Job Posting: Bay Area Economic Summit Event Scribes and White Paper Research Assistants (4 Positions in total)

· by Huzaifa Saeed

Job Description: Bay Area Economic Summit Event Scribes and White Paper Research Assistants (4 Positions in total). June 2nd 2015. Paid Opportunity.

Hosted by the Hamilton and Burlington Chambers of Commerce.

Background

What is a Chamber of Commerce?  Chambers of Commerce are membership associations representing the voice of the business community and major public sector institutions. With over 550 Chambers in Canada and 250 here in Ontario, every Federal and Provincial riding has a local Chamber of Commerce. As such, the Chambers have had a long standing role in city building and identifying the collective priorities of their communities to all three levels of government and citizens. The Hamilton Chamber of Commerce was founded in 1845 with Burlington coming later in 1947.

Collectively we represent over 2,000 organizations within the Hamilton and Burlington Communities. Our membership ranges from small 1-3 person businesses to the largest private sector employers, McMaster University, Mohawk College, Hamilton International Airport, Hamilton Port Authority and all hospitals.

History of the Economic Summit: The Hamilton Chamber of Commerce has hosted the Hamilton Economic Summit over the past seven years, the summit exists as a one day gathering of key leaders within the community who came together to discuss and learn about the significant issues and opportunities facing the city. The Summit was focused around key target areas which led to the creation of initiatives like Hamilton Hive, Life Sciences Cluster Report and Renew Hamilton.

This year the chambers of both communities are coming together to expand on the core concept for the Bay Area Region, highlighting the importance academic research identifying City “Regions” and cross collaborations as being the key economic drivers in the 21st century.

The Role (s)

Four available positions are divided into stage 1 and 2.

Stage 1, Scribes: The summit has three series of four concurrent breakout sessions that require scribes. The sessions are led by expert panelists and the scribe’s role will be to take verbatim notes on the presentation and discussion between audience members.

Stage 2, White Paper Research Assistants: Based on suitability, Stage 1 scribes can ideally then continue their role over summer 2015 by becoming contributing authors on their scribed topics to the conference White Paper which will serve as the advocacy document for both chambers and will be developed in conjunction with other senior stakeholders. Work can be conducted remotely and will be supported by Chamber staff. The expectation would be for roughly 5-20 hours of additional research over the summer to bolster the summit proceedings with academic research.

Hiring Preference will be given to candidates that can contribute to both stage 1 and 2 and can evolve into a research assistant based on their notes and supplement them with additional secondary academic research for the white paper. E.g.: The research assistant covering the “Regional Energy Systems” breakout will then work with the Chamber, senior staff at Horizons Utilities, Manufacturers and other partners to develop policy recommendations and background for that portion of the White Paper.

Given our tight timeline, we are also offering just a one day stage 1 role to cover the breakouts.

Other Details:

  • The Scribes/Research Assistants will be paid a $100 Honorarium each to cover travel and other expenses.
  • Scribes will be expected to bring their own note taking devices (e.g: Laptops or Tablets). Each room will have an audio technician who will be able to provide audio recordings to the scribes for review.
  • Beyond the breakout session the scribes are encouraged to participate in the summit, lunch and post event networking reception as any other delegate ($350 value). The summit is the premier business event in the cities and is expected to bring together over 300 of Hamilton/Burlington’s senior leaders.
  • The Scribes and Research Assistants will be acknowledged as contributing authors to the final white paper.
  • The Summit will be held on June 2nd at the Royal Botanical Gardens 680 Plains Road West, Burlington. Scribes are required to attend from 9:30am to 3:30pm while RA’s are suggested to attend the full conference from 7:45am to 4pm.
  • Scribes/RA’s will be expected to attend a mandatory orientation lunch at the Hamilton Chamber Office on Thursday or Friday May 28th/29th
  • Additional details and full list of speakers can be found at http://bayareasummit.ca

How to apply:

Please email your resume to Huzaifa Saeed, Policy & Research Analyst at Hamilton Chamber of Commerce: h.saeed@hamiltonchamber.ca

Please feel free to add an optional note or cover letter explaining your interest in the role and your suitability for it based on past academic interests & experience.

Applications are due ASAP but we’ve set a rough deadline of Thursday May 28th @ 11:59pm to guarantee consideration.


JD in PDF Format: Job Description_BAESScribeRA