Swim Guide Affiliates Coordinator contract

In 2011, Lake Ontario Waterkeeper built and launched Waterkeeper Swim Guide (www.theswimguide.org). Swim Guide is a smartphone app that shows you your closest beaches and tells you whether or not it is safe to swim. Swim Guide has been expanding rapidly to include beaches all over Canada and the United States and we are seeking an information coordinator to help us manage information related to more than 5,000 beaches in two countries.

With summer fast-approaching, we are ready to fill this position immediately and will begin contacting qualified candidates as soon as applications are received.

This position is perfect for a young professional with a passion for community management, mobile technology, blogging & newsletter writing, cause-related marketing, and a desire to assist nonprofit organizations achieve their clean water goals.

Description of Responsibilities

The Swim Guide Affiliates Coordinator will work for Lake Ontario Waterkeeper (creator and owner of the Swim Guide), helping to connect and support 40 Swim Guide affiliates and to expand Swim Guide to new parts of Canada and the USA.

You will be the main point of contact between Swim Guide Affiliates and the Swim Guide platform management team. Working as a bridge between the programs and platform, you will help disseminate information, develop and share best practices, and troubleshoot at the grassroots level.

You will report to the Vice President and work closely with our Community Outreach Manager.

Your primary responsibilities will be:

• Connecting with and assisting organizations using the Swim Guide platform (Affiliates);
• Facilitating information sharing between Affiliates;
• Engaging in ongoing and long-term relationship building with Affiliate programs to help promote their work;
• Ensuring accuracy and quality of beach information in Swim Guide;
• Conducting training sessions with Swim Guide Affiliate programs to facilitate launching the program in new locations;
• Ensuring that water quality information in Swim Guide is up to date at all times, which will require developing a sophisticated understanding of water quality monitoring practices across throughout the USA and Canada;
• Ensuring that the Swim Guide social media accounts are active; and
• Posting relevant stories to the Swim Guide blog.

Estimated breakdown of work:

• Responding to technical or marketing questions from Affiliates (20%)
• Writing marketing copy and preparing communications materials (20%)
• Updating the Swim Guide blog & social media feeds (20%)
• Meeting virtually with Affiliates to learn about their work and their needs (10%)
• Data management and quality assurance (10%)

Desired Skills and Experience

As the Swim Guide Affiliates Coordinator, you will be part of a close-knit team of dedicated staff working for a swimmable, drinkable, fishable future. You are our ideal candidate if:

• You are a skilled communicator with experience working with partners across a variety of cities and cultures;
• You have a passion for writing for web and creating presentations;
• You are an effective copy-editor with strong written language skills;
• You have a keen attention to detail;
• You are very comfortable with computers, databases, and/or information management;
• You are committed to accurate, accountable, and thorough data collection;
• You are familiar with recreational water quality issues or have the ability to quickly learn common terms and background on issues affecting beach water quality;
• You take initiative;
• You are a team player, with a positive attitude who is cooperative, and helpful;
• You are an independent problem-solver;
• You are interested in social media and blogging;
• You are passionate about protecting waterways; and,
• You speak English fluently; bilingual in French and/or Spanish preferred.