Program Director, Access to Justice, 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.
The Program Director, Access to Justice is a member of a dynamic team that is working to create, amplify and support innovative solutions to difficult access to justice challenges and systemic inequities that affect the well-being of diverse communities in British Columbia.
Reporting to the Director of Grants and Programs, the Program Director, Access to Justice is responsible for ensuring that the Law Foundation supports a broad range of access to justice and public interest law initiatives in BC. Core aspects of the role include overseeing a portfolio of access to justice grants, supporting the adjudication of several funding streams associated with access to justice (including law reform, legal research, graduate fellowships, technology and innovation, public interest law participation), and engaging broadly with access-to-justice stakeholders to inform and support the Foundation’s strategic objectives.
This is a multifaceted role that will also work with professional bodies, members of the bar and judiciary, and funding partners to support access to justice in British Columbia. They will monitor initiatives and promising practices related to access to justice in other jurisdictions to inform Foundation strategy and practices.
The Program Director, Access to Justice role must be approached with a great deal of sensitivity to the power imbalances that form the backdrop of a foundation/grantee relationship. They will support grantees and funded staff, while at the same time being a careful steward of Foundation resources.
The Foundation is at an exciting juncture to breathe life into the new strategic plan. It is also in a period of transition following leadership renewal and 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 directs grant making and work that primarily advances the Foundation’s strategies through the key focus areas of: 1) Strengthening Structural Inclusion and Systemic Access to Justice; and, 2) Enabling Networked, High-Quality Legal Services.
Key responsibilities include but are not limited to:
Grantmaking
Overseeing the design and delivery of granting programs that advance access to justice, including identifying resource needs, coordinating communications, engagement with grant seekers
Reviewing and assessing grant applications in consultation with Foundation staff, Governors, and community advisors where applicable
Integrating and advancing grantmaking practices that are grounded in and informed by the Foundation’s guiding values of Reciprocity, Equity, Decolonization, Sustainability and Transformation
Supporting the Board of Governors in their adjudication and oversight functions by providing analysis, information, and recommendations relating to grants
Supporting the Foundation in its communications plan to ensure that the legal community and the public are aware of the work that the Foundation funds
Maintaining active knowledge of changes in the legal landscape and access to justice innovations in other jurisdictions
Collaboration and Project Management
Working collaboratively with the Direct Legal Services team to support and steward a portfolio of relevant grant files, acting as a liaison and thought partner between the Direct Legal Services team and general grants
Providing expertise related to programs and practice management to Foundation-funded advocates, supervising lawyers, and members of the internal Foundation team where appropriate
Supporting and/or providing leadership on various Foundation projects, strategic workplans, and other matters, including working collaboratively across different Foundation teams and departments
Engagement and Committee Management
Engaging a broad community of stakeholders, including government, courts, regulatory bodies, legal service providers, public legal education and information organizations, public interest law organizations, universities, and other practitioners and leaders in the access to justice community, as well as underserved and equity-denied communities, including current and prospective grantees, to identify opportunities for collaboration, gaps in services, emerging issues, and systemic barriers within the funding landscape
Convening and facilitating different community-based advisory committees where appropriate to support the assessment of grant applications and strategic thought partnership
Participating in grantmaking conferences and membership-based learning opportunities, and representing the Foundation in knowledge-sharing networks related to and within the legal, access to justice, and philanthropic sectors
For a comprehensive job description, please visit the following link: https://lawfoundationbc.bamboohr.com/careers/45
Essential Qualities and Experience
Our client inclusively welcomes credibly experienced professionals to apply for the role, but will prioritize candidates who possess the at least one or a combination of the following attributes:
A law degree and minimum five years experience in practice
Experience delivering legal services to, or working in an organization that affirms the rights of, underserved and equity-denied groups
Understanding of the Canadian justice system, and the barriers to accessing justice
Experience or understanding of systems change and public policy
Experience or understanding of law reform initiatives.
The following attributes will be highly valuable to the person in this role:
Relevant work or volunteer experience in grantmaking
Strong interest in shifting legal or public interest/public service career towards grantmaking in the justice sector
Experience in non-profits or Foundations and working with Boards of Governors/Directors
Understanding of the legal, policy and socioeconomic realities that impact our work and impact diverse racialized communities across BC
Understanding of anti-oppression, decolonization, anti-racism and the ability to translate it to your work
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.
This position is a strategic leadership role, and The Law Foundation will pay competitively commensurate with comparable opportunities, with a salary budgeted between $120,790 to $154,343, 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.
