Executive Director & General Counsel
The Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF) is a national non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the equality rights of women and girls in Canada through litigation, law reform and public legal education. For more than 30 years, LEAF’s work has influenced the evolution of constitutional equality principles in Canada and made an important difference in the daily lives of women and girls across the country.
LEAF recently streamlined its leadership to create the position of Executive Director & General Counsel, aligning responsibility for operations more closely with legal programming. We are looking for a new leader to fill this position. The ideal candidate is a dynamic, visionary lawyer with deep roots in the feminist community. She has a background demonstrating the skills necessary to provide leadership on all aspects of LEAF’s work, including human resources, fund development and financial management, as well as LEAF’s important legal work. She is an effective communicator capable of representing LEAF to the donors, funders, government departments and partners that are central to LEAF’s success. She will strengthen LEAF’s relationships with its branches and their members across the country. She will be accountable to and work closely with LEAF’s volunteer Board of Directors. She will lead a strong staff team, based in LEAF’s new offices in downtown Toronto.
Required Qualifications:
- Canadian law degree or equivalent
- Commitment to intersectional feminism and substantive gender equality
- Exceptional understanding of Canadian constitutional and human rights laws
- Established reputation and relationships in the feminist community
- Strong organizational and management skills, including proven ability to fundraise and manage financial resources effectively
- Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with staff, volunteers and external organizations
- Effective written and oral communication skills
Additional Qualifications an Asset:
- Litigation experience, particularly in constitutional/human rights law
- Senior experience working within the non-profit sector
- Functional bilingualism
Compensation: Salary range: $117,500 – 130,000. LEAF offers a competitive benefits package and is committed to excellence as a workplace.
How to Apply: LEAF encourages applications from candidates who reflect the diversity of our communities. Applications will be accepted by email only. In the subject line of your email application, reference “ED & GC” and your name. Please submit the following as a single attachment: your cover letter, your curriculum vitae and a list of three employment references (contact name, phone number and email address), addressed to executivehiringcommittee@leaf.ca. Do not submit multiple applications or send additional documents.
Applications will be accepted until noon (Eastern) on February 25, 2019. We anticipate interviewing during the week of March 4, and hope to have our new leader in place by April 1st. We thank all applicants for their interest, but only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted. No telephone enquiries please.
For more information about LEAF, please visit our website at https://www.leaf.ca.
Office Administrative Assistant
The Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF) is a national non-profit organization with a longstanding history dedicated to advancing the equality rights of women and girls through litigation, law reform and education.
Position Overview
We are looking for a responsible Office Administrative Assistant to perform a variety of administrative and clerical tasks. The Administrative Assistant will provide high level administrative and organizational support, including planning and implementing a range of administrative services that support the requirements of the organization. The ideal candidate will have a strong interest in the equality rights of women and girls and will have experience working in the non-profit sector. This is a 3 year full time contract with the possibility of becoming permanent after the 3 years.
Duties and Responsibilities
- Provide administrative support to ensure the efficient operation of the office.
- Maintain office order to ensure that each inquiry receives a response.
- Assist in planning meetings and taking detailed minutes.
- Develop and maintain a filing system.
- Order office supplies and research new suppliers.
- Provide general support to all staff, including making travel arrangements and scheduling meetings.
- Assist in organizing conferences, symposiums and fundraising events.
- Other duties, responsibilities, and activities may change or be assigned at any time according to the office’s needs.
Qualifications & Experience
- Graduate of a legal assistant or administrative assistant program and two to three years of administrative experience in a complex office environment, or an undergraduate degree with 2 years or more of relevant experience.
- Must have excellent oral and written communication skills and be proficient and effective in the use of information technology and systems, particularly Word, Adobe Acrobat, Excel and basic internet skills.
- Must be able to exercise good judgment, work without supervision, and have a high level of comfort at all levels of the organization.
- Previous experience in a law firm or other legal environment, and in non-profit organizations are assets.
- Strong organizational skills are required to meet the demands of the position.
- Knowledge of office management systems and procedures.
- Must have strong attention to detail, excellent time management skills, and the ability to prioritize work.
Salary range: $ 40,000 – $ 45,000 a year
How to Apply:
LEAF encourages applications from candidates who reflect the diversity of our communities. Applications will be accepted by email only. In the subject line of your email application, reference “Office Administrative Assistant” and your name.
Please submit the following as a single attachment: your cover letter, your curriculum vitae and a list of three employment references (contact name, phone number and email address) to hiringcommittee@leaf.ca.
Applications should be submitted in Word format or PDF. Please do not submit multiple applications or send additional documents.
Applications for this position will be accepted until noon (Eastern) on February 15, 2019.
We thank all applicants for their interest, but only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted. No telephone enquiries please.
Summer 2019 Law Student
The Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF) is a national non-profit organization with a longstanding history dedicated to advancing the equality rights of women and girls through litigation, law reform and education.
Position Overview
LEAF is hiring a summer law student from May, 2019 to August, 2019. This position will provide a qualified student with the opportunity to gain first-hand experience in feminist legal advocacy, receive valuable on-the-job training and learn more about advancing the equality rights of women through litigation, law reform and education.
In addition to working with LEAF’s legal program generally, the summer student will work closely with the Project Director of LEAF’s new strategic litigation project. LEAF has secured funding for a project to develop a new, contemporary five-year feminist strategic litigation plan that will enable gender equality advocates to address systemic gender discrimination more effectively. The summer student will provide support in all areas of this legal work.
Duties and Responsibilities
- The summer student will be involved in all areas of LEAF’s legal work: litigation, law reform, and legal education.
- The summer student will be actively involved in legal research, academic research, case monitoring, and preparing legal memos.
- If opportunity permits, the summer student may be involved in drafting court documents including facta, and may have the opportunity to attend court with LEAF’s legal team.
- The summer student will assist the Project Director with the following tasks:
- Assessing the impact of past strategic litigation;
- Identifying key issues for which strategic litigation might advance the equality rights of women and girls; and
- Assisting with reports to the funder documenting LEAF’s legal work.
- The summer student will assist with administrative legal tasks, including filing, docketing, preparing meeting minutes, and communicating LEAF’s legal work to the public.
Qualifications & Experience
- Law student enrolled in accredited law school, with completion of first or second year
- Strong legal research and writing skills; prior knowledge of constitutional law and feminist legal theory is desirable
- Strong time-management and organizational skills
- Warmth, excellent interpersonal skills
- Self-motivated individual who works well with others
- Good written and oral language skills
- Knowledge of LEAF’s mandate and legal activities
- Demonstrated commitment to feminism and social justice
Salary: $ 18/hr
How to Apply:
LEAF encourages applications from candidates who reflect the diversity of our communities. Applications will be accepted by email only. In the subject line of your email application, reference “Summer Law Student ” and your name.
Please submit the following as a single attachment: your cover letter, your curriculum vitae and a list of three employment references (contact name, phone number and email address) to hiringcommittee@leaf.ca.
Please include your law school transcript and a list of the courses you are currently enrolled in as part of your application.
LEAF is an equity employer and we encourage applications from all qualified individuals including women, persons with disabilities, visible minorities, Indigenous Peoples, people of all sexual orientations and gender identities.
Applications should be submitted in Word format or PDF. Please do not submit multiple applications or send additional documents.
Applications for this position will be accepted until noon (Eastern) on March 1, 2019.
We thank all applicants for their interest, but only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted. No telephone enquiries please.
