Empower students to make their schools and communities safer, more equitable, and inclusive.

The Federation of Canadian Secondary Students / Fédération des élèves du secondaire au Canada (FCSS-FESC) is an entirely non-partisan youth-led charity that aims to inform, educate, and ultimately empower high school students to foster social justice initiatives in their schools and local communities.

We use a mutual aid model where students are at the centre of our programs and initiatives. We encourage students to challenge systems of power that perpetuate social disadvantage and actively ground our work in an anti-oppressive and intersectional framework. 

The Education Policy Analyst (Equitable Funding) will work to advance the organization's policy advocacy research and activities on the funding of secondary-level education in Canada with a focus on the principles of Justice, Equity, Decolonization, and Inclusion (JEDI). This work includes research into various provincial funding formulas, funding models, evolution of these models over time, and preparation of a final policy research report that evaluates the state of publicly funded secondary education in Canada.

Responsibilities and Tasks

1. Researching current funding formulas and funding models for secondary schools in Canada;
2. Assembling, interpreting, and analyzing information from both academic and non-academic sources to inform an evidence-based approach to evaluation of the current state of publicly funded secondary education in Canada;
3. Tracking the funding over time and changes to funding of Canadian secondary-level education, with a view to correlating outcomes to marginalized and socially disadvantaged youth, including those who identify as Indigenous, Black, racialized, as part of the 2SLGBTQ+ community, religious minorities, and official language linguistic minorities
4. Preparing reports, summaries, and briefs that assess the current state of the academic literature on funding of secondary education in Canada, informed by JEDI principles and student achievement outcomes;
5. Performing comprehensive assessments of proposed policies and programs, identifying potential political, legal, social, economic, and financial impacts, determining performance indicators and recommending modifications;
6. Evaluating existing policies and programs to determine their consistency with, and effectiveness in meeting, organizational priorities;
7. Pinpointing and prioritizing research needs, coordinating the development and implementation of research work-plans, and evaluating final products;
8. Analyzing alternative means of meeting policy objectives, including the review of initiatives of other jurisdictions, and evaluating the various implications of these options;
9. Monitoring and critiquing political, social, economic and demographic developments funding of Canadian secondary education, including the expressed positions of the federal, provincial/territorial, and local governments, Indigenous governments and band councils, and other stakeholders; and
10. Regularly briefing the JEDI team with progress updates and working collaboratively with others on research for the education curriculum program and the governance policy team.

Ideal candidates will:

1. have some knowledge (0.5 to 2 years) of how Canadian secondary-level education is funded, including through provincial/territorial government funding models and funding formulas
2. have some experience (0.5 to 2 years) conducting quantitative and qualitative data analysis, including completing literature reviews and surveys 
3. have some experience or understanding (0.5 to 2 years) of policy analysis, including research, development, and review which can include academic knowledge gained through coursework, practical experience gained through employment, or a combination of the two; and,
4. have an interest in the role.

This job will be part of the Canada Summer Jobs Program. As per the requirements of the program, youth hired need to meet the following criteria. Please ensure you review the below before applying:

• be between 15 and 30 years of age at the start of the employment*;
• be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or person to whom refugee protection has been conferred under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act for the duration of the employment**; and,
• have a valid Social Insurance Number at the start of employment and be legally entitled to work in Canada in accordance with relevant provincial or territorial legislation and regulations.

*The youth must be 15 years of age at the beginning of the employment period. The youth may be more than 30 years of age at the end of the employment period as long as the youth was 30 at the beginning of the employment period.

**International students are not eligible participants. International students include anyone who is temporarily in Canada for studies and who is not a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or person who has been granted refugee status in Canada. Youth awaiting a refugee status ruling, as well as those who hold a temporary visitor visa, youth visa or work visa are ineligible. As the objective of the Canada Summer Jobs program is to support youth entering the Canadian labour market, the temporary nature of an international student’s time in Canada does not allow for a long-term connection to the labour market.

• Work location: remote/from home
• Hours: 35 hours per week (flex)
• Pay: $15.50 per hour
• Contract: 8 weeks (start in May or June 2023)
• Number of positions: 1

Equity Statement

At the FCSS-FESC, we are committed to building and fostering an environment where our Members, volunteers, and staff feel included, valued, and heard. Our belief is that a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion enables us to make our student advocacy work and services better for everyone. We strongly encourage applications from Indigenous Peoples, Black and other racialized people, people with disabilities, people from gender and sexually diverse communities, linguistic minorities in their respective province/territory, and/or people with intersectional identities.