Facilitator, Governing Strike Body

Facilitator, Governing Strike Body

Position Summary: The Facilitator of the Governing Strike Body, will develop a team of students to undertake the planning, actions, research, and information synthesis, relating to a Student Strike to combat egregious tuition increases. The Facilitator will attend meetings with external partners of Students Against Austerity at both a provincial and national level, to coordinate strike actions with other campuses. This role will additionally attend worker/union rights events, provincial and national union councils, provide updates, author tentative motions, and facilitate the creation/distribution of protest materials and strike safety information to the Governing Strike Body.

Anticipated Start Date: September 21, 2026

Reports to: Manager of HR and Admin, OCAD Student Union Board of Directors

Board Liaison: Executive Director of Campaigns and Advocacy

Supervises: A team of students from OCAD University, to be developed after on-boarding to the role. The team will be composed of individuals with great passion for the Student Strike Movement.

Pay Scale & Hours of Work

$22 per hour, on contract in accordance with the OCAD University semester turnover. Opportunity to renew contract. This role would undertake 10 to 20 hours of work per week, with the prior understanding that weeks preceding and including strike events will expect more hands-on work than the average day-to-day.

Responsibilities:

This role is meant to facilitate the student strike by acting as the point person that liaises between the strike governing body and any other parties involved. The Facilitator is not in command of the Strike Body, but helping to facilitate it in an organized and engaging way, ensuring the responsibilities within are equitably tackled by all parties.

They will bring information to the strike body to help them make informed decisions. They will also communicate the demands of the Governing Strike Body to external partners. This will help support the strike movement overall by meeting with the assembly, meeting with student groups, coordinating spaces with the university, and coordinating allies outside of the OCAD community. They will synthesize input from many parties to help facilitate the strike.

65% - Community Outreach, Campaign Building

Phase 1: Community outreach- the facilitator will perform community outreach through organizing OCAD community events and reaching out to specific interest individuals to begin forming the Governing Strike Body. The main focus of phase 1 is recruiting a diverse group of students who are interested in fighting back against the OSAP changes and curious about pursuing the method of student striking. Possible community events could include townhalls, community potlucks or picnics, movie screenings, informational sessions, tabling at related or adjacent events in solidarity and with Students Against Austerity and more. The facilitator is responsible for coordinating these events, properly budgeting and presenting them to the Board of Directors beforehand. The facilitator is also responsible for coordinating with provincial Students Against Austerity, showing up to their events for outreach, and staying up to date with the group via their Signal chat and bi-weekly calls, reporting back to the Board of Directors with any important information. The facilitator will be asked to create a pamphlet or zine to better explain the Governing Strike Body to students upon recruiting, stating what the group is and how to be involved.

Phase 2: Facilitation and coordination- once the Governing Strike Body is formed, the facilitator will facilitate assemblies with the group to get consensus on important items such as budgeting. The facilitator will take note of individual opinions and author motions that are reflective of the group consensus to bring back to the Body to vote on. Once passed, the facilitator will bring these motions to the Board of Directors for final approval. The facilitator will lead the Body in their initiative to promote the student strike through class talks, workshops, banner drops, art builds and more by doing the organizational backend work and reporting back to the Board. The facilitator will be responsible for coordinating, organizing and tabling alongside the Body, speaking to students directly to help inform them of the current situation. Additionally the facilitator will support training such as de-escalation for the student body to prepare for striking activities.

25% - Building Community Knowledge

The facilitator will also be responsible for aiding the Executive Director of Campaigns and Advocacy in any student funding related actions and training. The facilitator must write updated reports of ongoing activities and initiatives. The facilitator may need to work to create fundraising opportunities for the Governing Strike Body.

10% - Active Student Support

Striking days: for actual striking days, the facilitator will be expected to help lead the picket, support and advocate for students and their safety throughout the duration of the strike. The facilitator must be comfortable in possible high-stress situations.

Qualifications

• Excellent in self-led role management, ability to work independently with some support
• Experience in community outreach including but not limited to nonprofit work, volunteer work and student advocacy work around political initiatives
• Experience in picketing, workers rights, unionization, etc.
• Excellent at synthesizing information and leading the creation of engaging hand-outs including; zines, pamphlets, and educational materials
• Experience in facilitation with excellent leadership skills, able to facilitate assemblies, note opinions, get consensus and hold a vote (then report back to SU board of directors)
• Friendly, sociable and able to canvas to involve more students in the movement
• Passionate and knowledgeable about Ontario Provincial Government Advocacy and preserving student funding (OSAP bursaries vs OSAP loans)
• Commitment to the student strike tactic
• Ideally an OCAD student and connected with the student body
• Prior training in harm reduction, Event Safety and Conflict Descalation, and/or First Aid and CPR considered a strong asset.