ISC/CIRNAC YPN Terms of Reference

CIRNAC/ISC Young Professionals Network Terms of Reference

1.0 Who We Are

The Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs / Indigenous Services Canada Young Professionals Network (CIRNAC/ISC-YPN), is an open and inclusive network. We consist primarily of young professionals and are open to all employees interested in continuing their professional development.  

As employees of both departments, we acknowledge with gratitude and respect that the headquarters is located on the traditional and unceded Algonquin and Anishinaabe territory. In alignment with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, we strive to ensure this network is inclusive of all young professionals, in particular for Indigenous employees, considering the nature of our work, and that our events recognize the history and legacy of the department.

Our membership includes CIRNAC AND ISC employees at all stages of their career with a shared vision of an open and collaborative public service with opportunities for new ideas and initiatives.  

2.0 Mission Statement

CIRNAC-ISC-YPN works to…

• Give young professionals, paying particular attention to Indigenous young professionals, a voice and increase their visibility within CIRNAC and ISC and the larger public service;
• Enable a broader understanding of the public service in young professionals and newcomers to the public service through opportunities for learning, leadership, and networking;  

• Encourage interdepartmental and inter-sectoral communication, coordination and collaboration;
• Provide opportunities for CIRNAC and ISC employees to learn about the history of Indigenous peoples, including the history and legacy of residential schools, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Treaties and Aboriginal rights, Indigenous law, and Indigenous–Crown relations, in alignment with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call to Action #57;
• Provide a safe space for the sharing of Indigenous cultures;
• Provide a space for informal youth engagement on files of priority for the departments; and
• Allow for an organized space in which young professionals in the departments can be contacted and reached.

3.0 Vision Statement

CIRNAC/ISC-YPN will be a sustainable, vital element of CIRNAC and ISC that fosters a growing culture of:

• Learning and career development;
• Leadership;
• Networking; and
• Cultural competence.

Through these efforts, CIRNAC and ISC will become the workplaces of choice for young professionals.

4.0 Mandate

4.1 Learning and career development

• Offer training and professional development events and opportunities geared specifically towards our membership, ensuring that events in particular provide opportunities for employees to learn about the legacy of the department and how this affects the work we do (ex: Cultural Safety Training, etc). These events may also be done in collaboration with the Employee Communities Group.

• Encourage and support our members’ participation and consultation in departmental and interdepartmental communities, and other ad hoc committees.

4.2 Leadership

• Bring forward the objectives, ideas and challenges of the YPN as a body and of young employees generally, to CIRNAC and ISC management and executive communities. This will be done via various channels, on both the CIRNAC and ISC side. For example, on the ISC side the network can provide advice and direction to various priority initiatives of the Departmental Next Gen ADM Champion, and on the CIRNAC side this will be primarily facilitated through the Diversity and Inclusion team and the Employee Co-Champion for youth specifically.
• Support and encourage innovative leadership, in particular supporting young Indigenous employees in leadership roles within the network and beyond, through various YPN-led events and initiatives. This work will be conducted in tandem/partnership with the various ongoing Indigenous-led initiatives in both CIRNAC and ISC, on a complementary basis.  

4.3 Networking

• Maintain representation in other local and/or departmental communities (e.g. YPNs in the National Capital Region, Diversity & Inclusion Team, Employee Communities Group, Student Networks, Wellness Committee, etc.)
• Enable networking both departmentally and interdepartmentally by identifying and contributing to various opportunities in each domain.  
• In particular, work to make connections with and learn from Indigenous youth organizations, such as Canada Roots Exchange.

4.4 Cultural Competence

• Provide a safe space for Indigenous CIRNAC/ISC employees to share their unique perspectives.
• Promote the sharing of Indigenous ways of knowing and doing through storytelling (internal and external partners).
• Incorporate a two-eyed seeing approach in all work that is done by the YPN, especially with ISC specific work.  

5.0 Structure

5.1 Membership – What is a Young Professional?

Membership in CIRNAC/ISC-YPN is open to all employees of CIRNAC and ISC in the National Capital Region and the regional offices.

Membership is not required to participate in events held by CIRNAC/ISC-YPN, or events specific to the CIRNAC side or ISC side of the network, but it comes with certain benefits and responsibilities, as described below.

The CIRNAC/ISC YPN recognizes that there are shared services between both CIRNAC and ISC. In some cases, young professionals have dual reporting requirements under both departments. We encourage members to identify dual reporting requirements in order to ensure relevant information related to both departments is received. For example, being added to both mailing lists, in addition to the general mailing list.  

As it relates to the Executive Committee (5.2) roles, which require representatives from CIRNAC and ISC, young professionals with dual reporting requirements are encouraged to tender applications for either department. However, the expectation is that you act as a representative within the designated role. For example, if you are the designated student representative for CIRNAC on the Executive team, but you are also an ISC employee, your primary focus would be representing the interests and perspectives of students working within CIRNAC.  

General Members

Any CIRNAC and ISC employee who joins the distribution list becomes a general member. When an employee is added to the distribution list, they will also be asked whether they are an employee of CIRNAC, ISC, or a shared resource between the two. This will determine which sub-mailing list they are added to. Sub-mailing lists will be utilized in cases where distribution of department-specific information or events is required. If employees of CIRNAC only are interested in hearing about ISC specific information/events, or vice versa, there is an option to be added to both lists (this is in line with the frequent movement of employees between the two departments).

General members can…

• Lead and suggest new events and initiatives of the CIRNAC/ISC-YPN;
• Learn about unique opportunities through the newsletter and announcements;

• Provide input to the Executive Committee through surveys and polls;  
• Be appointed to roles on the Executive Committee, and
• Put their name forth for roles on the Executive Committee.

Membership will lapse if that member…

• requests removal from the distribution list; OR

• is no longer employed by CIRNAC or ISC.

5.2 Executive Committee

The YPN Executive Committee will consist of, at a minimum…

• four (2) Co-chairs (two from CIRNAC and two from ISC)
• two (2) Vice-Chairs (in the NCR or Regions, minimum 1 CIRNAC, 1 ISC)

• two (2) Treasurers (1 CIRNAC, 1 ISC)
• multiple Communications Representatives (minimum 1 CIRNAC, 1 ISC)
• one (1) Head of YPN Affairs
• one (1) Head of CIRNAC Affairs
• one (1) Head of ISC Affairs

• multiple Regional Representatives
• two   (2) Student Representatives from each Student Network  (1 CIRNAC, 1 ISC)
• multiple Indigenous Advisor/Representative
• as required Initiative Leads

Co-Chairs (two from CIRNAC, two from ISC)

Responsibilities:

• Identify current and potential network priorities.
• Set the agenda for and lead general meetings (see Section 6.1)
• Report on recent developments, initiatives and issues/challenges to the Employee Co-Champion of Youth (CIRNAC), Senior Advisor to the ADM Next Gen Champion (ISC).
• Represent CIRNAC/ISC-YPN at meetings of the National Capital Region (NCR) YPN, and bring updates from those meetings to the CIRNAC-ISC-YPN general meetings.

Vice Chair

Responsibilities:

• Assist the Chair in all related responsibilities.
• Act as the Chair upon their request or absence.
• Act as the primary backup for either the Treasurer or Head of Comms (one each).

• Organize bi-weekly Executive Committee Meetings (prepare the Agenda, facilitate the meeting, organize who will take minutes)
• Manage the shared e-mail inbox (forward e-mails to the appropriate person, add members to the distribution list, organize the CIRNAC-ISC distribution lists)

Treasurer

Responsibilities:

• Develop and maintain a Master Budget.
• Know and understand the resources made available by the Champions, CIRNAC or ISC.
• Prepare hospitality and other financial requests for presentation to YPN Advisors with signing authority.
• Prepare a budget for the discussion and approval of the Executive Committee for the upcoming calendar year based on current resources and priorities.

Communications Representatives (multiple)

Responsibilities:

• Be the lead/organizer for proposed advertisements to the Express.
• Manage YPN Facebook group
• Manage YPN Instagram page (to be created)
• Manage YPN Twitter (to be created)

• Draft and disseminate the bi-weekly Newsletter (ensuring that the messages remain consistent with what’s posted on the Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages)
• Collaborate with the Co-Chairs, Vice-Chairs and other Communications Representatives to ensure messaging is fulsome, representative and consistent

Head of YPN Affairs

Responsibilities:

• Develop and maintain relations with other YPNs in the federal family.
• Identify and pursue opportunities for collaboration with these communities.

Head of CIRNAC Affairs  

Responsibilities:

• Report on developments, initiatives and issues/challenges to the DG-level Champion and Senior Management Table at CIRNAC along with the Co-Chairs and Vice-Chairs
• Liaises with other departmental networks and communities at CIRNAC to find opportunities for collaboration
• Collaborates with Canada Roots Exchange, along with the Head of ISC Affairs  
• Can be a member of the Diversity and Inclusion Working Group/the Youth Portfolio Employee Co-Champion, but is not limited to this position

Head of ISC Affairs

Responsibilities:

• Report on developments, initiatives and issues/challenges to the ADM-level Champion at ISC, along with the Co-Chairs and Vice-Chairs
• Liaises with other departmental networks and communities at ISC to find opportunities for collaboration
• Collaborates with Canada Roots Exchange, along with the Head of CIRNAC Affairs

 Regional Representative(s)

Responsibilities:

• Attend YPN committee meetings with the purpose of reporting on activities taking place in the regions, while also staying informed on what is taking place in HQ and other regions.
• Develop relationships with peers in the region, while promoting and recruiting for the CIRNAC/ISC-YPN.

• Identify how HQ and regions can collaborate on initiatives.
• Ideally, there would be one Regional Representative per ISC and CIRNAC regions, however in the interim, we can instead have ‘Contact People’ in each region that the Executive Committee can easily correspond with to disseminate information and to receive information.

Student Representative(s)

Responsibilities:

• Attend YPN committee meetings with the purpose of reporting on activities of the various student networks at CIRNAC/ISC.
• Share information learned at YPN Committee meetings with their respective student networks at CIRNAC/ISC.
• Share event schedules
• Engage in cross-promotion of YPN events across the student networks, ensuring that students in the department are aware of YPN events and activities.

Indigenous Advisors/Representatives (4-6 people minimum)

Responsibilities:

• Provide an Indigenous lens to all YPN events and initiative,  including providing feedback and advice on how events could be more inclusive and respectful of Indigenous employees, cultures and knowledge.
• Act as a liaison between the Kumik and the Executive Committee.
• Play an informal advisory role on the inclusion of cultural practices in meetings (e.g. Opening by an Elder / Elders for certain meetings); facilitate and liaise with Elders if appropriate  

• Provide advice and guidance on how the YPN will assist with implementing various Calls to Actions.

Initiative Lead(s)

Responsibilities:

• Lead in the delivery of a particular event or service — these may be ongoing or recur on a regular basis (i.e. annually).

• Recruit other YPN members to advance the initiative, including at least one (1) backup Initiative Lead.
• Report to the Executive Committee on developments, resource requirements and issues/challenges.
• Be prepared to present on the initiative at general or special meetings.
• Set the agenda for and lead any sub-committee meetings, as appropriate.

Note: We take an informal approach to the designated roles of the Executive Committee, an approach which adequately takes into account that young professionals in CIRNAC and ISC have fluctuating workloads and will have limited capacity to contribute to the YPN during some weeks or months of the year. Much of this is dependent on our respective jobs. We also want to ensure that YPN members will have the opportunity to serve and support different Executive roles in order to diversify their skillset.  

In this regard, we welcome you to put forward your name forward for an Executive committee role of interest, on the caveat that your commitment will be flexible and we expect each role to have a team of people working on the activities in its purview. For ease of communication, we would ask teams to designate one lead / contact person per department for each role at any given time, as outlined above (in most cases). This will ensure that both departments are adequately represented in the work of each Executive Committee role at all times.  

5.3 YPN Coordinator

The Coordinators are student/casual employees of CIRNAC and ISC who are hired by CIRNAC/ISC-YPN to perform the following duties:

• Act as the Secretary of the Executive Committee
• Act as primary point of contact for CIRNAC-ISC-YPN (Chairs CC’d on correspondence).

• Provide administrative support (i.e. email communications, meeting bookings, setup and minutes) to the Executive Committee and initiative-driven subcommittees.
• Maintain an integrated calendar of all YPN events and meetings.
• Provide support to Initiative Leads and other Committee Members as needed.

6.0 Execution

6.1 General Meetings

• General meetings will be held monthly, or bi-monthly for one hour each.
• Additional meetings of the CIRNAC/ISC YPN can be scheduled on an ad hoc basis, if additional discussion time is needed.  

6.2 Quorum and Decision-making

Any decisions related to Executive Committee positions  or financial decisions will be taken by simple majority vote of the Executive Committee.

6.3 Network Funds and Delegation of Authority

• Decisions taken in relation to finances will be taken in accordance with Section 6.2. The four co-chairs of the network will have final approval on all fund expenditures.
• Any use of funds will be conducted in compliance with the Values & Ethics Code for the Public Service.

6.4 Core Events & Initiatives

These event ideas are for discussion at this time, and will be amended following the first few meetings of the YPN.

Events

• Spend A Day with Senior Management (Spend-a-Day)
• Face-to-face Orientation (FTFO)
• Breakfast with Senior Management  
• Kumik Visit
• Event with Canada Roots Exchange

Initiatives

• Job shadowing/Mentorship
• Lunch & Learns (1 potentially with Canada Roots Exchange?)
• YPN Representatives on Departmental Committees

• YPN Social Leadership Committee(volunteering opportunities and social activities)
• YPN Official Languages Group (“Parler”)

7.0 Amendments

Proposed amendments should be identified in “track changes” to the Terms of Reference in current use, and submitted to the all co-chairs  for discussion and decision by the Executive team.  

Appendix A: Election Process (if needed)

Note: This section is meant to be included as an Appendix for use if future YPN Executive Committees feel this is necessary.

Elections & Appointment

Election

• An election is called whenever an elected position becomes vacant.

• Any  YPN member, if seconded by another YPN Member, is eligible for elected positions.
• Only YPN Members are eligible to cast a vote in the election.
• Simple majority is required to complete the election.
• The elected officer holds the position until stepping down or losing member status.

Appointment

• The Chair can make an appointment whenever an appointed position becomes vacant, or whenever a position is created for a new initiative, committee, etc.
• Any YPN Member, if seconded by a YPN Member, is eligible to self-identify their interest for appointed positions.
• With the support of at least one Vice Chair, the Chair can appoint that member.
• The appointed officer holds the position until stepping down or losing member status.