Indigenous Entrepreneurship (Contract)

Job Opportunity

Employee Group: USW CASUAL

University of Toronto Entrepreneurship

University of Toronto Entrepreneurship (UTE) and the University of Toronto community have created more than 600 companies, securing more than $2 billion in investment over the past decade. UTE supports and champions the activities of 10+ campus-linked accelerators (CLAs) and entrepreneurial initiatives across the tri-campus and manages the ONRamp – 16,000 square feet of co-working and event space in the Banting Institute on the St. George (Downtown) campus.

UTE is seeking an individual to support Indigenous Entrepreneurship activities.  In this role, you will be responsible for supporting the design of a network and related programming for Indigenous entrepreneurs, under the direction of Director, University of Toronto Entrepreneurship. The goal of the network is to create a welcoming and inclusive community that will provide entrepreneurial skills and resources to support Indigenous-identifying students, faculty and alumni.  Your efforts will help identify existing gaps and help with the creation of more Indigenous-led companies.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Completing an environmental scan and creating an inventory of existing programs, resources and physical space for Indigenous entrepreneurs, small business leaders and community members in Toronto and across Canada
• Gathering information from key student and university stakeholder groups across all three campuses, identifying barriers to participation and potential intersections with CLAs and complements to existing programming
• Engaging with external community members to identify best-practices
• Supporting UTE Director to identify external leaders (speakers, mentors, investors, partners) to participate and engage
• Drafting and creating marketing collateral, digital assets and communications as required with support from UTE’s Director, Marketing and Communications Officer and central U of T Communications, ensuring that all communications are tailored to the audience
• Providing input into guidelines for data collection and use by working with the UTE Director and Director, EDI in Research & Innovation
• Providing input into KPIs and measurement of performance of initiative to inform iteration.
• Establish connections with the office of Indigenous Initiatives
• Use the Wecheehetowin: Answering the Call, U of T’s response to the TRC report to guide directions of work

Essential Qualifications:

• Lived experience and/or connection to Indigenous communities
• Experience in the development and launch of program/project strategies, working with a broad range of stakeholders
• Experience developing creative community engagement strategies
• Demonstrated knowledge of issues facing Indigenous and other racialized communities in the sphere of entrepreneurship
• Exceptional interpersonal skills, tact and diplomacy; including the ability to partner with internal and external stakeholders in a manner which facilitates collaboration and consensus building, to identify and build on areas of common interest, and to articulate a compelling case for an Indigenous entrepreneurship network
• Proven ability to engage in stakeholder relations both internally and externally and with various levels including students, leaders, executives and to work effectively in a large, complex environment
• Ability to prioritize competing tasks to meet tight deadlines
• Strong communication skills, including exceptional presentation and writing skills; ability to prepare presentations, reports and correspondence with minimal review
• Demonstrated experience with planning and executing multiple events with a variety of stakeholders
• Creative and innovative thinker, able to leverage the power of technology to communicate a variety of messages to internal and external audiences, especially in an educational and entrepreneurial environment

Assets (non-essential)

• Entrepreneurial experience as a founder
• Demonstrated success with building / launching a venture or program

HOURS OF WORK:  Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm

DURATION: CASUAL contract duration approx. 6 months 

LOCATION: University of Toronto, St. George Campus.

Submission Process

Submit your cover letter with resume by email to Anett Trifonov, Manager, Systems and Operations – Division of the Vice-President Research & Innovation: anett.trifonov@utoronto.ca

Applications will be reviewed and interviews scheduled on a continuous basis until the position is filled.

Lived Experience Statement
Candidates who are members of Indigenous, Black, racialized and 2SLGBTQ+ communities, persons with disabilities, and other equity deserving groups are encouraged to apply, and their lived experience shall be taken into consideration as applicable to the posted position.

All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.

Diversity Statement

The University of Toronto is strongly committed to diversity within its community and especially welcomes applications from racialized persons / persons of colour, women, Indigenous / Aboriginal People of North America, persons with disabilities, LGBTQ2S+ persons, and others who may contribute to the further diversification of ideas.

As part of your application, you will be asked to complete a brief Diversity Survey. This survey is voluntary. Any information directly related to you is confidential and cannot be accessed by search committees or human resources staff. Results will be aggregated for institutional planning purposes. For more information, please see http://uoft.me/UP.

Accessibility Statement

The University strives to be an equitable and inclusive community, and proactively seeks to increase diversity among its community members. Our values regarding equity and diversity are linked with our unwavering commitment to excellence in the pursuit of our academic mission.

The University is committed to the principles of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). As such, we strive to make our recruitment, assessment and selection processes as accessible as possible and provide accommodations as required for applicants with disabilities.