Community Organizing and Development Director

Deadline for Applications: Open until position is filled
Posting Date: 18 Dec 2024

Job Title: Community Organizing and Development Director

Job Type: Full Time (40 hours/week), permanent salaried position

Working Location: Chinatown, Vancouver

Reports to: Executive Director

Salary & Benefits:

• $41.00 – $49.20 per hour (based on SRO-C’s wage grid)
• Cell phone and internet cost top-ups
• Annual raises in line with cost-of-living increases
• Four weeks of paid vacation in the first year, six weeks thereafter
• Generous sick leave policies
• Full benefits package, including extended health and dental coverage
• Opportunities for professional development and growth

Overview:

The Downtown Eastside SRO Collaborative Society (SRO-C) works to improve habitability, affordability, safety, health, and belonging in single-room occupancy (SRO) hotels including in Chinatown. Our mission empowers tenants to lead initiatives in their buildings that drive meaningful change. Community organizing—rooted in training tenants to help and empower their neighbors—is at the heart of what we do.

The Community Organizing and Development Director is a leadership position within SRO-C responsible for developing and guiding community organizing efforts that empower tenants in Vancouver’s SROs. This role is central to our mission of building tenant power, particularly as the SRO tenant community faces systemic challenges that impact health, affordability, and habitability and put them at risk of homelessness. The director will manage a growing team of staff and tenants to build grassroots leadership and foster a collective culture of community self-governance, agency and responsibility in the hotels.

The Community Organizing and Development Director will be skilled at trauma-informed practice, mentorship and implementing an intersectional framework to harmonize community organizing programs at SRO-C. The role will support staff to work together by bringing an equity lens to building trusting relationships, creating and implementing structures that support more safety for all, with hands-on mentorship and coaching with skills to support racialized, multilingual and/or 2SLGBTGIA perspectives.

Open to innovative organizing lineages that have informed our organizing practices at SRO-C, including asset-based community development (John McKnight), peer-led organizing (Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users), structure-based organizing (Jane McAlevey), Indigenous Tools for Living land based body based trauma tools (Shirley Turcott), and systemic change organizing (systems change theory), this director will bring a dynamic, strategic, and inclusive approach to the role, honoring both traditional and contemporary models of community power-building.

This role offers a unique opportunity to be at the heart of transformative community organizing efforts, playing a critical part in scaling up our model for tenant based initiatives which centres tenants in the community-wide effort to preserve, protect and eventually redevelop the last housing before homelessness, namely the privately-owned Single Room Occupancy hotels that form the backbone of the vibrant low income neighbourhoods where they are found.

Key Responsibilities:

• Leadership and Staff Supervision
  • Management and Mentorship
    • Lead by example, creating a work environment that values respect, collaboration, accountability and growth. Provide clear, strategic direction and set ambitious yet attainable goals that align with the organization’s mission and vision. Develop structures to achieve those goals.
    • Manage and mentor program supervisors and staff, helping them navigate challenges, empowering them to develop their skills in leadership, community organizing, program development, event and campaign coordination. Encourage an open and reflective team culture where staff feel supported in taking initiative, experimenting with new strategies, and learning from both successes and setbacks.
    • Support staff in managing workloads, troubleshooting challenges, and facilitating solutions when conflicts or obstacles arise, ensuring a positive and productive working atmosphere.
    • Assist the admin team to manage staff’s involvement in obtaining and reporting on contracts and other administrative tasks.
  • Building a High-Performing Team:
    • Build a cohesive, diverse team by ensuring that each staff member feels valued and understood, regardless of background, culture, or experience level. Work actively to foster inclusivity, cultural competence, and respect for lived experiences within the team.
    • Help the staff to set targets and timelines and develop structures and capacity in order to grow the number of tenant volunteers who organize in their buildings with support from SRO-C.
    • Provide ongoing feedback to staff through regular check-ins, performance reviews, and opportunities for team reflection.
    • Foster a sense of ownership and responsibility within the organizing team, empowering staff and tenants to take initiative in their work and contributing to strategic decision-making processes that shape the direction of programs, campaigns and events.
  • Fostering Collaboration and Communication:
    • Cultivate a collaborative, transparent work environment where communication flows freely, and everyone’s input is encouraged and valued. Create mechanisms for regular team meetings, feedback loops, and cross-departmental collaboration, ensuring that the organizing team is aligned with organizational goals and updates.
    • Provide opportunities for regular feedback from staff and tenants, helping the organizing team to learn from the community and continuously adapt programs and strategies to meet changing needs. Ensure that staff are empowered to contribute their ideas and insights into the evolution of organizing practices.
  • Developing Leadership in Tenants and Volunteers:
    • Emphasize the importance of leadership development within tenant communities, ensuring that staff are equipped with the tools and frameworks to cultivate leadership among tenants themselves. Train staff to build leadership pipelines within SRO buildings, ensuring that tenants are empowered to lead and guide their communities through their own organizing efforts.
    • Help staff continue to develop and grow our SRO Degree and other training sessions, making them available for many more tenant volunteers by increasing their accessibility. Create mentorship opportunities where experienced tenants can mentor newer tenants, fostering a cycle of empowerment and peer leadership.
  • Conflict Resolution and Team Building:
    • Train staff and tenants to give feedback to each other in supportive ways that is trauma-informed and helps them build more trusting relationships with all. 
    • Act as a stable resource for resolving conflicts, both within the organizing team and in relationships with tenants or community partners. Work towards a restorative, community-driven approach to conflict resolution when possible, addressing issues with care and transparency while maintaining a focus on healing and moving forward.
    • Encourage and model practices for maintaining healthy, supportive relationships in high-stakes environments where personal and professional boundaries may often overlap. Ensure that staff understand the importance of self-care and maintaining a work-life balance, while also fostering a team culture that supports each other through the emotional challenges of community organizing.

• Community Organizing and Development
  • Lead and refine SRO-C’s community organizing strategies, incorporating structure-based organizing, asset-based community development and peer-led approaches to build power from within. Focus on empowering tenants to take leadership roles in organizing, service delivery, self-advocacy, and collective decision making.
  • Build tenant capacity to organize across racial, linguistic, and cultural lines while working to improve access to information, emotional and practical resources and ultimately, more housing security.
  • Develop and manage the implementation of tenant-based initiatives that create safe, supportive spaces for tenant communities, ensuring that programs and services are culturally appropriate, linguistically accessible, inclusive, and responsive to tenant needs.
  • Learn about Indigenous Tools For Living to work alongside people with complex trauma and to help staff and tenants also access these tools, learning and practicing a holistic approach to relationships and healing. 
  • Coordinate cross department projects, campaigns and events.

• Crisis Management and Emergency Response
  • Lead the organization’s response to crises, ensuring that tenants and staff are supported in high-stress situations such as fires and evictions. Develop crisis response protocols that align with principles of mutual aid, respect, and collective problem-solving.

• Budget and Resource Management
  • Oversee the community organizing budget, ensuring that resources are allocated effectively and in line with organizational priorities.
  • Work with the finance team to monitor spending, track expenditures, and ensure compliance with funder requirements.
  • Assist in the development of funding proposals and support ongoing fundraising efforts to secure resources for tenant-based initiatives, projects, campaigns and events.

• Evaluation, Reporting, and Compliance
  • Establish systems for tracking and evaluating the impact of community organizing programs, including data collection, feedback, and outcome analysis.
  • Ensure compliance with internal and external reporting requirements, providing timely, accurate reports to funders, the Board, and key stakeholders.
  • Facilitate regular program evaluations and reflections, drawing from community feedback to adapt strategies, improve programs, and ensure that tenant voices are central to program design.

• External Partnerships and Advocacy
  • Work with the Executive Director to build and maintain relationships with key community partners, including other grassroots organizations, advocacy groups, government agencies, and funders.
  • Work with the Executive Director to implement systems change theory to influence public policy, advocating for policies that address housing affordability, tenant rights, and broader structural inequalities.

Qualifications:

• Community Organizing Experience: Extensive experience in community organizing, with a deep understanding of the challenges faced by marginalized, low-income, and multilingual communities. Familiarity with principles of asset-based community development, peer-led organizing, and structure-based organizing.
• Leadership and Management: Proven experience in managing, mentoring, and developing teams of staff and volunteers. Strong interpersonal skills and a demonstrated ability to lead diverse teams toward a shared vision. Ability to introduce structures and systems that can help teams get what they need in order to do their jobs well.  
• Cultural Competence: Strong cultural competency and the ability to work effectively with people from diverse racial, linguistic, and socio-economic backgrounds. Experience in creating inclusive, culturally responsive programs that reflect the needs and strengths of the communities served.
• Understanding Non Profit Organizations:  Experience working with contracts that have deliverables and timelines. Understanding compliance and reporting. 
• Crisis Management and Problem-Solving: Experience in crisis management and conflict resolution, with the ability to stay calm and think strategically under pressure. 
• Strategic Vision and Program Development: Strong ability to think strategically and creatively about community organizing, with a focus on long-term impact. Demonstrated experience in program design, implementation, and evaluation.
• Policy Advocacy and Systems Change: Knowledge of advocacy strategies and systems change theory to support the development of policies that promote tenant rights, affordable housing, and broader social justice goals.
• Budget and Resource Management: Experience managing budgets and resources for organizing programs. Ability to track and report on financial expenditures, ensuring that resources are being used efficiently and responsibly.
• Communication and Relationship Building: Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to represent the organization to external stakeholders, including government agencies, funders, and community partners.

Skills (Has competencies and can mentor in all these areas):

• Has competencies and can mentor in all these areas:
• Building and maintaining trusting relationships
• Learning in complex environment
• Reliability
• Effective communication, active listening and ability to de-escalate
• Independent, collaborative and team work
• Setting boundaries
• Trauma-informed approach
• Equity approach

Other skills:

• Fluency in multiple languages is an asset given the multilingual nature of the communities served.

Qualities (Has competencies and can mentor in all these areas):

• Self-aware and reflective
• Accountable
• Non-judgemental
• Courage
• Humility
• Empathy

SRO-C Values:

• Determination
• Passion
• Originality

Downtown Eastside SRO Collaborative Society Environment and Work Culture:

Community organizing is at the core of SRO-C and the role of organizing is essential to engaging tenants and community. SRO-C tenants are disproportionately impacted by poverty, colonialism, and discrimination. They are a diverse community facing various challenges such as substance use, physical and mental health concerns, behavioural issues, criminal records, and histories of trauma. The demanding and fulfilling tenant organizing work we undertake is supported by our dedicated staff. We support the wellness of our staff by developing skills in trauma-informed practice, de-escalation, and conflict mediation to help address the complexities of our work and assist tenants in doing the same. We strive to foster a supportive work environment that promotes continuous learning, enabling staff to think innovatively and act courageously. We recognize that embracing failure as an opportunity for improvement is vital in creating positive and meaningful change within our community.

Cultural Safety and Anti-Oppressive Practices

A solid understanding of the issues impacting communities living in and around the DTES and Chinatown, as well as a commitment to learning and practicing intersectional, anti-oppressive and anti-racist approaches is critical to the work at SRO-C. SRO-C values staff who can work in this challenging environment, be extremely patient, and provide practical, emotional, and human resources support to their fellow staff and share in mutual support of the team. Staff commit to learning and practicing nonviolent communication, conflict resolution, and coaching skills while effectively and compassionately setting and maintaining expectations and accountability with their team.

Applications:

Please send a resume and a one-page cover letter outlining why you would be a good fit for this job via email to office@srocollaborative.org with the subject line:

CODD Application: {FirstName} {LastName}

We thank all prospective applicants for their time; however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted. BIPOC and/or LGBT2SIQ+ applicants are strongly encouraged to apply.