Position: LEDlab Project Coordinator - HxBIA
Commitment: 8 months, 35 hours/week¹
Start date: September 11, 2017
End date: April 27, 2018
Compensation: $20,000, non-negotiable²

The Local Economic Development Lab (LEDlab), initiated and closely supported by Ecotrust Canada and RADIUS SFU, incubates community-driven social innovation projects 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.

LEDlab program objectives are to build, test and scale solutions that put money in the pockets of low income residents; enhance the capacity of individuals, organizations, and networks; and shift traditional patterns of power and resource use in the community in service of a more placebased and collaborative model of economic development.

Community Partner: Hastings Crossing Business Improvement Association (HxBIA)
Project: Building Pipeline for Social Enterprise

Supporting more than 650 businesses and property owners in the Downtown Eastside, HxBIA is a unique Business Improvement Association that takes a leadership role in managing change and shaping a more resilient, inclusive and sustainable local economy. Through collaboration with business members, nonprofits, and government they bridge the needs of local businesses
with community organizations to foster a vibrant local economy for all. HxBIA was founded with social innovation as part of its by-laws, making it unique amongst BIAs. For a more comprehensive list of services provided by the BIA, visit the HxBIA website.

“Building a Pipeline for Social Enterprise” is a business development project that aims to build a better sales organization for nonprofit social enterprise in the DTES. While more than 25 nonprofit social enterprises offer products and services in the DTES that create social and economic benefits for community members, most rely on partnerships, referrals, and marketing to sell their products and services. Few organizations have the resources and capacity to invest in generating new outbound leads through business development.

HxBIA is testing an assumption that the BIA might play a role in understanding member businesses‟ labour, services, and procurement needs, and in turn, connect qualified leads with social enterprises that can fill those needs. This will require building relationships with and assessing the needs of HxBIA business members, making connections to social enterprises, and implementing scalable, repeatable processes to manage information and measure results of this experimental initiative. The relationships you develop will be profiled in HxBIA‟s award winning annual event Experience Hastings Crossing.

Your role will be to:

• Research your territory (HxBIA businesses) and select businesses to target for engagement
• Work with HxBIA businesses to understand what needs they have, including labour (e.g. full time regular, part time regular, task-based), contract services (e.g. window washers, security, litter pick up, etc), or procurement (e.g. office supplies, food)
• Capture and populate HxBIA‟s customer relationship management (CRM) system with findings and business members‟ information
• Prototype a process for working with social enterprise to receive qualified leads and capture outcomes of the business development partnership
• Support HxBIA with organizing the Experience Hastings Crossing event and sharing the story of your work

Is this you?

• You‟re experienced in business development and process design
• You‟re fired up about sales strategy, and you want to use your business skills for good
• You‟re familiar with customer relationship management software and have a knack for information design
• You‟re motivated and outcomes driven, you thrive when given targets and deliverables
• You understand the needs of small businesses, have a basic understanding of social enterprise
• Knowledge of DTES social enterprise an asset
• You are fascinated with new economic models. You think the economy is something that should work for people, and you want to contribute your skills and talent to making that happen.

Deliverables:

1. A populated CRM system with the necessary project information
2. Evidence of growth in developing new business relationships, with new ways to engage potential stakeholders into participation
3. Experience Hastings Crossing event held with new, creative, and strategic partnerships formed and showcased
4. Project Case Study and Final Outcomes Report due to LEDlab
5. A minimum of two blogs about your experience as an LEDlab Project Coordinator

How to Apply: Please visit http://ledlab.ca/201718_hiring/ for an overview and instructions on how to apply by midnight June 13th, 2017.

1. 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.
2. 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.