Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Consultant

About this position

Request for Proposals: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Consultant

About The Stop: 

For over 35 years, The Stop Community Food Centre has been at the forefront of dignified, innovative programs that provide access to healthy food- building skills, health, hope, and community; and confronting the underlying issues that lead to poverty and hunger. Our wide range of programs include drop-in meals, a food bank, community kitchens and gardens, perinatal and family support, and civic engagement. 

Throughout the COVID 19 pandemic, The Stop has continued to orient our program delivery and advocacy efforts around the significance of food in building healthier and more equitable communities.   

Background:

The Stop’s mission is to increase access to healthy food in a manner that maintains dignity, builds health and community, and challenges inequality.  We know that none of these goals can be met without first acknowledging how systemic racism hinders all three and then taking proactive action to address and dismantle it. Despite our commitment to anti-racism we have spent the past year identifying and acknowledging how The Stop has contributed to systemic racism and oppression both in our workplace and our communities.  

Over the past months, leadership, including the board of directors has focused on the immediate actions deemed necessary to lay the groundwork for more sustainable and meaningful change. In the fall we put out an open call for new board members to diversify representation and experience, we held AR/AO trainings for existing board and senior management, and we have hired the organization’s first dedicated HR professional.  With increased knowledge, commitment and capacity, we are better positioned to fully engage with and resource this work.  

It is also important to note that The Stop’s staff have recently unionized and we are working to finalize our first collective agreement.  This has been a difficult time but we, staff and management see this as an opportunity to rebuild relationships and trust and to develop a collective vision as it relates to the work of Anti-oppression/Anti-racism and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion across the organization.   

What we are looking for:

Using The Stop’s Anti-Racism and Anti-Oppression (AR/AO) policy as a guiding document, and building on our pre-pandemic AR/AO work plan, we are looking for an experienced Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) consultant to help us reset our AR/AO priorities, reorient our short- and long-term strategies, and endow our multi-year AR/AO implementation plan with cohesion, clear direction, and an evaluation framework to achieve a more inclusive and equitable work place.  The ideal consultant understands the context and environment of our work and communities, and is able to work effectively across all levels of the organization (staff, management, board of directors, membership, community stakeholders) using an inclusive design lens that values and recognizes deep, intersectional diversity.

Scope of Work and Time Frame:

We will take guidance from the consultant on the process and timeframe but ideally, we will be looking for the following deliverables to be completed within (6-8mos) of start date: 

1. Re-framing of staff-led AR/AO committee to include organization-wide representation
2. Organization-wide AR/AO visioning 
3. Updated Multi--Year AR/AO Implementation Plan 
4. DEI Evaluation framework 

Budget: 

The total budget for this project is $20,000 including all eligible taxes, disbursements and contingencies. Terms and timelines for payment will be negotiated in the contract for services.  

Response Format:

In submitting a written response to this RFP, please include:

• A short cover letter introducing yourself and your interest in working with The Stop. 
• A CV and reference examples of comparable assignments. Please include contact information for two client references. 
• A proposed timeline to achieve the deliverables. The timeline should outline the scope of the work products to be delivered and the timeline.
• A total and breakdown in fees by deliverables outlined above including all applicable taxes. 

The submission deadline is May 24th, 2021 via this link: https://thestop.bamboohr.com/jobs/view.php?id=28

Process:

The selection team, composed of staff, management and members of our board of directors will review submissions, select and if deemed necessary, interview short-listed candidates based on their interpretation of the project goals and objectives, and relevant experience.