Director of Legal Service Grants, Remote/Hybrid (CLOSED)
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. They are committed to building and supporting an inclusive and respectful working environment, where all employees are valued for their contributions to the mission.
They offer a comprehensive benefits program, which includes:
generous extended health and dental coverage for employees, their spouses and dependents
3 weeks annual vacation as a base, and late December office closure
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
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
To learn more about the Foundation, please visit www.lawfoundationbc.org
The Opportunity
This position can be remote from any location within BC.
Director of Legal Service Grants
Reporting to the Executive Director, the Director of Legal Service Grants is the key leadership role responsible for overseeing the grant portfolio as it relates to direct legal service provision, including over 80 community legal advocacy programs and legal clinics receiving nearly $15M in annual grants. This position also co-leads the Foundation’s program team in partnership with the Director of Grants and Programs and is supported by a team of four direct reports including two Grants Managers, an Associate Director of Advocacy, and a Legal Advocate Training Advisor. As with all positions with the Foundation, the Director can work remotely from anywhere in BC.
The Foundation has recently expanded its work and now supports more programs than ever before, including several new Poverty Law Clinics throughout BC and a Racial Justice Grants Fund. It is also in a period of operational transformation as it pursues its new strategic plan and responds to new challenges in the evolving legal landscape. Accordingly, this position will also play a key role in developing and ensuring the success of those initiatives.
Key responsibilities include but are not limited to:
Oversight of Legal Service Grants
Managing the grant portfolio related to direct legal service provision, and coordinating complementary programs
Acting as a key liaison with the Ministry of Attorney General in relation to direct legal services and related programs and initiatives
Overseeing the development of policies related to the portfolio and maintaining ultimate responsibility for risk management on all policies, projects and processes that relate to direct legal services
Establishing standards for funded advocacy programs and overseeing program evaluations as appropriate
Designing and executing Foundation-led networking activities for legal clinics and advocates
Managing ongoing relationships with grantees and serving as a key resource for issues that arise in their program delivery
Leadership in Grant Making
(In partnership with the Director of Grants and Programs)
Developing strategies to expand the Foundation’s impact, in collaboration with the Executive Director, executive team and Board
Leading regular reviews of the Foundation’s grant-making strategy
Overseeing the management and development of specific-purpose grantee support funds
Supporting the Executive Director in providing oversight over the Foundation’s grant budget related to direct legal service provision
Collaborating with the executive team on the management of funds that span across the Foundation
In collaboration with internal stakeholders, building and managing relationships with government entities, NGOs, leaders in the access to justice field, and other stakeholders, to better understand the shifting landscape and to advance the Foundation’s vision and strategic priorities
Organizational Leadership
(In partnership with the Director of Grants and Programs)
Providing leadership, coaching and support to direct reports, including overseeing the development and carrying out of work plans and reasonable workloads
Together with the Executive Director, overseeing the development and execution of program plans and projects to achieve the Foundation’s priorities, and assisting the Executive Director on a range of policy and administrative matters and special projects as required
Ensuring that the Foundation’s values of reciprocity, equity, decolonization, sustainability, and transformation are integral considerations in the work of direct reports
For a comprehensive job description, please visit the following link:
https://lawfoundationbc.bamboohr.com/careers/42
Essential Qualities and Experience
The ideal candidate is a qualified lawyer with an expertise in access to justice issues in BC, strategic leadership and supervisory experience, and competence in financial management and budget development. Experience working with grants, boards of directors, or grassroots organizations is considered an asset.
Our client inclusively welcomes credibly experienced leaders to apply for the role, but will prioritize candidates who possess the following attributes:
Qualification as a lawyer and a deep understanding of access to justice issues
10+ years of relevant experience in community, legal, Indigenous or non-profit organizations
Experience with financial management and budget development, including working with grants
Strong project management skills and experience leading multidisciplinary project teams
Excellent communication and presentation skills
Strong relationship skills with an emphasis on coalition building
Experience in community outreach, preferably including direct work with marginalized communities
A nuanced understanding of the links between the justice system, socio-economic issues, poverty, and Indigenous people and equity-seeking groups in the justice system
Search Process
This position is a strategic leadership role and The Law Foundation will pay competitively commensurate with comparable opportunities, with a salary budgeted between $155,378 - $198,538, depending on experience.
The search process may include conventional longlist, shortlist, and committee interview stages. We will request for finalists to offer comprehensive recent references and to complete a background check.
We expect to process our first review of applications by July 28, 2023.
In its hiring practices, the Foundation strongly encourages applications from members of communities that are marginalized or that experience structural discrimination including those identifying as Indigenous, people of colour, members of non-dominant ethnic, religious, linguistic, and/or cultural groups, women, (im)migrants/newcomers, people with (dis)abilities, and LGBTQ2S+ people. The Foundation believes that a workforce that reflects the diversity of the communities they serve strengthens their ability to achieve their mission.
We encourage candidates who require any accommodations to contact us directly with related questions, which can be addressed in confidence as appropriate.
To apply, please forward your resume and cover letter to info@mosaicsearch.ca
You are also welcome to email
Beth Young (beth@mosaicsearch.ca) or
Dave Namkung (dave@mosaicsearch.ca) with any related questions.
