Contract, Gifts In Kind Assistant

As we serve vulnerable youth, all employees working for Covenant House Vancouver must be fully vaccinated for COVID-19. Proof of vaccination status will be required prior to your start date.

About Covenant House Vancouver

Since 1997, Covenant House Vancouver has provided relentless support for youth experiencing, or at-risk of experiencing, homelessness. We provide support to young people age 16 to 24 who have experienced a wide range of early life and ongoing, complex trauma; including physical, sexual and emotional abuse and neglect. Our purpose is to serve all youth, with absolute respect and unconditional love, to help youth experiencing homelessness, and provide a safe and supportive environment for all youth in need.

Working at Covenant House will be one of the most meaningful things that you’ll do in your life. However, you will be confronted with significant issues in this work and frankly, this work is not for everyone. In the course of doing your work, particularly for those doing frontline work, you will be exposed to the trauma of others. The youth we serve may also experience overdose, physical harm perpetuated by self or others and even death. Because we provide a relational model of care, the harms our youth experience can impact us in varying degrees.  
 
While we provide training for youth workers on avoiding what we call vicarious trauma (namely, the trauma you can experience or take on by hearing other’s traumatic stories), and a generous allowance for counselling, it is still difficult work that can and does take its toll on many employees. Self-awareness and self-care are key. Some candidates and employees decide during the recruiting and probationary periods that this work isn’t for them, and that is totally fair. 
 
We will provide more information on vicarious trauma during recruiting and on-boarding, to help you decide if Covenant House is the place for you.  

The Impact a Gifts in Kind Assistant with our Philanthropy Department can make:

As an Assistant with our Gifts in Kind team, you will help to coordinate the day-to-day operations of Covenant Houses Gifts in Kind program by receiving, processing, and managing physical donations. You will support our Christmas Backpack Campaign, ensuring that donations are appropriate to keep, and seeking assistance about re-donating items to other organizations.

This position is offered as a fixed-term contract with an end date January 31, 2025.

How You Will Contribute:

  • Greet donors in parkade or reception and retrieve donation
  • Sort and process donations, deciding which are appropriate to keep and which will be re-donated
  • Fill youth clothing requests and ensure they are delivered in an appropriate timeline
  • Fill toiletry requests for our programs as needed
  • Support our Christmas Backpack Campaign.
  • Ensure the sorting area stays clean and tidy
  • Other related duties as required

Who We Are Looking For?

Education and Experience:

  • Highschool Diploma
  • 1 year of previous working experience
  • Previous experience working with clothing and physical donations considered an asset

Competencies:

  • Ability to lift and carry boxes up to 15 pounds
  • Excellent organizational skills
  • Ability to multitask
  • Strong communication and ability to interact with donors in a professional way 

Compensation:

The successful candidate can expect a starting hourly rate of between $20.91 and $26.14 depending on factors such as internally equity, experience, competencies, and education. Once hired, the hourly rates are reviewed annually following the annual performance review and successful employees have the opportunity for their hourly rate to increase, over time, up to the maximum of the pay band, currently $31.37.

We have been recognized as one of Canada’s Top 100 Employers for 2024!

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Covenant House Vancouver is a secular organization that welcomes and serves young people from all backgrounds. While the international federation to which we belong was founded in the 1970s by members of the Catholic Church, we are not aligned with any specific faith traditions.

CHV is committed to upholding diversity, equity, and inclusion in our workplace. We actively encourage applications from members of groups with historical and/or current barriers to equity, including, but not limited to:

  • Persons from groups marginalized due to race, ancestry, colour, religion/spiritual beliefs, or place of origin;
  • Persons with visible (physical) and/or invisible (mental) disabilities;
  • Persons who identify as women;
  • Persons of marginalized sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions; and
  • Indigenous persons.

We recognize that many of these identities intersect and that therefore, diversity, equity, and inclusion can be complex. We value the contributions that each person brings and are committed to ensuring full and equal participation for all at Covenant House Vancouver.

We love what we do and try to make a difference every day. Covenant House Vancouver offers a competitive salary with a great benefits package and excellent opportunity for training and career advancement. If you are looking to join a place where we have a purpose and aim to achieve positive outcomes, please join us by applying.

If our recruitment process does not work for you, let us know. Let’s see how we can work together to get to know you and see what might be a great fit!