Equity Deserving Project Lead

Hours: 35 hours per week

Start Date: October 27, 2025

Contract End Date: March 2026 with the possibility of turning into a permanent role upon the contract end date.

Starting wage: $27.93 to $30 per hour

Please Apply by October 3, 2025

Intentionality: This role intends to support our Women and Gender Equity Project until the project end date of March 2026. At which time, if the applicant is successful, we will look at moving them into a permanent DEI-based role within the organization.

Purpose: To cultivate and sustain a culture of inclusion and belonging across the organization

by embedding equitable practices, fostering connection, and removing systemic barriers.

About Us:

Compass Early Learning and Care (CELC) has been in operation since 1981 and is one of the largest not-for-profit childcare organizations serving East-Central Ontario. With 600+ staff and 50+ home childcare providers, we offer 42 high-quality licensed childcare centers and over 50 licensed homes serving over 4,000 families.

For over forty years, Compass ELC has been dedicated to early learning and childcare. We believe in creating nurturing environments that celebrate children's curiosity and whole selves. Our organization fosters a culture of growth, collaboration and inclusivity, where every team member has the opportunity to thrive. With over 600 team members, we are committed to supporting children and families in our community.

About the role

As a Compass ELC Project Coordinator, you will be working alongside our Women and Gender Equity (WAGE) project to support in identifying barriers that affect equity-deserving people in childcare. You will spend your time engaging, connecting, and learning alongside staff and community partners. You will collaborate with teams throughout Compass ELC, in particular with Corporate, Human Relations, and Communications, to move forward with the work plan.

Key Responsibilities of the Role

• Engage with municipal partners and community stakeholders.

• Collaborate with the Human Relations Team to document and share changes within the recruitment, hiring, and onboarding processes.

• Support with the creation and facilitation of professional learning; develop resources to ease entry into this career pathway for newcomer and low-income women, non-binary, and trans people;

• Build an understanding among municipal partners and equity-seeking community organizations of the barriers facing low-income and newcomer women entering the field of childcare to drive services that reflect their needs for income stability.

• Engagement with the DEI Advisory Committee.

• Engagement with Working Groups within CELC and the communities we serve,

• Supporting in identifying and dismantling barriers that affect newcomer and low-income women, non-binary, and trans people entering the workforce.

• Building and maintaining relationships with staff and community partners.

• Following the work plan set out by community partners, stakeholders, and the Compass ELC team.

• Engage Culture leads and educators in interviews, focus groups, surveys, etc.

• Bring forward research on best practices and develop an action plan to implement changes.

• Completing evaluations and making recommendations for sustainable practices.

• Chair or Co-chair the Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion network.

• Work with the Organizational Lead for Pedagogy to create or support the development of learning opportunities connected to inclusion and belonging.

• Champion intersectional and inclusive practices across all levels of the organization (i.e., staff, children, and families), provide policy recommendations and respond or provide guidance and support on inclusion-related tensions.

• Work collaboratively with the Organizational Lead for Human Relations and the Women and Gender Equality (WAGE) Grant Project team to develop an inclusion and belonging Strategy for the Organization.

Skills and Qualifications

• 2-3 years of experience with project development and coordination

• 2-3 years of experience working within a leadership role

• A diploma or post-secondary education in Project Management is valued but not required.

• You have familiarity with the Child Care Early Years Act and licensing standards.

• You have Valid certifications, including a Clear Police Vulnerable Sector Check.

• You have a passion and experience for supporting Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion work

• You are comfortable with technology and have experience collecting data.

• You have experience working alongside Early Childhood Educators

How to Apply

To apply, please submit your resume and cover letter through our Bamboo Careers Page.

Inclusivity and Accessibility

To address issues of systemic inequity within our communities, we strongly encourage individuals from communities and groups that have historically been disadvantaged and/or marginalized, including First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples, Indigenous Peoples of Canada, racialized persons, persons with disabilities, individuals who identify as women and/or gender diverse, 2SLGBTQ+ persons, and persons with lived or living experience of homelessness to apply.

We are committed to reducing barriers to employment, providing accommodations upon request, and ensuring an accessible interview process. We encourage you to bring your true or whole self and way of being to the interview process. For assistance, please contact our Human Relations – Recruitment and Hiring Coordinator at 705-749-3488 ext. 217, rheath@compasselc.com or careers@compasselc.com.