Cobscook Institute is hiring a Director of Indigenous Teaching and Learning. This is a new position based out of our Trescott campus but whose work extends deeply into the community and beyond.

Cobscook’s Mission is to create responsive educational opportunities that strengthen personal, community, and global well-being.

Its vision is of a community that respects people and planet, and inspires, supports, and sustains people to achieve their greatest potential.

Position:

Director of Indigenous Teaching and Learning

at Cobscook Institute

Position Overview: The Director of Indigenous Teaching and Learning serves as a catalyst and focus for bold and creative community action on the issues most critical to the flourishing of our land and people. This means, among other things, supporting and strengthening Indigenous ways of knowing and being within educational and community contexts at Cobscook Institute, in our communities, throughout our region, and around the globe. As a member of the leadership of Cobscook Institute, the Director will serve as a community resource to facilitate action that will shape the future of both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. They work to nurture and support people across our region to navigate threats and opportunities using Indigenous knowledge and perspectives, helping to create pathways for collective action towards a vibrant future for all.

Additionally, the Director of Indigenous Teaching and Learning elevates Indigenous knowledge systems within all aspects of activity at Cobscook and in our communities. The Director works closely with Indigenous communities, staff, and students to create learning environments that honor Indigenous perspectives, participation, engagement, and leadership. This can also include building a dedicated staff as needed to fulfill these responsibilities.

Specifically, the Director operates in alignment with these core values (inspired by the tenets of Indigenous education and understood through conversation with local elders):

Relationship and Responsibility - Emphasizing the interconnectedness of all beings and the importance of relationships and responsibility in understanding the world.
Decolonization - Challenging dominant paradigms and working toward the decolonization of minds and systems.
Knowledge as Process - Understanding knowledge as dynamic and evolving, shared through community practices and dialogue.
Sustainability - Advocating for living in harmonious relationship and responsibility with the environment, drawing on traditional ecological knowledge.

The Director of Indigenous Teaching and Learning finds active support and collaborative spirit to perform the responsibilities of the position from Cobscook staff, board members, community partners, and an Indigenous advisory council. In addition, training in specific needs around non-profit management (grant-writing, budget building & management) will be offered, should the right candidate seek skill development in those areas.

Key Responsibilities:

The ideal candidate for this position will contribute meaningfully to each of the areas of responsibility outlined below, recognizing that any individual will have strengths and interests that shift the balance toward some areas more than others. Further, the Director will operate within a broad and collaborative ecosystem of support to lean into the work described below and has the invitation to build a team or teams to fulfill the spirit of this work.

1. Creative Organizational & Community Leadership:

The person in this role will build relationships and advance efforts that directly benefit people of all ages in Indigenous communities through the use of Indigenous knowledge and practices. In partnership with an Advisory Council and Cobscook staff and board, this person will help ensure that Cobscook lives up to its vision of a multicultural, multi-national community resource and organizing hub. They will identify and advocate for pathways to decolonization, and promote the stories, voices, and expertise of Indigenous people in service to and support of Indigenous people of all ages.

2. Responsive & Innovative Indigenous Education

This person will be an educator and dynamic partner who works to create responsive educational opportunities that are by and for Indigenous people and which limit or eliminate the harms of dominant educational approaches and systems. They are excited to partner to create and maintain inclusive, responsive programs and activities that incorporate Indigenous ways of teaching and learning, both at (or through) Cobscook and/or in the community.

3. Ethical and Effective Administration and Division Leadership

This person will collaborate with the Development Circle, Advisory Council, and Co-Executive Directors to identify, research, and help build relationships with funding partners to ensure sufficient resources for this work. Indigenous Teaching and Learning is an area of activity at Cobscook that is expected to grow over time in programs and personnel. The Director will lead efforts to identify new positions and partnerships (staff or consultant) and will recruit and supervise/guide new staff to build their team. They also prepare and manage the budget, oversee data collection, and reporting for this sphere of work (with support from Cobscook Co-Executive Directors).

Qualifications: all candidates who demonstrate competence with minimum qualifications will be reviewed by the search committee. An ideal candidate will have at least some experience with all core qualifications, and preference between similarly-qualified candidates will be established based on possession of preferred qualifications.

Minimum Qualifications:

Recognized as a cultural knowledge bearer within an Indigenous community;
Proven track record of working within Indigenous communities and integrating their perspectives into effective and impactful initiatives and/or practices.
Ability to travel around the region as needed (valid license, the ability to obtain it, or dependable transportation accommodations).

Core Qualifications:

Strong understanding of relationships, commitment to community and time as informed by Indigenous ways of knowing.
Commitment to cultural competence and sensitivity to Indigenous issues.
Understanding of and ability to advocate for and implement decolonizing practices in education and in everyday life.
Experience in collaborative learning environments.
Leadership and team-building skills and experience.

Preferred Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree or above, with coursework in Indigenous Studies, Education, Postcolonial Studies, Psychology, Sociology, Social Work, Community Studies, Human Development, or a related field.
Formal or informal work experience in educational program development and implementation, preferably within Indigenous contexts.
Comfort in working with digital devices.

Reports To: Co-Executive Directors

Supervisory Responsibility: Any full and part-time staff, contractors, and consultants hired in the future in support of this work

Location: This position is housed on Cobscook Institute’s campus, with work taking place in tribal communities and organizations around Washington County, the greater Bay of Fundy bioregion, and beyond (including collaboration with other tribal nations and participating in Association for World Education Indigenous People’s Committee).

Application process:

Applicants shall submit a resume and a cover letter describing their qualifications and interest in this position. Paper application materials can be delivered or mailed to:

Indigenous Teaching & Learning
℅ Cobscook Institute
10 Commissary Point Rd.
Trescott Township, ME 04652

Electronic applications can be submitted via the "Apply Now" link at the bottom of this page.

Applicants who are selected for an interview will need to provide the names and contact information for three references. Application review will begin on May 1, but this position will remain open and new applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.

Equal Opportunity Statement:

Cobscook Institute is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity and to providing employees with a work environment free of discrimination and harassment. All employment decisions at Cobscook are based on organizational needs, job requirements and individual qualifications, without regard to religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, citizenship, service in the military or veteran status, ancestry, age, physical or mental disability, medical condition, or any other status protected by law.

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