Island Digital Voices Project Coordinator

Job Description:

The Island Digital Voices project is an initiative of the Government of Prince Edward Island, founded in 2021, and is administered by the PEI Museum & Heritage Foundation (the Foundation).  Island Digital Voices can be located at https://www.islanddigitalvoices.ca/

The intent of the project includes two key elements:

• To encourage Islanders to record and share their oral and written histories
• To provide young storytellers the opportunity to practice their craft in a professional setting

Island Digital Voices aims to capture the stories of interesting, notable, and otherwise intriguing Islanders—so they can be shared with others and preserved as part of our province’s history. The stories featured on the website are, for the most part, gathered and created by young and aspiring storytellers from Prince Edward Island. Stories are shared in multiple formats including written essays, video storytelling, and audio-based storytelling.

Position Objective:

The IDV Coordinator is responsible for the overall coordination of the IDV project. The goal for the 2022-23 season of the project is to develop stories about at least nine individuals whose stories will be told through islanddigitalvoices.ca in either a written, audio or audio-visual format. The Coordinator will be directly responsible for developing the stories of at least three individuals (subjects). The remaining six stories are to be developed by contracted contributors. The Coordinator will be responsible for hiring the contributors and providing oversight of their work. The Coordinator can look at the islanddigitalvoice.ca website to see the expectations of story length and formats.

Duties:

• In cooperation with the Foundation’s Executive Director, selecting the individuals (subjects) to be featured on IDV
• Assist in the process of contracting contributors to provide up to seven stories about the selected subjects.
• Working with subjects to secure their agreement and participation
• Researching subjects for the purposes of developing themes, background materials, and the lines of questioning for interviews.
• Develop the theme for the overall direction of the storytelling
• Determining the preferred interview medium for each of the subjects, including written essays, audio interview, and audio-visual interview
• Developing interview questions and conducting interviews with some of subjects
• Writing and editing the subjects’ story using interview and background material
• Proving oversight and support to up to seven contributors on the direction and progress of their work
• Editing and providing feedback to contributors
• Working with the Executive Director on the approval of storylines and final materials
• Uploading new content to the islandgiditalvoices.ca platform
• Act as a spokesperson for IDV and the PEI Museum and Heritage Foundation, communicating to educators, the media and the wider public as necessary to promote the project
• Work with the Communication and Fundraising Coordinator as well as the Digital Content Creator in order to share and promote the project
• Work with the Foundation’s education team in order to ensure the project is accessible to educators and students throughout the province

Required Skills, Attributes, and Education:

• Graduate of a journalism, history, or communications program, or an equivalent
• Strong written communication skills are a must, including sentence structure, grammar and clarity
• Prior professional or experience interviewing subjects
• A keen interest in storytelling
• Excellent time management and organizational skills
• Ability to work independently
• Enthusiastic, adaptable and self-motivated
• A Criminal Record Check will be necessary on offer of employment

Assets:

• Experience in written, audio, or audio-visual storytelling is an asset
• Experience as a journalist, freelance writer, or communications professional is an asset
• Knowledge of the history and heritage of Prince Edward Island is an asset
• Public speaking skill and/or media relations training is an asset
• Project management skills are an asset
• French language skills are an asset

Written Assessment:
Individuals who are selected for interviews will be required to submit two pieces of original writing, each a minimum of 500 words and no more than 4,000 words, to assist in the assessment of their writing skills. Applicants can choose a piece they have already written or create a new piece specifically for the application. The applicants may use their discretion on the selection of the topic.

About the PEI Museum and Heritage Foundation:
The PEI Museum and Heritage Foundation is an integral part of the Prince Edward Island community. We operate seven provincial museums and heritage sites across Prince Edward Island, providing Islanders and visitors alike with an opportunity to discover our province’s heritage and culture.

The Foundation is responsible for the provincial collection of more than 100,000 artifacts. Our staff provide professional conservation and collection services to outside groups, individuals and organizations. Twice a year, the Foundation publishes its official journal of PEI heritage and culture: The Island Magazine.

Our mission is to preserve the heritage of Prince Edward Island for present and future generations.

For more information about the Foundation, please visit www.peimuseum.ca.

Contract Terms:

The contract will be for a total of 637.5 hours at $18 per hour.  The employer is willing to entertain less than 37.5 hours per week for the duration of the work term for a total of 637.5 hours. All work on the project must be completed by January 31, 2023.

PLEASE NOTE: The successful candidate will be required to use their personal laptop for the term of the contract.