Community Engagement Director

OPERATIONS DIRECTOR (Permanent, full-time)

PDF Links: 社区参与总监 – https://bit.ly/3NZWNxE / English – https://bit.ly/3OdX2FA

This role is part of our shift to a new 3-director leadership team & will lead our communications, grassroots fundraising & community engagement strategy. We’re looking for someone who is deeply aligned with SWAN’s mission & loves building organizational culture & infrastructure in an advocacy & service provision context.

Schedule: 40 hours/week (Reduced work week and/or flexible hours to accommodate child, elder or other care responsibilities possible for the right candidate)

Location: Downtown Vancouver, with a significant proportion of time working onsite or in person (subject to COVID-19 precautions)

About us: SWAN Vancouver is a non-profit organization situated on the stolen ancestral lands of the Musqueam, Squamish & Tsleil-Waututh Nations. Through frontline services and systemic advocacy, SWAN promotes the rights, health, and safety of im/migrant women who are engaged in indoor sex work. Based on our core values of safety, rights-based, self-determination, anti-racism, equity, integrity, and intersectional feminism, SWAN’s work centers the voices and lived realities of the im/migrant women we serve. All of the women accessing SWAN’s services are racialized, and our service and work are strongly influenced by multiple and varied intersections they experience in their own lives, including race, class, age, socioeconomic status, language, and ability.

The Opportunity: SWAN is looking for a Community Engagement Director who is passionate about SWAN’s mission and skilled in communications, fundraising, community engagement, and grassroots advocacy in an advocacy and service provision context. SWAN has recently gone through a period of significant growth; you, the ideal candidate, are excited to deepen relationships with SWAN’s supporters and lead SWAN’s growing team in holding organizational relationships with intention and purpose. You are a collaborative and thoughtful leader who communicates clearly and honestly, engages people in planning and decision-making processes, and brings your commitment to intersectional feminism and anti-racism into every aspect of your work.

The Community Engagement Director is a new leadership position at SWAN, leading communications, individual donor fundraising, and community engagement efforts within a small non-profit team (currently 8-10 staff). As our long-serving Executive Director prepares to exit the organization over the next year, SWAN is shifting to a collaborative 3-director leadership team model: Program Director, Operations Director, and Community Engagement Director, who will jointly report to the Board of Directors.

To succeed in this role, the Community Engagement Director must be a strong communicator and relationship builder and have a collaborative approach to leadership. SWAN seeks a team member with the ability to work effectively with people from various abilities, life situations and cultural backgrounds. Language skills in Cantonese, Mandarin, and/or other languages spoken by im/migrant women who are engaged in indoor sex work in Metro Vancouver are a strong asset, as is experience coordinating communications in a bilingual or multilingual environment.

SWAN recognizes that people from communities who experience marginalization (e.g., on the basis of gender, ethnicity, citizenship/immigration status, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, involvement in sex work) may be less likely to apply for leadership positions. We strongly encourage you to apply if you have a passion for SWAN’s mission and meet the required qualifications and competencies.

We welcome applications from people for whom this would be their first director-level role. Applicants with lived experience in sex work, immigration and/or the migrant work sector will be given preference.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

1. Organizational Leadership

• The successful candidate will serve as a passionate, visionary leader whose primary role is to build and steward SWAN’s connection with our supporters, community partners, and the general public through effective relationship building, communications, fundraising, and strategic coordination.
• Work collaboratively as part of the leadership team to ensure the health and effectiveness of the organization and its people.
• Lead by example in using consensus building as a tool to empower staff in making and enacting decisions and being accountable to each other, our supporters, SWAN’s community partners and most importantly the women we serve.
• Provide supervision to Development Manager and other staff as needed.
• Work collaboratively as part of the leadership team and with the Board of Directors to develop and implement strategy and ensure that SWAN is effectively governed.
• Oversee risk management strategies in the areas of organizational reputation, compliance with Canada’s Anti-Spam Law (CASL) and Canada Revenue Agency tax receipting requirements, communications/ fundraising infrastructure security, and donor relations and privacy

2. Communications

• Develop and oversee SWAN’s communication’s strategy and communications calendar across all channels; collaborate with the Development Manager to ensure effective implementation.
• Coordinate SWAN’s media/public relations strategy; coordinate, train, and support SWAN spokespeople on different topics; act as a SWAN spokesperson as appropriate.
• Lead a website and visual identity/brand update project in 2022-2023.
• Assess SWAN’s current communications infrastructure; collaborate with staff to scope, plan, and implement upgrades.
• Collaborate with the Operations Director and other team members as appropriate regarding digital security policies and practices

3. Community Engagement Strategy

• Coordinate SWAN’s staff and board to foster intentional relationships with community partners, advocates, policymakers, and other stakeholders related to SWAN’s mission, and particularly in the Canadian migrant justice, racial justice, and sex worker rights movements.
• Coordinate SWAN’s staff and board to articulate and update the principles and values that inform SWAN’s approach to engaging with community members and stakeholders; coordinate training, planning, and debrief processes to ensure that SWAN lives out these principles and values.
• Lead supporter engagement strategy, including digital grassroots advocacy engagement, public event design and publicity, and Annual General Meeting preparation and engagement.
• Collaborate with the Program Director to design effective public education and engagement programming and communications.
• In collaboration with colleagues, represent SWAN to other organizations, policymakers, and other stakeholders.

4. Fundraising

• Collaborate with the Program Director and Operations Director on fundraising strategy and implementation, with a focus on grassroots and major donor fundraising, fundraising infrastructure, and communications.
• Develop and implement a strengthened grassroots donor acquisition and stewardship strategy, with support from the Development Manager.
• Develop and implement a strengthened major donor acquisition and stewardship strategy, with support from the Development Manager and program leads.
• Collaborate with SWAN’s Board and staff to implement fundraising strategy

5. Portfolio Management

• Assess, develop and manage communications, fundraising, and community engagement efforts to achieve the goals outlined in SWAN’s Strategic Plan.
• Lead budgeting and financial management for communications, individual donor fundraising, and community engagement areas, as part of SWAN’s overall budgeting process.
• Provide effective management, guidance, mentoring, and professional development opportunities to direct report(s) to empower a dedicated team to perform well in their time with SWAN and support their career goals.

QUALIFICATIONS & COMPETENCIES:

We strongly encourage you to apply if you have a passion for SWAN’s mission and meet the below requirements:

• You share a strong passion and alignment in values with the work SWAN does and what SWAN stands for
• You have 2+ years of organizational communications experience
• You have 2+ years’ experience in non-profit or community-focused work
• You have 2+ years of fundraising experience (especially individual giving, digital fundraising, and/or fundraising for an advocacy organization)
• You possess a strong professional aptitude for technology, including Microsoft Office Suite; small office technology; Customer/Client/Constituent Relationship Management systems (we currently use SUMAC); Wix, WordPress, or other similar website platforms; MailChimp or other similar newsletter/digital communications platforms; and Canva or similar basic graphic design.
• You have the ability to provide feedback regarding organizational communications, including graphic design, messaging, and public education, including related to time-sensitive and/or politically sensitive issues.
• You have the ability to communicate clearly and build relationships of trust both inside and outside the organization, including with people with different identities and life experiences from you, and with different policy views.
• You have the ability to represent SWAN to other organizations, advocates, policymakers, the media, and other stakeholders
• You have the ability to coach, coordinate, manage, and train colleagues as appropriate
• You are emotionally intelligent, understanding how power and marginalization function in organizations, and have the ability to lead and communicate with composure when faced with difficult interactions.
• You possess a highly collaborative approach as well as the ability to work independently.
• You have the ability to take responsibility for the position responsibilities identified above, including identifying where you will require additional training or external assistance in order to succeed.
• You have the ability to research and learn new skills and knowledge.

The following are considered additional assets (we do not expect any one candidate to have all of these!):

• SWAN is particularly interested in considering applications from Mandarin and Cantonese speakers to reflect and support the majority of im/migrant women served by SWAN
• 3+ years of non-profit management or leadership experience (combined paid or volunteer).
• 2+ years of experience leading communications in a relevant non-profit, advocacy, or similar context.
• 2+ years of experience leading grassroots and/or major donor giving.
• Policy knowledge and/or education relevant to SWAN’s mission.
• Experience with frontline, community-serving work, particularly for racialized or otherwise marginalized people and communities.
• Experience (paid or volunteer) working with integrity in coalitions or social movements which are aligned with SWAN’s values.
• Experience leading supporter engagement in an advocacy or non-profit context.
• Experience leading or coordinating communications and/or public education efforts in a bilingual or multilingual environment.
• Experience working (particularly managing people) in a bilingual environment.
• Experience with media relations and/or journalism
• Experience acting as an organizational spokesperson, comfort with public speaking
• Experience with fundraising software and knowledge of digital security best practices.
• Experience managing project and/or departmental budgets.
• Proven experience at integrating the principles of social justice, decolonizing practices, trauma-informed practice, and diversity, equity, and inclusion in both theory and practice.
• Experience with succession planning and/or change management.
• Experience with non-profit governance and/or creating inclusive, welcoming spaces for volunteers and clients
• Experience (paid or volunteer) in an organization that undertakes politically sensitive advocacy work.

COMPENSATION:

• Salary & Benefits: $70 000 – $80 000 commensurate with experience, plus extended health benefits upon commencement
• Paid time off: 3 weeks’ vacation plus paid leave over the winter holiday season; Lunar New Year, Easter Monday, Indigenous Peoples Day, all BC statutory holidays; an additional floating religious/cultural observance day; and up to thirteen annual paid leave (sick/mental health) days.

APPLICATION PROCESS:

The application deadline is Saturday, May 7th at 11:59pm. Interested individuals are encouraged to submit a cover letter and resume to jobs [at] swanvancouver [dot] ca. Please send PDFs with your full name first in the file name, e.g. WaiChenResume, HsuAmandaCoverLetter.

The hiring team may adapt the recruitment process as needed in order to understand candidates’ potential to succeed in this role. Currently, we anticipate that this selection process will include:

• Shortlisting, likely involving a short phone screening call
• A time-limited practical round (modest honorarium offered)
• An interview, which will be via videocall
• Reference checks (please be prepared to provide the names and contact info for three references who can speak to your experience and potential for this role)

We hope to make an offer to the successful candidate by the early-mid June. We hope that the successful candidate will be available to start by early-mid July, but can be flexible for the right person (for example, if the candidate would need to relocate from another community).

The hiring team intends to contact all candidates who submit a complete application with updates on their progress through our selection process. We ask that candidates do not call the office. We thank all candidates for their interest and time in applying to the position.

Job Types: Full-time, Permanent

Salary: $70,000.00-$80,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Extended health care
• Flexible schedule
• Paid time off

Schedule:

• Monday to Friday

COVID-19 considerations:
SWAN’s office is located in a social services building accessed by many immunocompromised visitors. As such, SWAN continues to require masks be worn in our office space, w/ social distancing & sanitization practices in ongoing effect,

Education:

• Secondary School (preferred)

Experience:

• organizational communications, non-profit & fundraising: 2 years (preferred)

Application deadline: 2022-05-07