BWSS Legal Services and Advocacy team is growing

Organizational Overview

Established in 1979, BWSS – Battered Women’s Support Services takes action to end gender-based violence through community-based interventions, support services, legal and systemic advocacy, education and training, violence prevention and research and policy. 

BWSS Legal Services and Advocacy Program is a community legal program providing legal services and advocacy for self-identifying women survivors of gender-based violence.

Job Highlight

As the Specialized Indigenous Legal Advocate, you will provide legal advocacy and legal solutions for Indigenous women and extended families experiencing gender-based violence increasing the safety for their children, able to have a voice in legal proceedings and very importantly having access to legal solutions in their legal cases. Legal advocacy is grounded in a decolonizing and intersectional feminist analysis of gender-based violence and violence against women.

Job Summary

Through your work as Specialized Indigenous Legal Advocate, you will provide information, support and advocacy to Indigenous women and extended families dealing with child welfare at the intersection of gender-based violence and the Canadian legal system recognizing that legal issues routinely extend into other areas of the law including criminal, and family law.

Key Responsibilities

• Providing legal information, summary of case law, legal research, and general assistance to Indigenous women and extended family in building strategies for their legal case
• Interviewing women and femmes, assess/analyze legal problems, assist in resolving legal problems, assist women and femmes prepare for court, preparing documents in consultation with the Legal Services and Advocacy team and the legal supervisor
• Working closely with direct service, legal advocacy, counselling, and volunteer teams to maintain a matrix of support options for survivors accessing BWSS
• Co-ordinating legal advocacy clinics and group sessions for survivors of violence
• Delivering workshops and presentations to community groups
• Providing public legal education, training and print materials for survivors and community advocates and on child protection, criminal, and family law issues
• Providing consultation and support to BWSS volunteers related to legal advocacy issues
• Providing consultation and support to BWSS staff related to legal advocacy issues
• Maintaining an excellent working knowledge of emergent legal-social issues related to violence against women and femmes and to seek solutions
• Assisting with the administration of all record keeping and service delivery obligations of funding contract, in keeping with legal and contractual obligations undertaken by the Society. Such administrative duties will include preparing refunding proposal and regular program activity reports as required by BWSS and the funder

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in the law, or certificate or diploma in appropriate area such as Paralegal Program or equivalent experience
• Minimum 4 years’ experience working with legal advocacy issues related to women who experience violence in relationships preferably within child protection, criminal and/or family law
• Demonstrated knowledge and experience working with Indigenous communities
• Solid understanding of the dynamics of violence against women, the intersectionality of oppressions within a feminist framework
• Demonstrated legal research, analysis, writing and advocacy skills
• Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively with frontline service providers and with members of community and social justice groups
• Working within a harm reduction context, along with the ability to apply this understanding to your day-to-day work, helps guide you in your interactions with our funders and partners, your co-workers, and the women we support
• Demonstrated strong understanding of equity, intersectionality, anti-racism, decolonization, and anti-oppression
• Demonstrated analysis, knowledge, and training in working with trauma survivors
• Demonstrated cultural competency including awareness of diverse marginalized communities in Metro Vancouver and ability to work with women from various cultural communities
• Satisfactory criminal record checks

The Successful Candidate Will …

• Have a strong dedication to supporting survivors
• Prioritize the mission of the organization
• Be comfortable working in a fast-paced, high-intensity work environment
• Strive to create trusting, respectful, and supportive relationships with the BWSS staff, volunteers, and leadership team
• Be comfortable working effectively both independently and in a team environment, and to demonstrate a high degree of initiative
• Have experience in women’s organizations and non-profit society environments

Classification

• Preferential and limited hiring assist BWSS to achieve diverse an equitable representation in the workplace, and to recruit employees whose identities enrich the ways in which we accomplish our mission and serve the community; as a result, preference will be given to Indigenous women, Black women, racialized women, women who are disabled, femmes, transfeminine, and women from other equity seeking groups.
• Ability to speak another language an asset

Please send a cover letter and resume in (PDF format only) detailing how you meet or exceed these qualifications to Battered Women’s Support Services endingviolence@bwss.org Please include Specialized Indigenous Legal Advocate in the subject line

This posting will remain open until filled.

No phone calls or messages through social media, including LinkedIn, please.

Download a pdf of this job posting here.

Organizational Overview

Established in 1979, BWSS – Battered Women’s Support Services takes action to end gender-based violence through community-based interventions, support services, legal and systemic advocacy, education and training, violence prevention and research and policy.

BWSS Legal Services and Advocacy Program is a community legal program providing legal services and advocacy for self-identifying women survivors of gender-based violence.

Job Highlight

As the Specialized Legal Advocate, you will provide legal advocacy and legal solutions for Black and Racialized women and extended families experiencing gender-based violence increasing the safety for their children, able to have a voice in legal proceedings and very importantly having access to legal solutions in their legal cases. Legal advocacy is grounded in a decolonizing and intersectional feminist analysis of gender-based violence and violence against women.

Job Summary

Through your work as Specialized Legal Advocate, you will provide information, support and advocacy for Black and Racialized women dealing with immigration status at the intersection of gender-based violence and the Canadian legal system recognizing that legal issues routinely extend into other areas of the law including child protection, criminal, and family law.

Key Responsibilities

• Providing legal information, summary of case law, legal research, and general assistance to Indigenous women and extended family in building strategies for their legal case
• Interviewing women and femmes, assess/analyze legal problems, assist in resolving legal problems, assist women and femmes prepare for court, preparing documents in consultation with the Legal Services and Advocacy team and the legal supervisor
• Working closely with direct service, legal advocacy, counselling, and volunteer teams to maintain a matrix of support options for survivors accessing BWSS
• Co-ordinating legal advocacy clinics and group sessions for survivors of violence
• Delivering workshops and presentations to community groups
• Providing public legal education, training and print materials for survivors and community advocates and on immigration, child protection, criminal, and family law issues
• Providing consultation and support to BWSS volunteers related to legal advocacy issues
• Providing consultation and support to BWSS staff related to legal advocacy issues
• Maintaining an excellent working knowledge of emergent legal-social issues related to violence against women and femmes and to seek solutions
• Assisting with the administration of all record keeping and service delivery obligations of funding contract, in keeping with legal and contractual obligations undertaken by the Society. Such administrative duties will include preparing refunding proposal and regular program activity reports as required by BWSS and the funder

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in the law, or certificate or diploma in appropriate area such as Paralegal Program or equivalent experience
• Minimum 4 years’ experience working with legal advocacy issues related to women who experience violence in relationships preferably within child protection, criminal and/or family law
• Demonstrated knowledge and experience working with Black and racialized communities
• Solid understanding of the dynamics of violence against women, the intersectionality of oppressions within a feminist framework
• Demonstrated legal research, analysis, writing and advocacy skills
• Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively with frontline service providers and with members of community and social justice groups
• Working within a harm reduction context, along with the ability to apply this understanding to your day-to-day work, helps guide you in your interactions with our funders and partners, your co-workers, and the women we support
• Demonstrated strong understanding of equity, intersectionality, anti-racism, decolonization, and anti-oppression
• Demonstrated analysis, knowledge, and training in working with trauma survivors
• Demonstrated cultural competency including awareness of diverse marginalized communities in Metro Vancouver and ability to work with women from various cultural communities
• Satisfactory criminal record checks

The Successful Candidate Will …

• Have a strong dedication to supporting survivors
• Prioritize the mission of the organization
• Be comfortable working in a fast-paced, high-intensity work environment
• Strive to create trusting, respectful, and supportive relationships with the BWSS staff, volunteers, and leadership team
• Be comfortable working effectively both independently and in a team environment, and to demonstrate a high degree of initiative
• Have experience in women’s organizations and non-profit society environments

Classification

• Preferential and limited hiring assist BWSS to achieve diverse an equitable representation in the workplace, and to recruit employees whose identities enrich the ways in which we accomplish our mission and serve the community; as a result, preference will be given to Indigenous women, Black women, racialized women, women who are disabled, femmes, transfeminine, and women from other equity seeking groups.
• Ability to speak another language an asset

Please send a cover letter and resume in (PDF format only) detailing how you meet or exceed these qualifications to Battered Women’s Support Services endingviolence@bwss.org Please include Specialized Legal Advocate in the subject line.

This posting will remain open until filled.

No phone calls or messages through social media, including LinkedIn, please.

Download a pdf of this job posting here.