FOOD POLICY & RESEARCH

Position: Policy and Research Manager
Organization: Organic Council of Ontario
Location: Anywhere in Ontario, remote working environment
Eligibility: post-secondary grads age 30 & under (see below)

Start Date: May 2024
Hours: 30 - 37.5 hours per week
Contract: 1-2 year contract pending funding
Salary: $48,000-$58,000/year pro-rated
Benefits: OCO compensates staff for personal device use, internet and other small office expenses pending approval. We offer a health savings account for staff who work for longer than one year. Employees get three weeks of paid vacation starting immediately plus an office closure over the Winter break. We have a flexible working environment and endeavour to support our staff in their career advancement.

Eligibility: This role will be funded in part through a wage subsidy program. In order to qualify, you must:

• Be a post-secondary graduate
• No more than 30 years of age at the start of the internship
• A Canadian citizen, permanent residents or persons granted refugee status in Canada*
• Legally allowed to work according to the relevant provincial and Canadian legislation and regulations

OCO is committed to upholding the values of equity, diversity, and inclusion. OCO actively encourages applications from equity deserving groups. We invite you to self-identify in your application and to inform us should you have any accessibility or accommodation needs.

About the Job:

The Organic Council of Ontario is looking for an enthusiastic, dedicated and dynamic Organic Policy and Research Manager who is passionate about agriculture and the environment. OCO has a small staff team with a broad scope: we punch above our weight! Ideal candidates will be up for a diversity of tasks, able to balance competing priorities, and able to see a project through from concept to completion.

We seek candidates with a balance of left and right brain thinking, with the ability to hold the big picture without losing sight of important details, and the problem solving chops to excel at new tasks. Ideal candidates have a curious mind and know how to ask the right questions to gain clarity or build consensus on tricky regulatory issues with diverse players. They will be able to grasp organic regulatory and standards issues quickly; contribute to our website, social media and database management; problem solve multi-stakeholder policy issues; plan member events; and have the capacity to parse complex issues into clear sentences. A successful candidate will be equally at ease chatting on the phone with farmers as they are writing government briefs.

Job Description

The Policy and Research Manager will support OCO’s Executive Director

and board in organic policy and program development, research and strategy, government relations and advocacy, partnership development, grant writing and reporting, data management, and development of public-facing resources that support farmers and businesses to navigate the regulatory landscape and transition to organic. While the below duties fall within the purview of the Policy and Research Manager, these duties are typically managed by a team of at least two to three people and contractors. Applicants should consider applying if they possess skills and experience for roughly 70% of the below activities.

The below job description covers all possible work, but applicants are not required to have experience in all areas.

(1) Government and General Communications

• Ensure OCO is represented in a professional and responsive manner at government consultations;
• Responsible for ensuring OCO provides written responses and updates to decision makers at all levels at the appropriate moments;
• Ensure meetings are scheduled with government officials, OCO staff and and OCO members on a regular basis;
• Work to build support for an Ontario Organic Regulation and growth strategy among decision makers and relevant stakeholders;
• Assist the Membership and Communications Manager with maintenance and upkeep of the Organic Council of Ontario’s main website, microsites, e-news and social media;
• Develop public-facing content, articles and resources on the benefits of organic and how to navigate the regulatory environment;
• Research, write and proofread informative blog posts that contribute to OCO's knowledge base.

(2) Partnerships, Coalitions and Networks

• Support the Executive Director in ensuring OCO is represented in a professional and responsive manner in national, cross-sectoral, agrifood and other key networks and coalitions;
• Ensure OCO provides support and responds to opportunities for policy change and advocacy that arise from networks, coalitions, and partnerships;
• Continue to expand and develop key relationships including but not limited to the Organic Science Cluster researchers and administrators, Farmers for Climate Solutions, Canadian Organic Growers, Canada Organic Trade Association, and other provincial associations;
• Prepare and present presentations on behalf of OCO to partners and interested parties;
• Oversee the continued strategizing and development of our Grow Ontario Organic Partnerships development with interested commodity and government partners.

(4) Special Research Projects

OCO will initiate project-specific work that changes from year to year depending on funding.The Policy and Research Manager will:

• Support the project management of policy and research related projects;
• Support and oversee environmental scans and literature reviews;
• Support the development and analysis of surveys (through survey monkey), interview guidelines, and contact lists;
• Interview, record and summarize interview findings;
• Support the hosting of video conference meetings and focus groups to identify potential problems and solutions
• Assist with report and recommendations development;

(5) Data Management and Special Research Projects

In 2024-2025, OCO has been tasked with working with organic partners across Canada to establish a national data for production data. The Policy and Research Manager will:

• Support the Executive Director to map out data gaps and sources from partners and government bodies;
• Support discussions with partners to build consensus on data categorization and data templates;
• Work with contract developers to create and test web systems for collecting, visualising, and automating organic data;
• Work with our contractors to improve our Ontario Organic Directory and back-end database in Hubspot by improving reports, information management categories and filling in data gaps;
• Sort and synthesize data reports upon request;
• Liaise with researchers, scientists and farmers to translate knowledge to our members;
• Design and surveys, interviews, literature reviews and analysis to address ongoing sector challenges and present solutions;
• Prepare special research reports pending funding and organizational needs.

(6) Event Planning and Membership Outreach

OCO hosts a Queen’s Park day for members every year. The planning and execution of the event usually falls within the policy and research team’s work. OCO also plans to host several organic farm and business tours throughout the summer and fall as well as a large member event in September for Organic Week. The Manager may be tasked with:

• Oversee the planning and execution of Organic Day at Queen’s Park;
• Attend and agrifood and public-facing events to educate attendees on the benefits of organic and the regulatory system and recruit members;
• Assist with event management, promotion, registration and logistics where needed;
• Coordinate print material production, mail-outs and phone campaigns to update membership details and recruit new supporting members;

(7) Grant Writing and Reporting

From time to time, the Policy and Research Manager may be tasked with writing and reporting on government or foundation grants related to their work.

As a small non-profit, OCO’s work is dynamic and project-based with the overarching goal of growing and supporting the Ontario organic sector. Our work may shift as we receive new grants for projects that fit with our overarching mandate and priorities to support the growth of the Ontario organic sector. We’re looking for a candidate who can demonstrate the necessary flexibility to adjust to such changes willingly and gracefully.

The ideal candidate has:

• Strong research and writing skills;
• 1-3 years experience coordinating a diverse communications portfolio;
• Strong initiative, ability to work independently and as part of a team;
• A strong ability to manage and prioritize multiple competing priorities;
• Familiarity with food-related standards and/or the ability to interpret regulatory and policy language;
• Experience with non-academic report writing and/or journalism;
• Experience managing information and/or data systems, including data analysis;
• Experience managing navigating complex relationships and partnership-based research and projects;
• The initiative to constantly improve their work and the work of the organization;
• Passion for and knowledge of organic and regenerative agriculture and food systems;
• Experience using or ability to learn to use various online communications management tools (e.g. Survey Monkey, Wordpress, Statamic, Mailchimp, Google Analytics, Canva, Google Suite)
• Graphic design knowledge and experience (Canva etc.) an asset;
• Experience with contact management and/or online information management tools;
• An understanding of the Ontario agri-food landscape;
• Event planning experience an asset;
• Grant writing and reporting experience an asset;
• Has some understanding of the Ontario political climate and public sector;
• French language skills are an asset.

To apply, send a CV and cover letter in one pdf document to hiring@organiccouncil.ca by April 30th, 2024 at 5pm with Policy and Research Manager in the subject line. Please provide two samples of relevant work (e.g. report summary, communications piece).

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