Job Posting: Musqueam Resource Curation Project Student Assistant 

• Musqueam Resource Curation project 
• Must be enrolled as a UBC Graduate Student in order to apply
• Deadline: September 8, 2023, 4:00 pm
• Virtual Interviews: September 14-15, 2023

TO APPLY: Please submit a CV and cover letter outlining your interest in the position to Dr. Heather Commodore, heather.commodore@ubc.ca  

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Work Performed 

The Student Project Assistant provides dedicated support to develop a curated list of materials held by UBC about/created by Musqueam community members. This list is a first step in understanding what materials about/by Musqueam are held by UBC to engage in further consultation with Musqueam community representatives related to appropriate access concerns, including alignment with cultural protocols. These resources will also inform the content of the future Musqueam Information Portal for those seeking information about the Musqueam community. This collection will serve as a first point of contact for UBC community members and is intended to alleviate UBC’s demands on Musqueam resources. In addition, the project has the potential to result in enhanced workflow and/or a resource framework to be shared with other Indigenous communities.   

The Student Project Assistant is directly supervised by the Musqueam Resource Creation Project Manager, Dr. Heather Commodore (Indigenous Initiatives, CTLT); iSchool faculty members support payroll related tasks and the pan-institutional team provides additional oversight. The Student Project Assistant performs the following duties:  

• Identify existing educational and informational resources that have been initiated, designed, and created by or about Musqueam Indian Band.    
• As part of the BREB activities for the project, conduct a needs assessment and interviews/focus groups with UBC community members (e.g., faculty, staff) to determine the information seeking needs of those who request information from Musqueam for various projects, initiatives, etc.   
• Work in collaboration with the project team create a resource plan and recommendations for the resource portal and future work.   

Qualifications 

• Enrolled in iSchool graduate program; First Nations Curriculum Concentration Specialization preferred.    
• Knowledge of First Nations and Indigenous histories, politics, cultural studies, law, social issues, and/or education; knowledge and experience working with Indigenous communities.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, including professional communication, communicating across different communities.   
• Ability to collaborate and work effectively in team settings.   
• High level of accuracy and attention to detail.   
• Excellent organization and time management skills.   
• Strong computer skills including working with Microsoft Excel, using collaboration tools such as Microsoft Teams, and presentation tools to create slides and graphics.   
• Ability to work independently, take initiative in appropriate ways, and use good judgement.    
• Ability to take an assets-based approach to working with communities; community volunteer or work experience an asset.   
• Organizational and project management skills, including the ability to prioritize tasks and manage timelines.   
• Passion for community-led information work.   
• A curious, flexible, and open-minded approach.   
• Experience with conducting needs assessment, information seeking and retrieval, information organization, and designing information resources.   
• Engagement work experience with Indigenous communities is an asset.  

Compensation 

• $27.22/hr for approx. 

Contribution to the University Community  

This Work Learn position furthers the goal of the UBC iSchool to build relationships with Indigenous communities, especially Musqueam, on whose ancestral home we are located and to support information knowledge management and sovereignty. The position also aligns with several key pillars of UBC’s current and developing strategic priorities including Indigeneity, knowledge exchange, intercultural understanding, and local/global/regional learning.  

Student Learning Components   

Supervision and training  

• Orientation includes introductions to supervisor, team members and project partners; setting up payroll and submission of timesheets; completion of mandatory UBC employee training modules; orientation to online Teams workspace and relevant documentation, as applicable.  
• Feedback and ongoing support.
• Weekly in-person meetings with Project Manager.
• Ongoing communication via email, and sharing of work for feedback using online tools, e.g., Microsoft Teams.   
• Attendance at project full team meetings to understand other initiatives and how this project fits in the overall activities of CTLT Indigenous Initiatives, X̱wi7x̱wa Library, and Musqueam.   
• Reporting of work progress at the project team meetings to gain feedback and ideas from the broader group, and gain confidence communicating the research to others.  

Connections and professional development  

• This position will enhance students’ capacities to develop skills in project and time management, Indigenous knowledge organization and content management, and community-led collaborations.
• Specifically, this will be achieved through:   
  • Mentorship by the Project Manager, who is also a Musqueam community member, and others leading Indigenous initiatives at UBC  
  • Invitations to attend events hosted by the project partners, including Musqueam, as part of knowledge exchange activities;   
  • Interactions with UBC faculty and staff (both those internal and external to the core project team) to develop networking and communication skills;  
  • Gain project experience that is aligned with Indigenous priorities and appreciate the complexities of university-community partnerships.  

Careers exploration  

This position contributes to several core competency areas in Library and Information Science, as identified by the iSchool, that will help students prepare for their professional careers:  

Competencies: collaboration; communication using a range of media to diverse audiences and goals; decision-making and leadership in team settings.   

• The student works directly with the Project Manager and team members from the Indigenous Initiatives team at the Centre for Teaching and Learning; Xwi7xaa Library, Musqueam, and the iSchool. The broader project is focused on sharing information about Musqueam that is created by or with Musqueam’s approval with diverse audiences.  The student will benefit from increased understanding of the need for sharing information in ways that reduce the burden on Indigenous communities, while also respecting Indigenous knowledge protocols. 

Competencies: use a variety of resources and strategies to locate, organize and evaluate information for effective use and discovery; design and conduct of user-centred research.   

• The student conducts a needs assessment to understand the Musqueam-related information needs of UBC constituents and increase their understanding of designing information resources to fulfill the goals of constituents.   
• The students compiles resources as part of a scan of Musqueam-related materials.  In doing so, they will enrich their ability to effectively locate, synthesize, use, and track information from a variety of sources, a core competency of library and information professionals.  

Competencies: Professional ethics, respect for the rights of Indigenous peoples, application of equity, diversity, and inclusion principles to guide practices; informed and critical reflection on information infrastructures and practices, acknowledging the role of power and privilege, the ongoing influence of colonization, and the value of diverse worldviews.  

• Support a project led by Musqueam’s priorities.   
• Gain valuable practical experience applying coursework in a professional environment, while also reflecting on the ways that information theory and institutional practice can better serve the needs of the Musqueam community.   
• Acquire experience partnering with a First Nations community (Musqueam Indian Band) and develop a better understanding of the information and collection needs of Indigenous communities.   
• The student will consider research practices in relation to community ethics, reciprocity, and knowledge sharing.  

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TO APPLY: Please submit a CV and cover letter outlining your interest in the position to Dr. Heather Commodore, heather.commodore@ubc.ca  

Note: You can also find this job ad (969073) on Careers Online.