Specialist, Education and Programs Indigo Love of Reading Foundation

Dedicated to telling stories and creating experiences, Indigo is always looking for bright, energetic and customer-focused people who can help bring our exciting mission to life in one of our more than 170 Indigo, Indigospirit, Chapters and Coles stores across Canada. We offer a variety of exciting opportunities at our retail stores, distribution centres, and home office for people who share our passions and want to be part of a dynamic and enriching culture.

WHO WE ARE

We love books and all things beautiful

We are Canada’s Cultural Department Store

Books are our heart and soul, and Great Books are JUST the Beginning…

We play by the following rules:

We exist to add joy to our customers’ lives each and every time they interact with us and our products

Our job is to create joyful moments for our customers

We treat each other the way we’d treat a valued friend

We inspire each other to do our best work

We seek to ignite creativity and innovation every day

We give back to the communities in which we operate

Job Description

For the past 20 years, the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation (ILOR) has been an essential actor in the literacy movement across Canada. We connect daily with school boards, educators, students, parents, and community organizations to understand their literacy needs. We have become well-known and well-respected education community members.

ROLE

Reporting to the Senior Manager of Indigo Love of Reading Foundation, the Education and Grant Specialist is responsible for the Foundation’s granting program design, development, execution, reporting, and innovation. In addition, the Specialist will be responsible for active listening in our educator community and the broader Canadian education landscape, collecting feedback and insight to lead the creation of curriculum resources and training in collaboration with Foundation partners.

KEY PERFORMANCE METRICS

Program planning, delivery, reporting

Resources and training planning, delivery, reporting

Partner engagement

Stakeholder satisfaction

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

Functional

Oversee a $1.5m+ granting budget in collaboration with the Sr Manager Indigo Love of Reading and accounting teams.

Act as a critical driver of core granting programs across Canada, adapting and modifying programs to meet beneficiaries' current needs.

Oversee the planning and implementation of grant monitoring and evaluation processes, reviewing and analyzing data regularly and supporting the development of the year-end annual report.

Stay current on key trends and research in the education and literacy sector.

Oversee the development and design of new educator support resources and training to promote literacy impacts across Canada.

Support in the promotion of school programs, educator resources and training opportunities across communication channels

Provide direct, ongoing support to Indigo Love of Reading school and nonprofit partners, elevating any issues and identifying opportunities for program or granting improvements.

Act as a critical liaison between the Foundation and key Indigo volunteer committees in support of application intake, events, and fundraising activities

People

Collaborate with others to drive flexible and iterative solutions quickly and easily.

Help others see the impacts of their efforts and proactively engage other functions to get input.

Encourage others to freely share their point of view and be open to feedback.

Cultural

Continual improvement, always seeking ways to be responsive to community needs and streamlining operational approaches regularly

Model Indigo Love of Reading Foundation’s beliefs and values

Celebrate the diversity of thought and have an open mindset

SCOPE

Reports to: Senior Manager, Indigo Love of Reading Foundation

KEY RELATIONSHIPS

Internal:

ILOR Executive Director, Senior Manager, Coordinator

Indigo Retail Operations & Field

Indigo Accounting & Corporate Sales

Indigo Marketing, Online & Public Relations

Indigo Employee Communications

Indigo Legal

Indigo Translation

External:

Grant partners (educators, school administration, community groups, etc.)

External vendors and consultants

Qualifications

Work Experience / Education / Certifications

University-educated or equivalent post-secondary degree, Bachelor of Education considered a strong asset

3-5 years experience in areas such as program design, training and education and/or corporate social responsibility

Understanding of current trends in literacy is considered a strong asset

Competencies / Skills / Attributes

Excellent time management and organizational skills

Demonstrated ability to prioritize, meet conflicting demands and deal with time-sensitive issues

Self-motivated, passionate, detail-oriented, multi-tasker extraordinaire who thrives in a fast-paced, collaborative environment

Highly proficient in Microsoft Office Suite (including SharePoint, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Word); experience with other database management systems relating to granting and/or community engagement an asset.

Strong analytical skills, both quantitative and qualitative, with a proven ability to distill valuable insight from complex data

Confident navigating online software (e.g. Google Analytics, Survey Monkey, MailChimp);

Social media savvy (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok) is a strong asset.

Other (travel, Bilingual, etc.)

Knowledge of French or Indigenous language(s) is considered an asset.

Additional information

At Indigo, we are committed to our communities, customers, and each other; we can make a positive impact together. We know that fostering diversity and inclusion brings out your full potential and creates a joyful and welcoming environment for everyone. We are driven to be an equitable employer that highly values your diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. We believe that you, in all your uniqueness, belong at Indigo. We welcome all applicants and encourage applications from individuals who identify as Black, Indigenous, a person of colour, LGBTQ2+ and people with disabilities. Accommodations are available upon request to individuals who self-identify as having a disability or special need. Please contact Human Resources at if you require accommodation at any time during the recruitment process.

WELCOME HOME