Program and Operations Support

Department: Operations

Hours of work: Full-time Fixed Term (12 to 18 month Maternity Leave Coverage), 35 hours per week. Some weekends and evenings may be required a few times a year as those time relate to grants adjudications or Board meetings.

Reports to (title): Manager of Program Support

Location: Our office is located in downtown Vancouver at 675 West Hastings Street and we provide the option to work remotely. However, this role will be required to go into the office once a week or as needed to perform tasks.

Office accessibility: Our office is located on the 15th floor of a building with elevator access. Washrooms are gender neutral. The office has a dedicated Privacy room that is bookable and can be used for rest, sensory reduction, prayer, or other needs. 

Salary: $70,463 to $90,036 annual salary based on experience. We expect someone new to the Foundation to start at the lower end of this range.

Posting date: 

Closing date: Until filled

ABOUT THE LAW FOUNDATION OF BC

The Law Foundation of British Columbia (the Foundation) invests in work that empowers people and strengthens communities, aimed at creating a future where systems of law and justice support all people to live and thrive in dignity.
 
The Foundation makes grants using funds arising from the interest paid on lawyers’ pooled trust accounts and other sources.

Through its funding, the Foundation supports many programs and services that seek to promote justice for people at both an individual and systemic level. This includes funding targeted at racial justice initiatives, supporting a network of advocacy and legal aid services, providing educational opportunities, and supporting access to legal information, to name a few.

A significant focus of the Foundation’s work is to provide funding support for Indigenous peoples’ work on justice initiatives, as prioritized by Indigenous communities, whether involving Canadian law or Indigenous legal orders.
 
Working at the Foundation means joining a team of passionate, hard-working professionals. We are committed to building and supporting an inclusive and respectful working environment, where all employees are valued for their contributions to our mission, and feel a sense of safety, dignity, and belonging. 
 
We offer a comprehensive benefits program, which includes:

• generous health and dental coverage for employees, their spouses, and dependents


• 4 weeks’ annual vacation as a base, and late December office closure


• additional paid time off for Indigenous Leave for Ceremonial, Cultural, and Spiritual events and practices


• family friendly workplace policies, parental leave top-ups, life insurance plan, and a workplace culture with an overarching emphasis on wellness and work life balance


• RRSP contribution of 6% of salary without matching requirement


• annual wellness spending account for each employee


• generous care days (sick leave) entitlement


• flexible work arrangements


• relevant professional fees and memberships covered


• training and professional development opportunities
  

In its hiring practices, the Foundation strongly encourages applications from members of communities that are marginalized or that experience structural discrimination. This includes those who are Indigenous, racialized, members of non-dominant ethnic, religious, linguistic or cultural groups, newcomers, people with disabilities, and 2SLGBTQIA+ people. The Foundation believes that a workforce that represents the diversity of the communities we serve strengthens our ability to achieve our mission. 

We acknowledge that the Foundation’s main office is located in Vancouver on the shared lands of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations, and conducts its work throughout the homelands of Indigenous peoples across the place we now call British Columbia. The Law Foundation of BC is committed to supporting a just and meaningful reconciliation between Indigenous peoples and others in these lands. 

ABOUT THE ROLE

The Program and Operations Support is part of a dynamic team that is working to create innovative solutions to difficult access to justice challenges that affect diverse communities in British Columbia. This role supports the Law Foundation of BC’s grant-making programs and operational needs. The Foundation seeks to ensure access to justice through its five mandated program funding areas: legal education, legal research, legal aid, law reform and law libraries.  

Reporting to the Manager of Program Support, the Program and Operations Support plays a critical role within the Foundation, ensuring smooth and efficient execution of Program and Operations initiatives and projects. This position also contributes to the continuous improvement of administration processes and day-to-day operations.

The Foundation is at an exciting juncture in its history, with opportunities in all areas of its work to breathe life into the strategic plan. It is also in a period of transition, pursuing structural and operational change to respond to the new challenges it faces. While the implementation of the five strategic priorities is an all-of-Foundation endeavour, it is intended that this position advances the Foundation’s mission through the key focus area of Building a Thriving Foundation, which aims to provide the Foundation with strong infrastructure and resources to serve its mandate. The position will play an integral part in supporting changes related to program processes, operations, administration, and IT support, and will provide recommendations where there is opportunity for improvement.

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES

Program Support

• Coordinates the administrative flow of materials and activities related to the grant-making process


• Provides administrative support to assigned Program staff
  
  
  
  • Tracking and managing timelines related to grant applications, reports from grantees, and other materials for Program Directors and Managers within the Foundation’s grant-making system (SmartSimple)
  
  
  • Composing clear correspondence and communications (e.g. via email and/or phone) with grantees and other key stakeholders
  
  
  • Assembling, editing, and proofreading materials
  
  
  • Scheduling and managing meetings and preparing and distributing corresponding materials
  
  
  • Supporting with events planning and logistical details for conferences and training (virtual and in-person)
  
  
  • Proofreading, editing, and formatting draft correspondence prepared by other staff
  
  
  • Producing reports as needed
  
  
  
  


• Supports preparation for Board and Committee meetings including scheduling, preparing materials, obtaining approval, documenting, and processing


• Conducts research when needed, and extracts, organizes and presents data


• Supports the management of grantee reporting data and the compilation of such data for internal and external purposes


• In partnership with the digital team within Operations, supports the back end of our grant-making system, SmartSimple.
  


• Coordinates logistics for program site visits (reviews and prepares materials, coordination of communication with grantees, and coordination of travel if necessary)

Operations Support

• Contributes to maintaining the physical office space by ordering supplies and liaising with building staff, and administrative duties including handling mail, shipments and deliveries


• Updates the Foundation’s “Global Calendar” with key organizational dates


• Participates in All Staff meetings


• Shares responsibility of chairing, minute taking and running smooth Operations team meetings, ensuring key organizational initiatives are discussed and decisions are made to progress work forward


• Supports the Operations team in identifying topics for “IT Tips of the Week” in All Staff meetings


• Coordinates meetings with Foundation governors, regulatory bodies, Foundation staff and other key stakeholders


• Anticipates information needs and compiles information packages for meetings, conferences, appointments, etc. 


• Attends governance meetings to support Governance & Executive Coordinator with governance issues as needed


• Attends and participates in board of governor and staff planning events and board meetings 


• Helps develop, test and document administrative processes, and helps with the development of ‘how-to’ documents or instruction manuals


• Acts as back up to digital team within Operations when needed by supporting with SmartSimple trouble shooting or back-end requests 


• Supports in the onboarding of new staff members


• Provides technical support in meetings as needed
  

Note: This job may require additional responsibilities and duties as assigned by the Law Foundation of British Columbia.

WORK CONDITIONS 

• Primarily work remotely from home but must have the ability to be on-site at the Foundation’s office at least once a week to contribute to the office maintenance.


• Flexibility to tailor work schedule to occasionally attend Foundation-hosted events.


• Ability to occasionally travel for in-person events.
  

DESIRED EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE 

The Program and Operations Support will have at least one or a combination (or equivalent) of the following education and experience:

• Undergraduate degree or diploma in a relevant discipline


• Minimum two years of experience in similar capacity of administrative or operational support


• Experience in supporting an organization with project administration and coordination


• High proficiency with technology including Microsoft Office 365 (Teams, Outlook, Excel, Word) and video conferencing technology (Teams, Zoom) and comfort with adopting new technologies


• Experience working in databases and/or content management systems (e.g. SmartSimple or similar)


• Experience with a variety of web-based platforms and comfort learning new software 
  

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & CORE COMPETENCIES

The Program and Operations Support would benefit from the following:

• Proven ability to work effectively in a high-pressure environment with frequent interruptions, and to prioritize multiple competing demands and meet tight deadlines


• Demonstrated ability to form effective working relationships across all levels of an organization


• Demonstrated ability to interact with senior levels of leadership and external stakeholders with tact and discretion


• Demonstrated strong organizational skills


• Excellent judgement, such as being able to identify contentious and politically sensitive issues and respond appropriately


• Excellent communications skills, both verbal and written, including the ability to synthesize and summarize complex information so that it is easily understood


• Exceptional attention to detail


• Ability to resolve problems by identifying and interpreting situations and applying ingenuity to effectively resolve


• Excellent interpersonal skills, including positive attitude, active listening, and probing for information to clarify requests


• Proven track record of taking initiative and personal leadership


• Ability to plan, prioritize, and complete assignments independently


• Ability to solve problems creatively


• Ability to own projects and workload

Please do not be discouraged from applying if you do not possess the precise combination of all of the skills, attributes, qualifications, and experience listed above. Furthermore, if your lived experience provides you with a foundation that is equivalent to the work experience listed, you are encouraged to describe that in your application.

APPLICATION PROCESS
Please submit the following through this application portal:

1. Resume (upload as PDF)


2. Cover letter (upload as PDF)


3. Three references who can speak to your skills and experience (the experiences may be paid or unpaid). Please enter these directly into the provided fields in the portal. The Foundation may request that a candidate provide supplemental references if required. We will not contact these references without providing you notice, and not until a later stage of the hiring process.
   

Interviews will be conducted by three to four Foundation staff by video. The Foundation typically uses Microsoft Teams. The Foundation will make appropriate accommodations, if needed, for candidates that we interview. Candidates need not disclose their reasons for accommodation requests.

To support candidate considerations around accommodations, here are some examples of past accommodations that the Foundation has provided:

• Extending interview times for candidates


• Planned breaks during the interview 


• Supporting candidates using assistive technologies to reference or take notes during the interview
  

The Foundation provides interview questions 48 hours in advance of scheduled interview times, by email, so that candidates may prepare in a manner that suits them. For each interview conducted by the Foundation, candidates are compensated for one hour of preparation time and one hour spent in an interview, at a rate of $120 per hour. Compensation is sent by way of e-transfer.
 
By submitting your application, you certify that all information submitted is true, complete and correct. Any information provided in your application, any assessment documents or processes and/or an interview that is found to be false or misrepresented in any respect, may eliminate you from further consideration for employment or may result in dismissal. 
 
If you are interested in applying and have questions about the process, please contact Shelby Van Alstyne at [email protected].