Social Planner II (Youth) - Social Policy and Projects

Requisition ID: 44356 

Organization

Located on the traditional, ancestral and unceded lands of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Peoples, Vancouver has a commitment to becoming a City of Reconciliation. Vancouver consistently ranks as one of the world’s most liveable and environmentally sustainable cities. Named among Canada's Top 100 Employers, BC's Top Employers, and Canada's Greenest Employers, the City of Vancouver seeks colleagues who can help shape and embody our core commitments to sustainability, reconciliation, equity and outstanding quality of life for all residents.

Consider joining our committed team of staff and being part of an innovative, inclusive and engaging workplace.  Working at the City of Vancouver and within the public service can be a rewarding career where you play a key role in ensuring impartial and equitable access to services, upholding ethical governance, and addressing the needs of citizens with integrity and dedication.

Main Purpose and Function

The Social Planner – Youth Safety leads the implementation of a federally funded Building Safer Communities Fund program (BSCF) in Vancouver. BSCF seeks to prevent and address the risk factors and root causes of youth violence by collaborating with young people and communities to develop community led prevention and intervention strategies and initiatives.  The initiative addresses inequities that negatively impact the social determinants of health, including racism, bullying, stigmatization and poverty, and is critical in the achievement of key social sustainability goals including building safe and inclusive communities for children and youth, as outlined in the Healthy City Strategy, the City of Vancouver’s social sustainability plan.  

Specific Duties and Responsibilities

• Convenes dialogues with youth, community agencies, other levels of government and other funders, identifying issues of concern regarding youth safety in Vancouver.
• Develops and implements a comprehensive three year youth violence prevention/intervention plan, including budget estimates/allocations, an evaluation framework and a sustainability plan, in consultation and partnership with community.  
• Manages the $4M budget assigned to this project by the federal funder.
• Leads the development and coordination of a youth safety focused funding stream including informing, reviewing, evaluation, prioritization of grant requests and ensures that approved funding proposals align with federal grant program guidelines and objectives. Reviews and revises grants priorities and/or criteria as required.  
• Supports alignment of youth safety initiatives and grants to major City of Vancouver initiatives including the Healthy City Strategy targets/goals, City of Reconciliation commitments, the Equity Framework, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-spirit project recommendations, the Accessibility Strategy and anti-racism and cultural redress initiatives.
• Works to develop or enhance data systems to support data gathering in order to build capacity to better understand the nature, scope and impacts of the types of prevention and intervention initiatives implemented and to report on the results achieved.
• Formulates and presents recommendations to City Council, City leadership team, other levels of government and community.
• Writes and presents reports to City Council that outline policies, programs and issues for Council consideration.
• Supervises staff and consultants as needed.
• Prepares and submits reports to federal funders consistent with requirements.
• Other duties/responsibilities as assigned.

Qualifications

Education and Experience:

• Degree in Social Sciences or other related discipline, preferably at the Master’s level and considerable experience related to the work, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Specific education focused on youth development and/or experience working with disadvantaged youth is considered an asset.
• Considerable experience with grants programs (writing, reviewing, evaluating, and prioritizing community grants requests). Experience in public engagement and planning processes and report writing.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Considerable knowledge and understanding of social sustainability, social development, quality of life indicators and social cohesion, particularly in the context of youth development;
• Considerable knowledge of equity principles, including intersectionality, and equity based interventions, including applicability to funding practices;
• Thorough knowledge of the theory, practice and objectives of social planning.
• Working knowledge of local organizations, including youth serving and youth led organizations, Indigenous organizations, organizations serving racialized communities, and other social agencies and services operating in Vancouver;
• Excellent facilitation skills;
• Ability to work effectively in a socially diverse context with communities that face economic, social or cultural disadvantages;
• Ability to navigate complex and sensitive conversations with tact;
• Ability to develop and lead complex initiatives, and creating collaborative partnerships;
• Ability to working effectively with civic, provincial and federal levels of government;
• Ability to influence others, both internal City and external partners, towards common goals;
• Ability to supervise staff, contractors, and managing budgets;
• Strong organizational skills and ability to manage multiple initiatives, projects, report on outcomes, and meet deadlines;
• Ability to exercise good judgment, initiative and work independently as well as part of a team; and,
• Ability to meet transportation needs of the department.

Where operationally appropriate and subject to change, the City of Vancouver has a Flexible Work Program. This program allows staff to work a hybrid work week from locations that are a daily commutable distance from their work at a City worksite.  At this time this position is eligible to be part of the Flexible Work Program.

Business Unit/Department: Arts, Culture and Community Services (1200) 

Affiliation: CUPE 15 Non Pks 

Employment Type: Temporary Full Time 

Position Start Date: October, 2025 

Position End Date: April, 2026 

Salary Information: Pay Grade GR-031: $56.27 to $66.55 per hour

Application Close: September 1, 2025

At the City of Vancouver, we are committed to recruiting a diverse workforce that represents the community we so proudly serve. Indigenous peoples, people of colour, 2SLGBTQ+ persons including all genders and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply.  Accommodations will be provided upon request during the selection process. Learn more about our commitment to diversity and inclusion. 

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In addition to uploading your cover letter and resume, part of the application process may include answering application questions related to the preferred requirements of the role which may take approx. 5-10 minutes. Cover letters should express interest and highlight additional information relevant to the position and resumes should include a summary of skills and experience related to the position.