Final Version: 2007 PEN Editor's Contract

March 6th, 2007

Contract between the Board of the Ottawa Peace and Environment Resource Centre (PERC) and Margaret Jensen

Margaret Jensen agrees to serve as editor of the Peace and Environment News for a period of 12 months beginning January 1, 2007.

Specifics of the Position:

The Peace and Environment News (PEN) will be produced up to 6 issues a year (at the discretion of the Board).

Responsibility for producing the PEN will be divided between the PERC Coordinator and the PEN Editor.

The PERC Coordinator will ensure that the following administrative support is provided to the PEN in the areas of:


 * financial administration


 * printing costs,


 * distribution and mailing,


 * membership records,


 * office space and computer time, technical support, etc.


 * researching funders, preparing and submitting funding proposals and administering grants, including preparing budgets and final reports.


 * recruiting skilled volunteers in those roles prioritized by the Editor, particularly in the following three areas:


 * Writing


 * Events Calendar development, including:

(a) liaising with groups and individuals outside PERC,

(b) collecting and inputting events,

(c) updating groups listing.


 * Administration of advertising

The PEN Editor will be responsible for tasks as described in the attached Job Description.

Amount of contract: $700 per issue, for approximately 70 hours of work.

This contract can be terminated at any time on one month's notice from either party. Modifications to it will require the consent of both parties.

Signed:

For the Board of the Ottawa Peace and Environment Resource Centre

Signed:

Margaret Jensen

Date:

________________________________________________________________________________

Job Description
Editor of the Peace and Environment News

1. Editor's Mission

The Editor of the Peace and Environment News (PEN) is responsible for planning and producing the PEN and for carrying out its mandate. The PEN is the major communications tool of the Peace and Environment Resource Centre (PERC). The mandate of the PEN is to provide information and viewpoints on issues, to support volunteer groups by providing public exposure, and to provide an opportunity for individuals to take an active role. The Editor is responsible for avoiding libel in the PEN and for keeping the PEN consistent with the mandate of the PERC.

2. Editor's Responsibilities

A) Planning and producing the "regular" or first section of the PEN, and the PEN Insider, including:


 * planning editorial content,


 * soliciting manuscripts,


 * inputting, editing, proofreading, and fact checking,


 * selecting graphics,


 * designing the publication in collaboration with the Layout Coordinator
 * delivering the camera-ready copy to the printer.

B) Preparing the Events Calendar, including:


 * compiling, updating and editing entries, in collaboration with the Coordinator.

C) Orienting, coordinating and supervising Editorial Committee volunteers

D) Scheduling, planning and chairing Editorial meetings

E) Liaising with writers outside the Editorial Committee

F) Collaborating with the Finance Committee to administer Advertising, by providing invoice information at the end of each issue.

G) Providing a duplicate copy of a PEN layout template to be stored in the PERC office

H) Fundraising for one edition of the Insider, to be produced in Fall of 2007.

NOTES

NOTE 1: The PEN Insider is a key component of the publication. It is the part of the PEN that only PERC members receive on a regular basis; thus, it is a major tool for attracting and keeping PERC members. It is the part of the PEN that attracts funds from funding agencies, and therefore grant applications focus on the Insider. It has a key role in fulfilling the PEN mandate: in providing information and viewpoints to the public, exposure for volunteer groups, and a place where volunteers can take an active role.

NOTE 2: It is understood that:

(a) For regular Insiders, the Editorial Committee will establish topics and story ideas and has full responsibility, as detailed in (2-A).

(b) For funded Insiders, topics and story ideas will be determined by the Editorial Committee in collaboration with the Coordinator, based on availability of funding. This may include working in partnership with other organizations. The Coordinator will be responsible for writing funding proposals, in collaboration with the Editor. The Coordinator will be responsible for administration of funded projects, as detailed under "Specifics of the Position." The Editor has final responsibility for editorial content.

(c) For any funded insert undertaken under this contract, with the exception of the insert specified under 2-H, the Coordinator will be responsible for providing editorial content, in addition to topics and story ideas.

(d) Any other fundraising involving the PEN will have to be discussed with the Editor and agreed to by her.

(e) The Editor will not be asked to be responsible for any fundraising for the PEN other than the one Fall issue of the Insider specified in 2-H.

(f) Any matter or proposal related to the PEN should be developed in collaboration with the Editor and submitted in writing to the Editorial Committee, who will then make a final decision, consulting, if necessary, with the Coordinator, Board members, or other individuals, as appropriate. The Editorial Committee will bring matters involving PERC policy, as it relates to the PEN, to the PERC Board for discussion and resolution.

Addendum to Editor's Job Description

Conditions for Volunteer Involvement

1) Any discussions or negotiations between the Editor and the Board on matters or issues relating to these or other volunteer activities (present or proposed) will be conducted in such a way as to demonstrate mutual respect for, and to take into consideration, each other's concerns, ideas and viewpoints, their time constraints, their needs, and their obligations outside of PERC, and will be conducted in a spirit of mutual cooperation, fairness and equality. Any conclusions or decisions reached will be fair, equitable and mutually acceptable to both the Board and the Editor.

2) The Board will respect the rights in the organization that the Editor has as a core PERC volunteer.

3) The Board and the Editor will provide for adequate advance consultation in pursuing any matters pertaining to either party.

4) The Board will address difficulties the Editor raises related to problems or deficiencies in PERC's organizational structure or material infrastructure that are related to the operations of the PEN, and they will strive to resolve the situation in a way that satisfactorily meets the Editor's needs.

5) The Editor will undertake to continue to fulfill these volunteer responsibilities contingent on their being supportive of her personal goals and personal measures of fulfillment, contingent on a non-authoritarian atmosphere of good faith, respect, fairness and cooperation prevailing at PERC, and for as long as and until other obligations or responsibilities necessitate a change in her volunteer commitments.