Outdoors Coordinator

July 30, 2026

In 1986, a small group of human rights activists and mental health workers gathered in Vancouver to support the flood of refugees arriving from the armed conflicts in South and Central America. They founded the Vancouver Association for Survivors of Torture (VAST), and this dedicated group of volunteers built what would become BC’s largest center for refugee mental health. Today, VAST works with refugees from over 100 countries in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America.

Our programs and services are offered in over a dozen languages, including Arabic, Farsi, French, Mandarin, and Spanish. We support the mental health of refugees who arrive in British Columbia with psychological trauma as a result of torture, political violence, and other forms of persecution on the basis of race, religion, gender identity, and sexual orientation.

We facilitate the healing process for 2500 survivors of torture each year, and their families, by providing accessible and culturally appropriate individual and group counselling and therapeutic services. We also provide psycho-legal documentation and support refugee claimants through the asylum process, and are called in to work with Temporary Foreign Workers in Canada when their particular situation requires our support. Canada is a signatory to the UN’s Convention Against Torture (1985), and the Refugee Convention (1951), both of which oblige us to protect the rights of survivors of forced displacement, including the Right to Rehabilitation, and to provide safe haven to those who at risk of persecution.

VAST is an active member of the International Rehabilitation Council for Victims of Torture (IRCT), and the Canadian Network for Survivors of Torture and Trauma (CNSTT).

Employment Type:

Contractor

Hours:

Part-time (15 hours/week)

Rate of Pay: $27.05 per hour

Work Format:
Hybrid (In-Field Outdoor Sessions, In-Office Collaboration, and Remote Admin)

The VAST Outdoors program was launched in January 2019, initiating with 3 months of research, program design, grant writing, and gathering input from the VAST community. The first Outdoors activity took place in April 2019, and we had a total of 12 sessions for over 25 participants (including an overnight camping trip) until April 2020. In October 2019 VAST received a one-year grant from MEC to support the program.

From March-July 2020 we spent time restructuring and redesigning the program to ensure safety and support with the COVID-19 context. Our existing Coordinator had to move away from Vancouver, and in July 2020 VAST re-hired for the Outdoors Coordinator position.

The VAST Outdoors Coordinator will oversee the day-to-day implementation of the two-year Walking in Your Lands project across Vancouver, Surrey, Nanaimo, Prince George, and an additional partner community to be confirmed. The role will focus on creating accessible, trauma-informed opportunities for refugees and newcomers to rebuild connection to land, place, identity, and community following displacement. The Coordinator will organize year-round guided walks, seasonal gatherings, medicinal plant and healing garden activities, participant transportation, and other program logistics.

They will also liaise with Indigenous Elders, knowledge holders, land-based educators, facilitators, and regional partners to ensure activities are grounded in Indigenous teachings about land, stewardship, reciprocity, and responsibility to place. In addition, the Coordinator will coordinate and facilitate regional training, locally adapted program delivery, the development of the project handbook and toolkit, partner communication, activity tracking, reporting, evaluation, and the ongoing strengthening of respectful relationships between Indigenous and newcomer communities.

• Schedule and plan up to four outdoor activities a month, two on weekdays, two on weekends – two more leisurely, two challenging (Less during cold seasons)
• Plan a camping trip in summer
• Develop Surrey Outdoors program
• Build relationship with VAST clinical team to ensure effective communication

• Collaborate…