YWCA Metro Vancouver (“YWCA”) is seeking applications from self-identified women living in the region to serve on our volunteer Board of Directors (“Board”). As a Director, you will contribute your perspective, skills, expertise and lived experience to a highly respected organization dedicated to creating a just and equitable world for women, families, Two-Spirit and gender diverse people.
The Opportunity
Our volunteer Board is a collaborative group of engaged, strategic leaders who oversee the conduct of the YWCA’s business and provide guidance and vision on a broad range of strategic matters. Along with the YWCA leadership team, they assume responsibility for the performance and direction of the YWCA and provide oversight of a range of areas including finance, risk and CEO performance. We are seeking to fill one Board position this year. Directors are appointed for two-year terms and may serve up to three terms, to a maximum of six years.
Based on the Board’s current composition and future needs, we are prioritizing candidates with finance or accounting backgrounds and specifically seeking a candidate who can take on the role of Treasurer and Finance, Audit and Investment Committee Chair. This candidate would ideally have:
- Board governance experience, including experience serving on a Finance and Audit Committee
- Excellent facilitation, communication and analytical skills
- Time and capacity to meet regularly with the VP Finance and review Finance, Audit and Investment Committee materials
- Good judgment, curiosity, a commitment to accountability and the long-term financial stability of the organization
- Strong financial literacy (able to read and understand financial statements with similar level of complexity to the YWCA’s); may bring experience with capital, investments, business background and/or accounting designation
The YWCA is dedicated to fostering inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility. In selecting Directors, we balance skills and expertise with representation across age, ability, racial and cultural background, Indigeneity and within the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. We also value diverse lived experience in relation to our programs.
In keeping with these commitments, we are prioritizing applications from women from the 2SLGBTQIA+ community and/or allies of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. We are also seeking applications from:
- Indigenous women (First Nations, includes Status, Treaty or Non-Status, Métis and Inuit)
- Racialized and newcomer women
- Women under 30
- Women with lived experience relevant to the YWCA’s work, including mothers parenting alone, those living on low incomes or experiencing housing insecurity, individuals who are neurodivergent or a disability, and those impacted by gender-based violence, discrimination, or who have participated in YWCA programs or services.
Commitments and Expectations
As a Director, you will be expected to share the YWCA’s commitment to:
- Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility
- Gender Inclusion
- Anti-Racism
- Truth and Reconciliation
- Decolonization
- A Participant-Centred Approach
Additionally, you will be required to:
- Be a member in good standing of YWCA Metro Vancouver when nominated
- Support our vision and mission
- Be knowledgeable about gender equity
- Support our advocacy positions (see below)
- Understand and be willing to carry out the duties and responsibilities of a Director
- Devote the time and effort necessary to fully participate in the governance of the organization, including approximately six Board meetings per year, typically scheduled from 4:00 pm to 8:30 pm (normally held in-person in Vancouver or may be held virtually), and additional committee responsibilities (four to five meetings per year). Tentative Board meeting dates for 2025/2026: September 9, November 18, February 24, April 14, June 23 and a Board/management offsite in May.
- Participate on and Chair the Finance, Audit and Investment Committee
About YWCA Metro Vancouver
YWCA Metro Vancouver has served the community since first opening our doors in 1897. Our vision is a just and equitable world for women, families and allies. Our mission is to advance gender equity alongside women, families, Two-Spirit and gender diverse people through advocacy and integrated services that help support personal, collective and economic wellbeing. Our programs and advocacy are evidence-based, grounded in front-line expertise and informed by people with lived experience.
Our 2024-2029 Strategic Plan is centred on three overarching goals:
- We lead in participant-centred, integrated programs and services.
- We inspire transformational systems and culture change through education and advocacy.
- We unite as an inclusive, responsive and thriving organization.
About YWCA Canada
YWCA Canada is a leading voice for women, girls, Two-Spirit and gender diverse people. Incorporated in 1893, YWCA Canada is the country’s oldest and largest multi-service feminist organization, working to advance equity through national advocacy and grassroots initiatives.
YWCA Metro Vancouver is one of 30 member associations that comprise YWCA Canada, which serves as the national coordinating body for the YWCA movement. In turn, YWCA Canada is a member association of the World YWCA, which unites 25 million women and girls worldwide and spans 125 countries.
Each member association operates autonomously, governed by a local Board of Directors and serving the needs of its local community. Together, the Canadian member associations set policy for YWCA Canada and elect its Board of Directors.
Our Advocacy
Through advocacy, we conduct targeted engagement of government, business and community leaders to transform policies and practices in support of gender equity. We are committed to intersectionality, which means we understand that inequities related to race, Indigenous identity, socioeconomic background, gender and sexual orientation (among others) are interrelated and work to compound the discrimination and disadvantage experienced by women and gender diverse people.
Broadly, we advocate on the following issues:
- Ending gender-based violence
- Supporting access to justice
- Promoting women’s economic wellbeing
- Supporting access to social and economic supports and opportunities for single mothers
- Championing universal early learning and child care
- Advocating for safe, affordable housing for self-identified women and single mother-led families
- Encouraging equity in government planning and policy development
- Supporting sexual and reproductive rights as a pro-choice organization
- Advocating alongside Indigenous women and communities for the full implementation of the 94 Calls to Action and 231 Calls for Justice
Programs and Services
We offer 81 programs and services in 42 locations in Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley and Vancouver Island and serve participants from all over British Columbia via our online services.
- 16 housing communities serving more than 700 mothers and children, including second-stage transition housing for women who have left abusive relationships and their children; long-term housing for women and single mothers on low incomes and supportive transitional housing for pregnant women and new mothers in recovery. Residents have access to other YWCA programs and services, and a foundation to move towards health, wellbeing and economic stability
- Four early learning and child care centres serving a range of family needs, including programs for the children of teen moms and vulnerable families
- Training, pre-employment and employment programs serving adults and youth, with specialized supports for a range of jobseekers, including single mothers, people who have experienced violence, newcomers and refugees and youth transitioning out of foster care
- Holistic, culturally-sensitive programs and services for self-identified women and families in the Downtown Eastside through YWCA Crabtree Corner Community Resource Centre
- Mentorship and after-school programs for youth focused on building healthy relationships and social and emotional resilience
- Individual- and group-based supports for single mothers
- YWCA Hotel/Residence that is open to travellers, with a portion of all room nights reserved for emergency stays. Revenues from this social enterprise help fund YWCA programs
- YWCA Health + Fitness Centre in Downtown Vancouver. Revenues from this social enterprise also help fund YWCA programs
Territorial Acknowledgment
We respectfully acknowledge that our main office and many of our programs are located on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations, and that our work across British Columbia spans the territories of more than 200 First Nations. We also acknowledge the First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples who reside in our shared communities.
YWCA Metro Vancouver is committed to truth and reconciliation. This includes understanding the truth and impact of our shared colonial history, making positive changes within our organization and taking actions that advance safety, justice and equity for Indigenous peoples.
