+1 604 644 4349 info@voor.ca
Select Page
Job Opportunity – Urban Researcher and Policy Analyst

Job Opportunity – Urban Researcher and Policy Analyst

by | May 30, 2025 | Uncategorized

Voor Urban Labs is hiring an Urban Researcher and Policy Analyst.

This position is set to start immediately. The deadline to apply is June 13, 2025. This is a contract position, based in Vancouver, British Columbia (Hybrid).

Company Description

Voor Urban Labs gathers people together to co-design and build creative solutions to complex social challenges. We believe everyone has a right to healthy communities, creative spaces and meaningful work and we support all the parties to bring their best effort to the table. We believe complex problems require authentic conversations that are informed by diverse experiences to work for your specific solutions. Our team excels in areas like placemaking, urban and social planning, communications, research, and community engagement. We have a diverse portfolio of clients including the City of Vancouver, the National Urban Indigenous Coalitions Council, the Wild Bird Trust of BC, Salish Elements, Dutch Cultural Association of BC, and Aboriginal Council of Winnipeg, focusing on projects such as decolonizing green infrastructure, urban Indigenous rights, First Nations economic redress, social procurement, placemaking, amongst others. Based in Vancouver’s Chinatown, we are dedicated to fostering equitable and sustainable urban futures

Role Description

This is an ongoing contract position, hybrid/on-site role for an Urban Researcher and Policy Analyst. The candidate will conduct policy research, analyze data, and assist in the development of urban and social planning and community engagement strategies. Additional responsibilities include preparing reports, engaging with stakeholders, and contributing to various research projects. Collaboration with team members and external partners will be integral to this role. The urban researcher will ideally work from Voor’s office at 475 Main Street, however we may accommodate hybrid options.

Qualifications

  • Policy Research and Analytical Skills
  • Strong Writting and Communication skills
  • Qualitative and quantitative research skills
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills
  • Familiarity with local urban policies and practices is a plus
  • Experience with decolonization and accomplice concepts
  • Related and demonstrated experience in: Urban policy and/or mobility • Decolonising public policy • Urban Indigenous policy • First Nation energy sovereignty • Climate equity • Social sciences research • Place-making • Event production.

Compensation: $30-$40 an hour, depending on experience.

How to apply: deadline to apply is June 13, 2025. Email us at info@voor.ca and attach your CV and a Cover/Introductory Letter, using this subject line “Application for Urban Researcher_YOUR FULL NAME”

Job Opportunity – Urban Researcher and Policy Analyst

Research Support – Knowledge Broker Job Opportunity

by | Sep 21, 2022 | Uncategorized

We are hiring in tandem with Simon Fraser University, Knowledge Mobilization Hub for a Research Assistant – Urban Indigenous Knowledge Broker. Part-time (approximately 12 hrs/week) for 3.5 months or total 170 hours at $26.50/hour. With possibility of renewal.

Voor has secured sponsorship from the Simon Fraser University Community Engagement Initiative and has directed it in support of our client the National Urban Indigenous Coalitions Council (NUICC).

We are seeking a Research Assistant that will work closely with NUICC and Voor Urban Labs to specialize in lifting up the stories and knowledge of Indigenous people in 34 Canadian cities. We are inviting immediate applicants who are committed to critical urban research, urban planning, and community engagement work. NUICC is a growing network of coalitions working to advance the rights and visibility of the urban Indigenous population across Canada. Join us in this unique role supporting projects for the NUICC to advance public policy and social infrastructure that addresses challenges for urban Indigenous peoples across Canada.

We are looking for an SFU Graduate student who has experience with knowledge mobilization and Urban Indigenous communities. You will work within the SFU Knowledge Mobilization Hub and work closely with Voor Urban Labs and NUICC’s Urban Indigenous Knowledge Mobilization Hub. In this role you will create a structure for aggregating evidence on the key areas of concern for NUICC. NUICC has identified a need for aggregated evidence in a number of policy areas important to urban Indigenous people, as the Knowledge Broker you will identify good practices in this area, create structures for evidence aggregation, build relationships with potential contributors as evidence aggregators and contributors to the journal Stories Have Always Been Our Governance.

This is a hybrid (remote and in-person) position. You will work with Voor’s mixed Indigenous and non-Indigenous staff team working from Vancouver, Nanaimo, Toronto, and Ottawa on exciting and meaningful work advancing the rights of Urban Indigenous People across Canada.

Time Commitment

This Research Assistant position is a flexible part-time role with work days that balance your family’s needs and the team’s needs. While remote work in this position is possible, you may be expected to attend meetings at times at SFU’s Burnaby and Vancouver campuses.

If you feel you are an exceptional candidate but cannot commit to the part-time role at present, apply and let us know in the cover letter.

Duties and Responsibilities

  • Identify and connect with potential collaborators, partners, researchers;
  • Present and network at different events or conferences as appropriate;
  • Identify good practices and/or examples of evidence aggregation;
  • Create structure, work flow, guidelines for evidence aggregation activities;
  • Bring your experience of urban Indigenous Peoples and decolonization into the work;
  • Participate and contribute to team activities as needed;
  • Attend weekly NUICC group meetings;
  • Other duties as assigned.

Skills

  • You have a post-secondary diploma, undergraduate or graduate degree in communications, Indigenous studies, urban planning, knowledge mobilization or a related field;
  • Excellent understanding of the role of storytelling and Indigenous Knowledge;
  • Familiar with urban Indigenous issues and policy solutions for Canadian cities;
  • Good understanding of knowledge mobilization literature;
  • Very strong organization, communication and writing skills; critical thinker, problem-solver, and pro-active attitude;
  • Very strong skills (and references) for your work with research, evidence synthesis, and project planning; 
  • and Fluent in English.

Optional Skills

  • Familiarity of local government and urban public policy;
  • Knowledge of Indigenous governance systems;
  • Experience in arts, culture, journalism, or communications.

To Apply

Please send your resume (.doc or .pdf) with a cover letter explaining your suitability for the role to lupin_battersby@sfu.ca include “Knowledge Broker” in the email subject.

The posting is open until filled. We will start reviewing and contacting applicants on September 23rd, 2022. The position start date is negotiable, but prefer ASAP.

Job Opportunity – Urban Researcher and Policy Analyst

Job Posting: Research Assistant (Contract)

by | May 3, 2022 | Uncategorized

Voor Urban Labs provides technical support for broader movements for decolonization, social change and climate justice locally in Vancouver and across Canada. Our team specialises in critical urban research, urban planning, and community engagement work. Join us in this unique research assistant role supporting projects for the National Urban Indigenous Coalitions Council, advancing public policy and social infrastructure that addresses challenges for urban Indigenous peoples across Canada. 

We are looking for an enthusiastic, motivated Indigenous person to join our team as a research assistant specialising in work related to Urban indigenous communities. In this role, you will support the Voor Director, support staff, and clients in maintaining research and production schedules, and completing tasks so projects run smoothly. Based remotely, you will work with a mixed Indigenous and non-Indigenous staff team working from Vancouver, Nanaimo, Toronto, Ottawa, and Mexico on exciting and meaningful work advancing the rights of Urban Indigenous People across Canada.

Part-time (12-24hrs per week); $26-30/hour, depending on experience. Initial contract of 6 months, with anticipated renewal.

To Apply

Interviews are being conducted on a rolling basis until the position is filled. The position start date is negotiable, but prefer as soon as possible. Please send your resume (.doc or .pdf) with a cover letter explaining your suitability for the role. Email to info@voor.ca include “Research Assistant” in the email subject.

View full job post

Job Posting: Digital Communications Coordinator (Contract)

Job Posting: Digital Communications Coordinator (Contract)

by | May 3, 2022 | Uncategorized

Voor Urban Labs provides technical support for broader movements for decolonization, social change and climate justice locally in Vancouver and across Canada. Our team specializes in critical urban research, urban planning, and community engagement work. Join us in this unique communications and production role supporting local and national projects for advancing public policy and social infrastructure that addresses social and environmental challenges across Canada.

We are looking for an enthusiastic, motivated person to join our team as a specialist in communications and production. Based out of Coast Salish lands/Vancouver, you will support a team working from Vancouver, Nanaimo, Toronto, Ottawa, and Mexico. Reporting to the Voor Director, you will help maintain production schedules and complete tasks so projects run smoothly. Your hybrid work week will be up to 50:50 in-person and remote-work to produce, organize and track tasks and projects, collaborating with coworkers on exciting and meaningful projects. A major focus for you will be urban Indigenous communities, however, you will also support other Voor clients addressing the climate crisis, environmental and social infrastructure and urban policy in BC.

$26-30/hour, depending on experience. Initial six month part-time contract with anticipated expansion to full time.

To Apply

Please send your resume (.doc or .pdf) with a cover letter explaining your suitability for the role. Email to info@voor.ca include “Digital Communications Coordinator” in the email subject. Applications will be received on a rolling basis until filled, however please note our intention is to have this position to be filled as soon as possible, interviews will take place on a rolling basis until the position is filled.

View the full job post

Captured Futures of Climate Politics

by | Jan 6, 2022 | Uncategorized

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ON CLIMATE CHANGE

We are thrilled to be copresenting our friend Maarten Hajer’s return visit to Vancouver on January 26, 2022. Maarten is a distinguished professor of Urban Futures at Utrecht University, member of the International Resources Panel, and will speak on ‘The Captured Futures of Climate Politics.’

With the pandemic, Maarten’s return visit will be virtual, and is a highlight of a new series we are helping produce with Voor Urban Labs’ client CAANS, the Dutch cultural organisation for BC.  Titled ‘Dutch Perspectives on Tackling the Climate Crisis,’ the series of public talks runs November 2021 to March 2022, with acclaimed Dutch experts and local actors on the climate crisis and perspectives on solutions. Hajer will provide an inspiring and provocative talk followed by Respondent Dr. Sybil Seitzinger, Executive Director, Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions. There will be lots of opportunity for audience dialogue. Pick up a ticket and join us.

January’s event is produced by CAANS Vancouver and presented by One Earth, Voor Urban Labs, and Wild Bird Trust of BC, and sponsored by the Netherlands Consulate in Vancouver.

Professor Dr. Maarten Hajer is familiar with Vancouver, and was keynote for our Munch! Event in partnership with RayCam Cooperative Centre back in October 2019. That conversation addressed how neighbourhoods can collaborate on their solutions.  Having agency and equal partnerships between residents, social innovators,  academic and government partners means cocreating urban futures that are more resilient, sustainable, and inclusive.  

Maarten is director of the Urban Futures Studio and was a professor of Public Policy at the University of Amsterdam, Director of the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, and Chief Curator of the 7th International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam.

Urban Indigenous Governance

by | May 5, 2021 | Uncategorized

NUICC + VOOR URBAN LABS

For many Indigenous populations, storytelling is governance. Storytelling communicates values, community priorities, and important histories that are part of identity, power, and self-determination. And for so long, the voices and stories of urban Indigenous Peoples in Canada have been unheard or ignored. 

In 2019, a number of individual urban Indigenous coalitions in cities across Canada recognized the need to federate in order to generate a common voice for the hundreds of community-facing organizations and municipal urban Indigenous advisory councils. 

When coalitions in each city come together in their regions, provinces, and federally, Indigenous populations can share their experiences and successes, and an urban Indigenous national strategy can be defined by the community itself. 

Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) acknowledged the need for a consultative table for the urban Indigenous communities self-organizing in 32 Canadian cities. Why? Because 73% to 84% of Indigenous Peoples who live off-reserve reside in Canadian cities and urban centres.

Formed in response to ISC’s call to action, the National Urban Indigenous Coalitions Council (NUICC) mandate is to steadily advance the work of impacting federal urban Indigenous policy development and action. Supporting policy development that is built from the best available data and research can help individual coalitions in municipalities, as well as regionally, provincially and federally.      

NUICC approached Voor Urban Labs to support its communications and policy amplification needs to inform changes to federal action plans directly impacting urban Indigenous populations.

Voor has deep experience working alongside urban Indigenous community members in Vancouver’s inner-city, what is often considered the urban rez, where the Indigenous community members face homelessness, a two-decades-long national public health crisis, and premature death. Economic justice, housing justice, and safety for women and children are solutions we have worked for across Coast Salish lands. The Voor team is grateful this track record of community experience positions us to be tapped for this cross-Canada work.     

We look forward to supporting communications and production work for conferences and gatherings, council and committee meetings. We anticipate helping animate the stories from each of the 32 Canadian cities organizing urban Indigenous coalitions and sharing them across the country to inspire and bring change. Voor will help amplify NUICC voices in multiple formats including policy proposals, community-engaged research, podcasts, videos, website, social media, virtual events. 

We are excited and deeply honored to be of service to NUICC as we believe in the power of collaboration, of mutuality, and amplifying innovative community solutions.