Indigenous Midwifery Education Lead (IME Lead)

The National Aboriginal Council of Midwives’ (NACM) mission is to promote excellence in reproductive health care for First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities. NACM advocates for the restoration of midwifery education, the provision of midwifery services, and choice of birthplace for all Indigenous communities consistent with the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. NACM’s vision is to see Indigenous midwives working in every Indigenous community. NACM is advancing a multi-year initiative to develop and test innovations in Indigenous midwifery education. This specific project is part of a broader strategy to prioritize Indigenous-led midwifery education through competency-based, community-driven frameworks. This project builds on the landmark publication of the new framework on Indigenous Midwifery Knowledges and Skills: A Competency Framework (https://indigenousmidwifery.ca/core-competencies/) and developed in response to the need to diversify pathways to midwifery education for Indigenous communities. Job Summary NACM is hiring an Indigenous Midwifery Education (IME) Lead for a one (1) year contract, with the possibility of extension based on continued project funding. The IME Lead will manage the development, implementation, and evaluation of NACM’s Indigenous Midwifery Education innovations project. This project is structured to implement and test an innovative framework for community-led, competency-based apprenticeship as part of a larger vision to diversify pathways to Indigenous midwifery education and ultimately, return Indigenous midwifery services to communities. The IME Lead must be a strong project and relationship manager. The IME Lead must have significant experience and demonstrated knowledge of Indigenous approaches to education and learning and the need for Indigenous-led innovations to grow and sustain an Indigenous-led midwifery workforce. The IME Lead will be responsible for implementing and evaluating the project in collaboration with diverse Indigenous communities and in keeping with the project budget. In collaboration with the NACM Director, the Lead will coordinate the project steering committee and support in the management of various project consultants. The Lead will collaborate closely with the NACM Director and key staff including NACM’s Mentorship and Resilience Lead, and Policy Analyst, as well as project consultants. Primary Duties and Responsibilities

•        Establish and coordinate a Steering Committee for project oversight and governance
•        Manage the implementation of the Indigenous Midwifery Education Innovations work plan (year one) with a view to expansion in year 2-3, prioritizing participatory, community-responsive and Indigenous-led project management practices
•        Create a participatory community-responsive monitoring and evaluation framework
•        Collaborating with other NACM staff and consultants, support the work of compiling evidence around the need to diversify pathways to education with anticipated positive impacts on retention, recognition and integration of Indigenous midwifery students.
•        Develop and disseminate a Call for Interest for Indigenous Communities based on the Community Readiness Criteria
•        Following a selection process, recruit and manage project consultants as needed
•        Identify and develop relationship frameworks with communities, Midwifery Education Programs (MEPs), and other key stakeholders; provide recommendations to the Director based on the engagements.
•        Manage project budget, ensuring all reporting deadlines are met; collaborate with CAM Finance staff to monitor project expenditure projections and report actual expenditures and variance to the Director on a regular basis.
•        Write project activity reports as required by funder

Qualifications, Skills and Knowledge Requirements

•        University degree (minimally a Bachelor, ideally a Masters) in Midwifery, Health, Education, or related disciplines.
•        5+ years’ experience in community-based education or health program development, project development and management, or related experience.
•        Strong knowledge of Indigenous health, Indigenous approaches to education and learning, cultural safety, anti-oppression and the ability to work closely with diverse Indigenous communities and Nations.
•        Demonstratedknowledge of social and political contexts that impact health care provider education programs, health policy and service delivery and the structures, approaches and funding mechanisms related to Indigenous approaches, knowledges and education delivery
•        Experience in the development and implementation of health care provider education or related frameworks.
•        Experience with participatory monitoring and evaluation practices, tools and techniques, ideally in the context of Indigenous community health and/or education.
•        Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
•        Excellent interpersonal skills and commitment to working collaboratively with diverse stakeholder groups, including Indigenous students, Indigenous communities, health and education system stakeholders, NACM staff and members and funders.
•        Ability to implement and manage a variety of initiatives concurrently and within deadlines.
•        High degree of resourcefulness, flexibility, and adaptability.
•        Highly organized, attention to detail and excellent follow-through required.
•        Computer literacy, including effective working skills of MS Word, Excel and Outlook required.

Additional Assets

•        Experience working for a member-based organization.
•        Bilingual Englishand Frencha strong asset.

Working Conditions & Location

•        One (1) year full-time contract, with possibility of extension dependent on the continuation of project funding.
•        Work can be done remotely or from CAM’s head office in Montréal, Québec. Given the COVID-19 pandemic, the head office is currently closed, and all staff work remotely.
•        Salary range is between $70-$75K annually, commensurate with experience.

Applications Please follow these instructions: NACM is an Indigenous led and governed organization. Indigenous candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. Non-Indigenous candidates must have a commitment to working within an anti-oppressive, Indigenous framework.

• Send your CV and a cover letter in one PDF document and ensure that your first and last names and the text “IME-Lead” are included in the file name. 
• Send your PDF by email with the subject “IME Lead” to [email protected]
• Deadline for applications is 5 pm EST on January 22nd, 2021.

We thank all applicants for their interest however, only applicants selected for an interview will be contacted. Resumes received will be held confidential, shared with the selection committee only, and be used only for the purposes of selection for this position.