Ottawa's next Municipal Culture Plan

Contract opportunity: Indigenous Culture Liaison

The City of Ottawa’s Arts and Heritage Development Branch is looking to hire an Indigenous Culture Liaison to undertake research and community engagement that will inform the development of a new City of Ottawa Culture Plan, an Indigenous Culture Program, and Public Art Program processes. The feedback obtained from the work of the Indigenous Culture Liaison will shape a new Culture Plan for the City of Ottawa, inform a funding program that will support Anishinabe Algonquin and urban Indigenous cultural initiatives, programming and services, as well as impact the processes and opportunities offered by the Public Art Program.

Successful candidates must be members of a recognized First Nation, Inuit or Métis nation. Priority will be given to Anishinabe Algonquin applicants.

Ideal candidates will have the following knowledge and skills:

• experience working with Indigenous communities
• experience working with Anishinabe Algonquin Nation
• knowledge of Anishinabe Algonquin First Nations and urban Indigenous communities in Ottawa
• lived experience (e.g., first-hand involvement and/or personal experience) with Indigenous culture and traditional knowledge
• knowledge of organizations supporting Indigenous communities in the Ottawa area
• transportation plan or driver’s licence to reach communities

The work to be completed by the Liaison:

• Conduct engagement sessions with communities to identify needs, priorities and challenges as they relate to culture in Indigenous communities
• Compile information gathered from the engagement sessions
• Present the findings to the community for validation
• Share the findings with City of Ottawa’s Arts and Heritage Development Branch staff

Timeline to complete this work?

This work will be carried out between October 2025 and March 2026, with a possible extension of this position to further impact the existing processes and opportunities offered by the City of Ottawa Arts and Heritage Development Branch

What does it pay?

This is a temporary, short-term contract of up to $30,000, inclusive of HST, if applicable (not inclusive of an additional extension).

What is the selection process?

All applications will be reviewed by a panel of City staff and/or representatives of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation and other urban Indigenous communities, as applicable. Applications are to include:

• a CV and/or letter of interest
• successful applicants will be asked for proof of membership or letter of support from the community the applicant is a member of

Short-listed candidates will be invited for an interview and may be asked for references.

How do I apply?

Please send your application to infoculture@ottawa.ca by Friday, October 17, 2025. Alternative formats, such as audio/visual applications, will also be accepted.

Questions? Need more information?

If you have any questions about this opportunity, or if you require access and disability accommodations, reach out to Caroline Matt at caroline.matt@ottawa.ca or 613-799-2761.

Engaging rural voices in the development of Ottawa's Culture Plan ensures that the city's diverse cultural landscape is fully represented, fostering inclusive policies that reflect the unique heritage, needs, and contributions of rural communities.

The City of Ottawa’s Cultural Development and Initiatives team is looking to hire a rural culture liaison to undertake research and support engagement informing the development of the City of Ottawa’s next Municipal Culture Plan 2026-2031.

The feedback collected through the work of the rural culture liaison will be used to support the inclusion of rural perspectives, voices and needs in:

• The creation of a City-wide definition of culture to be used across the City of Ottawa’s departments and programs
• The development of a five-year action plan to better support cultural access, participation and expression for all
• Mapping and gap analysis of Ottawa’s cultural spaces, resources and artists

Successful candidates must have lived experience of, or demonstrated deep connection to, one or more of Ottawa’s rural communities.

Skills profile

Ideal candidates will have the following knowledge and skills:

• Experience working with rural communities
• Experience (formal or informal) facilitating conversations among community members, including navigating different points of view
• Knowledge of rural communities and rural cultures in the Ottawa area
• Involvement in rural community and cultural organizations, groups or projects
• Bilingual (English/French)
• Driver’s license or transportation plan to support visits across different rural communities

Work to be delivered

• Engagement plan outlining the way the liaison will connect with residents and cultural groups in rural wards
• Budget for delivering engagement activities
• Planning of conversations, interviews and other engagement activities
• Facilitation of planned conversations
• Preparing data for analysis by City staff
• Summary report of findings
• Presentation of findings to community for validation
• Sharing community-validated findings with the City of Ottawa’s Arts and Heritage Development Branch

Timeline

This work will be carried out between October 2025 and December 2025

What does it pay?

This is a temporary, short-term contract of up to $10,000 (inclusive of HST).

This contract does not constitute employment with the City of Ottawa.

Payment breakdown

Estimated rate per hour: $81.90

Planning and budgeting (16 hours)

Preparation of engagement sessions (30 hours)

Engagement sessions with community members (10 x 3 hours)

Validation sessions with community members (10 x 1 hour)

Compiling and preparing information (20 hours)

Report writing (10 hours)

Sharing findings with City staff (3 x 2 hours)

Total anticipated hours: 122

Project budget

This position comes with a project budget of $5,000 to spend towards organizing and delivering engagement activities including, where needed, venue rentals, supplies, and honoraria.

Selection process

All applications will be reviewed by a panel of City staff and a representative of a rural Ottawa community association.

Applications are expected to include:

• A letter or video of interest that outlines your connection to rural Ottawa
• A résumé or CV including community involvement and/or volunteer work

How to apply

Please send your application to culture@ottawa.ca by October 21, 2025

Alternative formats, such as audio/visual applications, will also be accepted.

Questions? Need more information?

If you have any questions about this opportunity please reach out to Thomas Radford at Thomas.Radford@ottawa.ca or 1 (613) 413-2062.

For more information about the City of Ottawa’s next culture plan 2026-2031 please visit Engage Ottawa - Culture Plan. For more information about the City of Ottawa’s cultural development work please visit City of Ottawa - Cultural Development.

The What We Learned Report covering findings from the public launch sessions held from April 1-3 is available now!

Thank you to all who participated and supported these first public engagement sessions and the project team looks forward to continuing to engage throughout the coming months.

Download What We Learned Report 1 - Public Engagement Launches.