Requisition Number: STAFF002399
Type: Internal & External – Full-Time, Indeterminate
Hours of Work: 36 hours per week; Mondays through Fridays with every second Friday free from work. Flexible hours are needed, typically from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Compensation: (90K-92K) annually, depending on education and experience, plus a generous leave, benefits, and pension package
Program & Location: Vancouver, Downtown Eastside
Deadline: By noon Sep 25, 2026
Atira Women’s Resource Society (Atira) is a non-profit organization known for inclusionary hiring practices, values-driven work, and innovative approaches to supporting communities it serves. Rooted in feminist, anti-violence principles, Atira provides housing, programs, and supports for people of all genders, with a continued focus on addressing gendered violence, misogyny, and systemic oppression. Atira believes a job is more than a paycheque – it’s an opportunity to contribute to meaningful systemic and social change.
About the Job:
Reporting directly to the Director, Community of Programs, the Staff Lawyer will lead Atira’s celebrated Legal Advocacy Program in providing legal services to women. Current practice areas for the role include but are not limited to human rights, police accountability, income and housing security, information and privacy law, access to justice, and gender-based violence. The Program also offers basic support and referrals to women with family law issues, or issues related to the State removal of children. The Staff Lawyer will also have the opportunity to participate in and contribute to broader systemic change through litigation, calls for law reform, legal education, and community advocacy, as well as lead and support students and volunteers who are drawn to participate in Atira’s Legal Advocacy Program based on its reputation for excellence in gender, race, and poverty-based activism.
Please note: This program serves individuals who identify and live full time as women, including those who have experienced gender based violence and misogyny.
To ensure a safe, accessible, trauma informed, and culturally responsive environment for residents, this position requires staff who identify and live full time as women. The presence of women staff is essential to meeting residents’ needs related to safety, dignity, privacy, and effective support.
Applicants must identify and live full time as women (including cisgender, transgender, Two Spirit, intersex women) or non-binary to be eligible for this position.
This requirement is consistent with established best practices under human rights laws for providing services to vulnerable groups and reflects our commitment to providing community based, gender responsive service delivery and supports the development of trust, safety, and meaningful engagement between (residents/tenants/ participants) and staff
About You:
You are aligned with Atira’s mission, vision, values, and philosophy and bring a strong commitment to anti-oppression and intersectional practice. You understand the impacts of colonialism, especially in Canada, including the legacy of the residential school system, and you approach your work with cultural humility and respect.
You are comfortable working in a harm reduction environment and supporting people who may be experiencing substance use and/or mental wellness challenges. You support those who choose abstinence while recognizing abstinence is just one option among many. You are inclusive and affirming of people of all genders, including transgender, Two-Spirit, intersex, transfeminine and non-binary individuals, and understand the realities of gendered violence, misogyny, systemic barriers and how these harms disproportionately impact women. You are sex worker positive – you understand sex work, including survival sex work, as part of a broader social, economic, and gendered context and bring an approach grounded in respect, autonomy, and dignity.
You treat others with fairness and respect, challenge practices that conflict with shared values, and contribute to a supportive, accountable team environment. You inspire others through your commitment to anti-violence and promoting equity, prioritize the needs of the communities we serve, and challenge the status quo to improve quality and sustainability. You take smart risks and make thoughtful, timely decisions.
Lived experience and connection to the community served are assets. Atira encourages applications from individuals whose lived experience reflects the diversity of the communities we serve.
Programs specifically serving First Nations, Métis, and Inuk women and children, hiring preference will be given to First Nations, Métis, and Inuk women.
Additional Requisites/Assets:
Application Process:
Please provide a cover letter with a current resume describing how you meet or exceed the above-noted qualifications. Candidates who lack the experience and qualifications set out in the posting will not be considered. Please go to www.atira.bc.ca/careers for a current list of postings.
Our mission at Atira Women's Resource Society is twofold: to provide direct services to women and children fleeing violence, and to raise awareness of all forms of gendered violence through education and advocacy.
Since 1983, Atira has offered safe and supportive housing to women and children impacted by violence, as well as a range of services in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, Burnaby, Surrey, White Rock, and Richmond.
These services include: long-term and transitional housing, shelter programs, housing outreach and homelessness prevention programs, outreach to senior women and First Nations, Metis and Inuit women affected by violence, support for parents and children who witness abuse, legal support, Stopping the Violence counseling, the 16-step program, and self-employment initiatives.
Our programs are accessible to anyone who identifies and lives full time as a woman and who experiences gendered violence and misogyny, including trans, two spirit and intersex women and or those who identify with a femme of centre non-binary gender.
Critical to the development of our programs and services, Atira's work is informed by the understanding that women's experience of violence often intersects with poverty, racism, substance use, and lack of support for mothering. We also recognize that in addition to providing safety and respect, all of our programs must invite and encourage women’s collaboration and that women must have the opportunity to be active participants in all of our services.
Every woman and child has the right to live without abuse. To learn more about Atira's philosophy, mission, and work in the Metro Vancouver Area, please visit www.atira.bc.ca
