Job Responsibilities
1. Consulting with non-profit organizations in various
government funded areas such as mental health, housing and
elderly care - 20 hours per week
2. Researching and developing community services in the areas
listed above - 10 hours per week
3. Assisting NGOs in the development and submission of contract
proposals - 5-10 hours per week
4. Coordinating, promoting and administering special events,
i.e. conferences, courses and presentations - 5-10 hours per week
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Job Requirements
Hiring Requirements:
Various university programs would be acceptable for this job,
i.e. psychology, sociology, business administration, social work
and nursing.
Obtaining these degrees at the University of British Columbia
was fairly easy once you were accepted (GPA 3.5 and above) since
all of the programs could be taken as majors or minors at the
undergraduate and graduate levels.
The courses were demanding, but not unreasonable; the quality
was usually superior (you might get one bad apple in the bunch,
but generally speaking I found the professors to be top rank).
The courses were usually available, unless you left choosing
them to the last minute. The curricula were very interesting
with a lot of reading involved as well as papers and qualitative
research exercises.
Grading was fair and, in some cases, consultative, meaning that
progress reports through the development of papers were readily
given if the student consulted with the professor. This enabled
the student to develop better writing and research skills since
the paper was seen as a work in progress. If the student felt
the mark was inadequate, full recourse to reviewing the work was
available.
Hiring practices for this line of work were rigorous. This
involved 2 sets of interviews with the panels composed of 4-6
people including the department head, an NGO representative, an
outside interviewer and (sometimes) a government official. They
also required an on-the-spot written workup of a scenario of
their choice.
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Uppers
1. Having a fairly free hand to work with the various groups without getting
bogged down in red tape
2. Being given free range to research, develop and present programs with and for
the NGOs
3. Having innovation looked on kindly
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Downers
1. Dealing with people who were overly invested in detail
2. Deadlines introduced from higher up without regard to
ramifications to the work being done
3. Job security in the current economic atmosphere
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Lifestyle
1. Work hours - not too bad. "Flex time" is available, so that you could work a
10 hour day for a week and take time off for the overtime you did. Overtime wages
could be requested also. Getting off on time is usually the case, but you have to
be flexible about it also. If a deadline is looming, you have to meet it which
sometimes required staying later.
2. Business travel is a large part of my work, since the NGOs are scattered
throughout the region. Stipends for travel are fairly generous. I am never
"out-of-pocket" with my expenses, although you are expected to pay up front and
submit reimbursement forms later.
3. Social events are fairly numerous, but not required to attend. There are
get-togethers for all the major holidays as well as some fun ones like Halloween.
4. Dress code is casual to business casual depending on the situation. Dress
code is always relaxed and if you have to do something "in the field" you dress
for the occasion.
5. Diversity is encouraged. Many minorities are represented as well as
gay/lesbian. I think further initiatives could be taken to enhance diversity,
but, on the whole, it is fairly well represented. Openly gay/lesbian is also
acknowledged and treated fairly with partner benefits, etc.
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Compensation
Compensation is based solely on salary. This has increased
substantially over the past 7 years and is on par with other
employers in this field.
Benefits are generous, including medical, dental and auxiliary
care such as massage therapists, physiotherapists, occupational
therapists and counselors.
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Advice to Jobseekers
This is a field that will always be needed. As our population
increases, so do the needs of the community. To date those needs
have been acknowledged and substantially addressed. My only
concern is budgetary. With increased needs and shrinking
budgets, the desire to create and maintain NGO services might
suffer, but not to the point of extinction, so there will always
be a need for consultants in this area.
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