25 February 2022

The Centre for Oral History and Digital Storytelling / Centre d’Histoire Orale et de Récits Numérisés (COHDS/CHORN – storytelling.concordia.ca) explores the connections between oral     history, digital media, and the arts, with a strong history of providing access to, and analysis of the audiovisual oral history record. As a centre of production by way of a wide array of media, COHDS shares its findings with diverse audiences, both within and beyond academia.

COHDS serves as a point of convergence for collaborative and interdisciplinary research, teaching, and publishing among faculty and students at Concordia, as well as community- based projects operating at the local, national, and international levels. Community-grounded researchers and artists are an integral part of our community of practice. We regularly collaborate with individuals, groups, and institutions outside Concordia. Sharing authority is at the core of our research ethics.

Concordia University officially recognized COHDS as a university-wide research unit in 2010, and renewed this status in 2018. COHDS adheres to Concordia University’s Procedures for Research Units and Infrastructure Platforms. The day-to-day functioning of COHDS is overseen by the Lead Co-Director in association with the Centre’s Coordinator and Community Facilitator. COHDS’s Administrative Board, made up of elected faculty, student, and community representatives, helps to maintain COHDS’s community- university balance, while playing a key role in guiding the Centre’s strategic directions.

COHDS is seeking a second Co-Director for up to a 4-year term, starting on July 1, 2022. The successful candidate will work in collaboration with the Lead Co-Director, the Centre’s Coordinator and Community Facilitator, the COHDS Administrative Board, students, and staff members.

Description of the second Co-Director Position

The Co-Director must be a full-time faculty member at Concordia University and a Core Affiliate of the COHDS Research Unit.

Collectively, the two Co-Directors form the appointed head of COHDS as a University- recognized Research Unit. Accountable to the OVPRGS on matters pertaining to the activities of the unit, and working as needed with the appropriate Associate Deans of Research, the Co-Directors are administratively responsible for the Research Unit and exercise general supervision over its operations. The Co-Directors are responsible for the scientific direction and administration of the Research Unit.

In addition, the Co-Directors oversee: the coordination of the unit’s activities including student training, outreach, and special events; communications both within the unit and externally to partner institutions, external members, funding agencies, and the community; staff operations of the unit; the unit’s conformity to relevant Collective Agreements and policies in effect within the University; the implementation and consolidation of EDI principles within the management and operations of the Centre; the budget of the unit and the submission of annual and other university- mandated reporting, such as materials required for the renewal of institutional recognition.

Although any faculty affiliate of COHDS may locate their research activities at the Centre, the Co-Directors are expected to engage in long-term planning regarding external and internal funding opportunities that could benefit the unit.

Profile of the ideal Candidate

While the bulk of the leadership of the Centre falls to the Lead Co-Director, and while the majority of the daily administration of the Centre is the responsibility of the Coordinator and Community Facilitator, the second Co-Director will ideally be able to demonstrate:

  • a history of involvement with, and commitment to, COHDS;
  • the capacity to provide strategic direction and leadership;
  • knowledge and expertise in relevant research and research-creation methodologies;
  • interest and active participation in transdisciplinary research and partnerships, and / or community-engaged practices.

The second Co-Director is automatically a member of the Administrative Board and as such is expected to attend regular Board meetings (approximately two per term). In addition, s.he will, on occasion, step in for the Lead Co-Director when s.he is unavailable (for example, if a meeting scheduled by the higher administration conflicts with the Lead Co-Director’s teaching responsibilities, or when a request for a letter of support is made when the Lead Co-Director is on a research trip). The second Co-Director’s input and advice will be sought on regular reporting documents, primarily the annual report (which is submitted in August), and new initiatives (such as curriculum or partnership proposals), but it is not their responsibility to lead in either case. In consultation with the Lead Co-Director, the second Co-Director may volunteer to lead certain dossiers (such as planning a lecture or workshop at COHDS, which would be supported by COHDS staff), but as there is no workload reduction for the second Co-Director such dossiers would be limited.

Applications should be submitted by email to the Chair of the Search Committee, Dr Luis Sotelo Castro, luis.sotelo@concordia.ca, by March 15, 2022. The nomination package must include a cover letter explaining the nominee’s interest in, and previous experience relevant to, this role, as well as their most recent academic CV (free format). Self-nominations are very welcome.