In 1986, a small group of human rights activists and mental health workers gathered in Vancouver to support the flood of refugees arriving from the armed conflicts in South and Central America. They founded the Vancouver Association for Survivors of Torture (VAST), and this dedicated group of volunteers built what would become BC’s largest center for refugee mental health. Today, VAST works with refugees from over 100 countries in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America. Our programs and services are offered in over a dozen languages, including Arabic, Farsi, French, Mandarin, and Spanish. We support the mental health of refugees who arrive in British Columbia with psychological trauma as a result of torture, political violence, and other forms of persecution on the basis of race, religion, gender identity, and sexual orientation. 

We facilitate the healing process for 1,000 survivors of torture each year, and their families, by providing accessible and culturally appropriate individual and group counselling and therapeutic services. We also provide psycho-legal documentation and support refugee claimants through the asylum process, and are called in to work with Temporary Foreign Workers in Canada when their particular situation requires our 

support. Canada is a signatory to the UN’s Convention Against Torture (1985), and the Refugee Convention (1951), both of which oblige us to protect the rights of survivors of forced displacement, including the Right to Rehabilitation, and to provide safe haven to those who at risk of persecution. VAST is an active member of the International Rehabilitation Council for Victims of Torture (IRCT), the Canadian Council for Refugees (CCR), and the Canadian Network for Survivors of Torture and Trauma (CNSTT). 

Founded on the conviction that ‘healing is an act of resistance’, for 35 years VAST has employed a province-leading model of trauma-informed mental health service provision. Our work has created and sustained a resilient, inclusive community amongst newcomers, and over More than half of our team identify as survivors themselves, and their voices are represented at all levels of our organization. We do not believe in working alone, and our mission supports a range of advocacy and capacity building activities to strengthen BC’s mental health sector for newcomers, and encourage understanding of our work amongst government institutions. In so doing, we relieve demand on the BC healthcare sector, especially in dense urban and more isolated rural areas of BC. VAST is more than a healthcare provider and is known throughout BC as a convener of voices with lived experience of torture and trauma, and an influential advisor to multiple levels of policy makers and practitioners.

Classification & Job Title: Development Coordinator 

Rate: $27.75. This is a Temporary one month, 31 hours/week position. This position is unionized under CUPE-1936.‍

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Job Summary: The purpose of this role is to support VAST in providing clear, succinct, and compelling communications, relationship building, and outreach to public and private funders, including local, provincial, and federal governments, intergovernmental agencies, family and community foundations, corporations, and individuals. 

The VAST Development Coordinator is responsible for identifying projects developed by team members, match them with grant funding opportunities, and develop grant applications and proposals with existing and potential donors. This is a full-time position.

Description of Typical Job Duties: 

• Coordinate with different VAST project leads and team members 
• Update VAST’s general letter of Introduction/Inquiry and Proposal Template Research, adapt, and send the LOI to at least 250 potential Family Foundations, Corporate Giving Divisions, and Community Foundations, with a tailored email or mail intro 
• Work with the team to compete funding applications to the City of Vancouver, City of Surrey, United Way, Red Cross, United Nations, and Province of BC 
• Support the team with writing reports to funders 
• Support with writing and communications for VAST website, newsletter, publications, press releases, donors, and partners 
• Track all fundraising activities and relationship development in VAST’s Fundraising spreadsheet and Canada Helps Donor Management System 
• Maintain and cultivate relationships with existing donors 

Qualifications Required: 

• Awareness of the Torture Rehabilitation sector and migration pathways in BC Advanced university degree in any of medicine, public health, law, psychology, psychiatry, social work, conflict studies, migration studies, writing, sociology, anthropology experience in a communications role 
• effective relationship building abilities
• excellent written and oral communication 
• proven ability to communicate with formal institutions 
• knowledge of international affairs, human rights, international humanitarian law preference will be given to candidates with lived experience 
• experience and knowledge of other cultures and languages is a plus