Fair-Trade Textile Liaison

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DESCRIPTION

The Fair-Trade Textile Liaison position offers a great leadership opportunity for an organized, hardworking individual to gain valuable sales and marketing experience for a small grassroots non-profit organization. This position oversees the promotion and sales of our fair-trade Peruvian textiles, educates retailers and customers about the importance of this tradition for cultural resilience, and actively manages the inventory of these beautiful hand-woven crafts. This position has a flexible schedule and is ideal for students.

Mosqoy works in the Peruvian Andes to provide economic opportunities for remote communities while nurturing their threatened indigenous culture. We have sent over 70 Peruvian youth to attend post-secondary education and currently work with over 200 weavers in 11 weaving communities, providing venues for the sales of their hand-woven textiles.

If you are passionate about handmade, artisan crafts, supporting indigenous culture, or social enterprise models, and have a knack for sales and marketing, this is an excellent opportunity for you!

Details

• Approximately 5-10 hours per week; should be available for office hours at least one half-day per week (any day of the week)
• Volunteer position
• Could be done as an individual, or as a pair or group
• Minimum 1-year commitment
• Office location: #414 - 620 View St., Victoria, B.C., V8W 1J6, Canada
• Applications will be reviewed on a continual basis, and the position will remain open until a suitable candidate is chosen.
• Start Date: As soon as possible.

Required Skills

• Excellent communication skills, outgoing, with the ability to make a good first impression
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail
• Excellent administrative and computer skills (Excel, Word, Google Drive)
• Experience working with inventory and handling cash
• Self-starter, with a high degree of motivation and initiative
• Ability to work independently
• Ability to work in a multicultural, collaborative environment
• Cultural sensitivity and awareness
• Fluency in English

Assets

• Experience in sales and marketing
• Project management experience, including basic budgeting and accounting
• Strong interest in textiles, handmade artisan products, and traditional crafts
• Spanish language skills
• Previously visited Peru and/or familiarity with traditional Quechua textiles
• Interest in visiting Peru and meeting the weavers
• Creative mindset and an ability to identify new strategic opportunities
• Related post-secondary degree (in-progress or completed), or relevant experience

Duties

Marketing & Outreach:

• Create materials that educate about the importance of fair-trade and the traditional knowledge embedded in these weavings
• Work with marketing team to develop new promotional materials and textile displays as needed.
• Learn about and tell stories of the textiles, including information on the dye plants, iconography, spinning, and weaving process
• Conduct market research to develop innovative ways to market our products

Inventory Management:

• Manage textile inventory
• Keep accurate records of inventory levels, sales, and expenses
• Assist to prepare and receive textile shipments from Peru

Sales Management (direct & wholesale):

• Formulate monthly, quarterly, and annual sales reports
• Liaise with Textile Community Program Manager to coordinate textile orders from weaving communities
• Create sales contracts and invoices, as necessary
• Coordinate all textile sales, including researching and booking appropriate fairs, festivals and other events
• Coordinate volunteers to staff fairs and other events
• Liaise with local like-minded retail boutiques, gift shops, etc. to carry our products
• Effectively develop relationships with local retailers
• Maintain regular contact with existing retail partners

About the Organization

Mosqoy is a registered Canadian charitable organization that works in remote communities of the Peruvian Andes, offering opportunities for economic development while nurturing their threatened indigenous culture.

We operate three main programs: The Q’ente Textile Program which supports Indigenous weavers who practice their textile tradition to keep their culture alive while economically stabilizing their families and communities. A portion of these funds supports our second program, the T’ikary Youth Program, which supports the most promising youth from these communities to find employment in their regions’ new job sectors, by providing post-secondary educational scholarships. Our third program, the Mink’a Knowledge Exchange Program, works to shift the effects of tourism and development from negative to positive, by educating consumers and travelers about how to be more responsible guests when visiting sacred Indigenous lands, both in Peru and all over the world.

We also operate two small social enterprises (or socially conscious businesses) to generate revenue that aligns with our mission and to create a long-term legacy that will be self-sufficient, reciprocal, and community-led: Mosqoy Peruvian Textiles and Mosqoy Field School.

For more information, visit www.mosqoy.org or www.facebook.com/mosqoy.

Please send resume/CV and cover letter in English to Rachel at recruitment@mosqoy.org. Please include names, relation, phone numbers, and emails of two references.

For further questions, contact Rachel at recruitment@mosqoy.org.