ID: 18307
Director, Human Rights and Equity
Queens University - Kingston, ON
Website: https://www.queensu.ca/
Education/Training/Certifications
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- An advanced degree in law and/or a relevant social science (e.g., education, sociology, gender studies) with a specialization in domestic human rights issues; combined with a minimum of 5 years of experience in advancing human rights and equity, preferably in a post-secondary education environment
- A qualification to practice law with significant demonstrated experience in human rights considered an asset
- Sound knowledge of administrative law and the principles of due process and procedural fairness
- In-depth knowledge of provincial and federal human rights law and jurisprudence, sexual violence prevention and equity legislations, and standard related post-secondary policies, procedures, structures, and programs
- In depth and current knowledge of what constitutes sexual violence, harassment and discrimination, and their varying effects on diverse members of the community
- Thorough knowledge of the various forms and intersections of oppression e.g., racism, heterosexism, ableism, sexism, etc.
- Proven ability to work effectively and independently within a socio-culturally diverse environment
- Experience in dealing with difficult and confrontational situations involving human rights and equity related matters
- Experience in addressing the needs of survivors of sexual violence
- Experience with media and public relations
- Experience in curriculum development and design in both an academic and non academic context
- Experience in first response and crisis intervention
- Experience in counseling, conflict resolution, mediation or facilitation in a culturally diverse setting
SPECIAL SKILLS:
- Demonstrated leadership abilities, within a collaborative team setting
- Strong project and case management skills
- Excellent writing and public presentation skills
- Ability to maintain confidentiality
- Ability to assess a client needs within trauma-informed frameworks for addressing discrimination and sexual violence
- Ability to apply relevant legal tests and doctrine for assessing human rights concerns within an evolving theoretical and interpretive landscape; ability to provide legally sound advice with respect to human rights related issues and conflicts where appropriate
- Knowledge and lived experience of oppression(s), e.g., sexism, heterosexism, ableism, and racism and how they intersect to create structural barriers to post-secondary education
- Ability to assess, and avoid, conflicts of interest and the appearance of conflicts of interest
- Demonstrated ability to communicate concisely, accurately and diplomatically
- Experience with financial administration
- Ability to assess training needs, identify and classify learner outcomes, and confront and manage difficult group situations; demonstrated ability to maintain composure under pressure
- Ability to effectively navigate and work collaboratively in a decentralized institutional environment and shared governance structure
- Ability to represent the interests of the Human Rights and Equity Office, and the University with respect to its equity and human rights framework to both internal and external bodies
- Ability to interact at the senior level to advance the University’s strategic goals
DECISION MAKING:
- Through research and analyses, determines strategic advice for planning of the University’s goals
- Whether and how to proceed with confidential inquiries and human rights cases re: specific cases or complaints, whether and how to proceed with confidential inquiries regarding Sexual Violence
- Whether and how to respond to requests for research and reports regarding policy, statistics, procedures and social trends in human rights and sexual violence prevention both from internal and external units
- Determine what type of curriculum or education material is appropriate, relevant contexts, for anti-racism, human rights, sexual violence and equity related education (for staff, faculty, students, and community groups, etc.) and whether these can be provided for in house or whether outside sources are needed
- Determine how to proceed with initiatives of the HREO as well as equity related offices
- Make recommendations regarding short-term intervention in acute disputes and long-term intervention with a goal toward resolution
- Determine whether human rights cases and sexual violence incidences have wider systemic causes and implications and if so, how to proceed
- Prioritize the allocation of resources
- Determine when and how to refer human rights cases and sexual violence incidences of concern within established institutional procedures and legal parameters
- Determine public relations implications of issues for the University
- Evaluate job candidates and make effective recommendations on suitable hires
- Make decisions and/or effective recommendations regarding transfers and promotions
- Evaluate employee performance and decide on appropriate training or coaching to address lack of proficiency in carrying out responsibilities, or remedial action for staff disciplinary situations
- Makes effective recommendations on level of discipline up to discharge and probationary termination
Position Requirements
Reporting to the AVP (Human Rights, Equity and Inclusion (HREI)) the Director, Human Rights and Equity (Director) provides leadership to the Human Rights and Equity Office (HREO) which is responsible for: administering university policies related to human rights, equity, sexual violence prevention, anti-racism, and accessibility for persons with disabilities; compliance with provincial and federal human rights, equity and accessibility legislation; leading training and programming related to achieving compliance with human rights, sexual violence, anti-racism, accessibility, and employment equity legislation; providing guidance to senior administrators on human rights and equity obligations.
The Director supports the AVP (Human Rights, Equity and Inclusion) in implementing institutional human rights and EDI strategy, with a primary focus on leading the Human Rights Advisory Service (HRAS) and Sexual Violence Prevention and Response (SVPR) teams. The Director provides guidance to the AVP, senior administration, and managers on how to advance and enhance the profile of human rights and equity programming at Queen’s and plays a key role in establishing and fostering positive relationships with equity-deserving communities and organizations both internal to Queen’s and within the broader Kingston community.
Working closely with the AVP, the Director will support and guide implementation of recommendations from various reports and strategy documents related to human rights, equity, anti-racism and accessibility and will engage with faculty, staff, students and external stakeholders to drive progress on diversity and inclusion initiatives across the University.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Oversees and ensures effective intake and management of discrimination and harassment cases on all enumerated human rights grounds, including disclosures of sexual violence. Provides leadership, supervision, and guidance to the HRAS and SVPR advisor teams with respect to the application of the university’s discrimination, harassment and sexual violence prevention and response policies, as well as first/crisis response strategies
- Provides expertise to units of the university – including university governance, senior administrators and management – to advance the human rights, equity and sexual violence prevention goals of the institution. Represents the HREO and the University to internal and external committees, working groups and advisory councils to provide advice on how best to develop and execute initiatives focused on advancing human rights, equity, accessibility, anti-racism and sexual violence prevention
- Develops strategic priorities, initiatives and projects to advance human rights, equity, accessibility, anti-racism, and sexual violence prevention at Queen’s. Implements and manages these programs to ensure timely and successful completion.
- With the AVP (HREI), co-develops and executes the overall strategic direction for the HREO including setting operational and budgetary priorities
- Ensures that the University is addressing accommodation, accessibility and Accessibility for Ontarians Disability Act (AODA) requirements, working coordinators of accommodation services for students and staff with disabilities in a collaborative manner
- Ensures collection of data appropriate to meet human rights and equity legislative and policy requirements. This includes information used for hiring decisions, such as those made under the faculty Collective Agreement as well as for reviews, such as the Federal Contractors Program reviews
- Conducts research into recent developments in provincial and federal legal and regulatory requirements relative to human rights and sexual violence prevention
- Provides regular analysis of social trends and human rights related cases for the purposes of advancing human rights and equity goals in the University
- Oversees the long- and short-term educational programming needs and services of the HREO. Develops and delivers human rights, equity, accessibility, and anti-racism training including leading teams to develop and deliver such training
- Responsible for sound management and administration of policies, procedures, protocols and educational initiatives falling under the responsibility of the HREO. Leads the development and implementation of human rights and equity related policies in collaboration with university partners
- Compiles reports to appropriate university governance bodies related to the work of the HREO as well as social, political, and legislative trends related to human rights, anti-racism, accessibility and equity
- Plans, prioritizes and manages the work of employees, providing strategic and tactical advice, guidance and coaching. Identifies the need for staff resources, participates on staffing committees, and makes effective recommendations regarding employee selection
- Manages the operations and staff of the HREO providing guidance, development and leadership within a collegial, collaborative and high functioning team environment
- Manages performance by establishing performance standards, reviewing and evaluating performance and conducting formal performance reviews on an ongoing basis
- Assesses staff training and development needs, and ensures that employees receive training required to improve and sustain successful performance
- Investigates, addresses and resolves employee/labour relations issues within the HREO, including disciplinary matters. Makes decisions or effective recommendations on matters involving possible discipline, discharge and probationary termination
Type of Job: Full Time,
Hourly Wage/Salary: To be discussed
Hours: 35 hours per week
Closes: Apr 24, 2022
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