Books Beyond Bars

Job opportunity: Event Planner (8 weeks)
Contract Dates: July 13 – September 4, 2020

Books Beyond Bars is looking to hire an Event Planner. The Event Planner will primarily be focussed on organizing a digital event for Prisoners Justice Day (August 10th). The successful applicant will work remotely (primarily from home) in the case that public spaces do not open up and that social distancing requirements remain in place.

Responsibilities

The successful applicant will be responsible for:

• • Organizing a virtual (online) Prisoners Justice Day event. Tasks to organize the event will include: 
    • • Researching and pitching possible speakers to BBB members 
      • Reaching out to prospective speakers
      • Coordinating with speakers 
      • Producing and following a budget for the event
      • Reaching out to diverse populations impacted by prisons 
      • Producing written materials
      • Researching online platforms to deliver the event
      • Planning activities
      • Ensuring accessibility of various needs of participants
      • Writing a small grant to cover some of the event costs
      • Promotion of the event on various social media platforms
        

As time allows, the successful applicant could also be engaged in:

• • Researching a community partnership program, such as a pen pal program, that would connect incarcerated women with members of the local community as penpals. This program would support incarcerated women experiencing isolation.
  • Engaging with advocacy/political outreach in line with BBB mandate
  • Conducting research on the Gladue report and assembling materials in order to create a comprehensive resource relevant for Nova Scotia that can be made publicly available (on the BBB website, for example) and shared with other partnering non-profits.

Qualifications

This position provides an opportunity both to gain experience working with an established prisoner justice collective and undertake more self-directed projects. The ideal candidate for this position will be interested in prisoner justice work and be comfortable working independently.

Experience with event planning and logistics would be considered a major asset.

People who have previously been incarcerated, or have other experiences in the justice system are encouraged to apply. Books Beyond Bars also encourages people from marginalized communities to apply, including people who identify as Black, Indigenous, or People of Colour, African Nova Scotian, disabled, two-spirit, queer, trans, or single parents. Applicants can identify in their cover letter.

Funding Requirements

This position is funded by the Canada Summer Jobs Program, therefore applicants must be:

• • Between 15 and 30 years of age (inclusive) at the start of employment;
  • A Canadian Citizen, permanent resident, or person on whom refugee protection has been conferred under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act*; and
  • Legally entitled to work according to the relevant provincial / territorial legislation and regulations.

*International students are not eligible. Recent immigrants are eligible if they are Canadian Citizens or permanent residents.

Term and Compensation

This is an 8 week term position, at $439.25 per week.

How To Apply

Email resume and cover letter to booksbeyondbars@gmail.com by July 5, 2020.

About Books Beyond Bars

Books Beyond Bars is a volunteer-run collective based in Halifax that goes into the women’s section of the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility in Burnside twice monthly to improve access to books, writing, and literature to incarcerated women.

Since 2005 Books Beyond Bars has and continues to:

• • Distribute books and writing journals in a book exchange program,
  • Collect writing, artwork and poetry for a zine, and now a book, called Words Without Walls,
  • Offer a “Read Aloud” program in which we tape record women inside reading children’s books and then send the book and tape to their children outside,
  • Organize writing and poetry workshops, both at Burnside and the Nova Institute for Women in Truro.

Books Beyond Bars operates with the belief that the prison system is fundamentally flawed. Sending women to prison does not support people in dealing with the issues that led to their incarceration: poverty, abuse, racism, addiction, etc. We visit the women’s prisons in Nova Scotia to break down barriers between women who are caught in an unjust system and those of us on the outside involved with prison justice issues.