Program & Student Service Coordinator

The Oshki-Pimache-O-Win Education & Training Institute established by Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) offers post-secondary education and training programs.  We offer choice, accessibility, flexibility, opportunities and support services for our students.  Still in it early stages, the Institute is an innovative, independent institution that currently offers accredited courses in business, social services, website development and early childhood education.

We are looking for a highly, energetic and dynamic individual for the position of Program & Student Service Coordinator.  The successful candidate will have an exciting opportunity and responsibility in helping meet the learning needs of the members in Nishnawbe Aski Nation and increasing their educational growth and successes. 

Responsibilities:

• Develop proposals for current and new programs and projects;
• Consult with NAN communities, for required community based educational program needs, deliverable through the Institute and its partners; 
• Organize program scheduling, application and registration processes, and delivery logistics in order to enhance the educational experience of learners and the Institute’s image;
• Establish and reinforce positive working relationships with post-secondary educational institutions, to facilitate and enhance programs and services, to help build capacity within the communities;
• Manage the delivery of curriculum with excellence by adhering to program objectives and standards in the selection of course developers, instructors, and support workers, as well as the selection of program delivery materials;
• Source and review, coordinate or carry out curriculum design as necessary to meet the learning needs, within approved program plans and budgets;
• Coordination support and counseling to students during their independent learning phases, to encourage and promote success and program completion;
• Organize program scheduling, application and registration processes;
• Manage the delivery of curriculum by adhering to program objectives and standards.

Qualifications:

• Possess at minimum an undergraduate degree or an equivalent combination of education and related work experience in management;
• Track record of successful proposal writing, in particular to secure funding;
• Ability to research and identify programs, funding needs and opportunities;
• Project management skills, including team leadership, program and budgetary planning and reporting;
• Knowledge or experience in curriculum design and training needs assessment;
• Experience in any: student recruitment; administration of enrolment, registration or application processes; career counseling; adult education or training;
• Demonstrated ability to build relationships with First Nation communities and organizations;
• Possess excellent interpersonal, strong analytical and communications skills;
• Fluency in either Oji-Cree or Cree would be an asset.

If you are able, willing and confident that you can help increase the educational success of the people in Nishnawbe Aski Nation, we invite to submit your letter of interest and a resume, with three references, to:

Executive Director
Oshki-Pimache-O-Win Education & Training Institute
106 Centennial Square, 3rd Floor
Thunder Bay, ON  P7E 1H3
Phone:  (807) 626-1880
Fax:  (807) 622-1818

Closing date: Monday, May 29, 2006 at 12:00 pm

While we appreciate all applications for this position, only those who are selected for an interview will be contacted.

Lac Seul and Sioux Lookout residents are meeting this morning to light a sacred fire at the Pelican Falls Residential School Memorial Monument as part of the National Day of Healing and Reconciliation. Click here to see the photos from the Memorial Garden at Pelican Falls.

From the NDHR web site at http://www.ndhr.ca ...

The National Day of Healing and Reconciliation is a movement of people committed to moving forward collectively within our families, communities and across Canada for the purposes of healing and reconciliation.

Objectives

• To celebrate a positive, collective healing and reconciliation movement within our families, communities, churches and government on May 26th of each year.
• To educate ourselves and other Canadians about our collective history of government policies which impacted Aboriginal communities and other ethnic groups.
• To develop commemoration sites and to encourage communities to join in the National Day of Healing and Reconciliation.

from http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2006/05/26/healing-day060526.html

Residential schools are closed, but memories linger on healing day

Last Updated Fri, 26 May 2006 - CBC News

It has taken nearly fifty years for Muriel Betsina to gain self-confidence after the physical and emotional abuse she recalls at the native residential school she attended.

Aboriginal children were taken from their families and put in residential schools.

• INDEPTH: Aboriginal Canadians

There are still parts of her past she struggles with. "I didn't know what love is. I didn't know how to kiss my children, I didn't know," she told CBC News.

On Friday, groups across Canada marked a National Day of Healing and Reconciliation, a day officially recognized in the Northwest Territories, where Betsina lives, although not yet in much of the rest of the country.

• RELATED: CBC ARCHIVES: Canada's Residential Schools

Events include a gathering of elders at the Nisg'a Valley Health Authority in Aiyansh, B.C.; an all-day commemorative walk from Blue Quills Residential School to Saddle Lake Healing Lodge in the St. Paul, Alta., area; and a social tea at BTC Indian Health Services in North Battleford, Sask., among many others.

In Edmonton, where the movement for a national healing day has its roots, the Bent Arrow Traditional Healing Society was organizing a soup and bannock lunch.

• FROM NOV. 23, 2005: School abuse victims getting $1.9B

Taking back control

Joachim Bonnetrouge, project co-ordinator with the Residential School Society in Fort Providence, N.W.T, said he has seen a significant increase in the number of people, like Betsina, who take control of their lives and go through a healing process.

• FROM MARCH 11, 2003: Anglicans, Ottawa sign residential schools agreement

"People are beginning to become aware in realizing their role and responsibilities for their family and the communities," he said.

For generations, Indian and Inuit children were routinely taken from their homes to be educated in residential schools, many of them run for the government by church groups.

Countless youngsters endured strict discipline, separation from their families and the loss of traditional skills, language and culture. Some also suffered sexual abuse, a matter that has since become the focus of legal and arbitration proceedings.

Betsina said she hopes to pass on a lesson to her children and grandchildren on this day of healing.

"I know I can deal with it. I understand what I've been through, but I forgive ... and that's the hardest thing to ever do, is to forgive."

In Australia, a similar day was marked on Friday.

National Sorry Day commemorates the forced removal of thousands of Aborigine children from their families. They are widely referred to as Australia's stolen generations.

With a report from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation