• Are a Canadian citizen, permanent resident and are off-reserve Aboriginals (ie. status or non-status Indian, Inuit, or Metis); and
• Are legally entitled to work according to BC provincial legislation and regulations

Application process: Email resume (PDF or Word) and cover letter to jobs@wildbirdtrust.org with the subject header: “Coast Salish Programs Assistant”.