Commitment: 8 months, 35 hours/week (You are expected to work primarily out of the LEDlab offices in downtown Vancouver on a 9-4 schedule, although flexibility can be given to students finishing course work.)
Start date: September 6, 2016
End date: April 28, 2016
Compensation: $20,000, non­negotiable (Funding for this position is provided by Mitacs Canada and stipends are fixed. You must be a graduate student at a Canadian university to apply. No exceptions. This is not an employee position. Candidates are expected to have their own laptop.)

The Local Economic Development Lab (LEDlab), initiated and closely supported by Ecotrust Canada and RADIUS SFU, incubates community ­driven social enterprise for a more vibrant and inclusive local economy in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. We do this by partnering with local organizations and leaders, resourcing them with talented full­-time graduate students, and working collectively with experts in a ‘Lab’ format to develop shared skills and knowledge, collaborate, and test new ideas to change the local economic system over time.

Our intended outcomes are to:

1. Catalyze new economic activity that benefits the local low-­income community;
2. Equip local individuals, organizations, and networks with the tools, methods, processes and agency to advance future ideas on their own; and to
3. Build stronger networks and opportunities for collaboration and coordination amongst inner city organizations, residents, funders and other stakeholders.

Community Partner: Portland Hotel Society

Project: Honest Bikes

Bicycles are a main source of transportation for DTES residents and their availability and trade an important part of the local economy. Honest Bikes will be a new 465 sq ft bike hub on Hastings St. at Columbia, which will build, repair and maintain bicycles drawing on partnerships with Our Community Bikes, Vancouver Police Department, and the passion and enthusiasm of local residents. This new space will be located alongside a 60 bed homeless shelter run by PHS and will offer opportunities for positive and productive engagement for shelter residents and many other community members in the DTES.

Honest Bikes will be a signature house ­brand of bicycle built and maintained at the bike hub. Honest Bikes is to become a platform for entrepreneurship, intended to unlock of the potential of DTES residents to generate income for themselves and others. Bike building will be complemented by the scheduling of bicycling­-related programs, such as guided rides, that will harness the potential of bicycles to increase the wellbeing of community members

Your role will be to:

• Be a flexible, effective, and supportive ally to Jonathan Orr, director of the Honest Bikes. As a startup social enterprise, this will require a diversity of skills, and a willingness to go above and beyond.
• Prototype the Honest Bikes self-­employment model, and document its success
• Build the business case for Honest Bikes, and create financial projections and a fundraising plan for the future of the project
• Support partnership development with various stakeholders
• Support ongoing development and improvement of Honest Bikes operations and systems

Is this you?

• You love bikes!! You can’t get enough of them.
• You have a ‘start up’ mentality ­ you will do what’s needed to get the job done, you thrive in dynamic and creative environments, you easily build and maintain partnerships to enhance your work
• You’re familiar with human centered design and lean methodology, and have a knack for prototyping and testing new ideas
• You understand social enterprise, and particularly hybrid non­profit/for-­profit models. You enjoy deep dives into spreadsheets, and are detail oriented
• You’re an enabler. You can work alongside a diversity of stakeholders, you are self­-aware and know how to led others take the lead
• You are fascinated with new economic models, and think the economy is something that should work for people

Deliverables:

1. Case study of Honest Bikes model, including impact assessment.
2. Sharable infographics and/or other community engagement tools to help easily disseminate learnings online and at community events
3. A minimum of two blogs about your experience as an LEDlab Project Coordinator

How to Apply:

Apply by sending a cover letter, CV, and a writing sample to Kiri Bird at info at ledlab.ca by midnight, Sunday June 12th, 2016. Identify which position you are applying for in the subject of the email.

In your cover letter, address the following questions:

1. Why do you you want to join the LEDlab team? (100 words)
2. Tell us about the skills you have to get the job done (150 words)
3. Tell us about an experience that has profoundly changed you (150 words)
4. Tell us about a time you tried something and failed, what happened next? (150 words)

SOURCE: The Local Economic Development Lab (LEDlab)