Urbanarium creates Canada’s largest affordable housing competition series and Metro Vancouver talks, debates, and studios that inspire creative and pragmatic urban solutions. Our 2025 Report provides an overview of the competition series and what we were up to last year.
Come work with us! We have a great opportunity to welcome a project manager to the organization’s team who will coordinate program delivery.
Reporting to the Executive Director and working closely with the Board of Directors and their programming committees, the project manager will support the development and production of relevant, well-informed and cohesive competition editions incorporating anchor programs that inform, challenge, investigate, and bring forward the challenges and solutions generated by the competition.
By taking ownership of day-to-day project management, this position's work will be key in helping achieve Urbanarium’s long-term strategic goals around affordable living and climate change.
Responsibilities will take place on a number of platforms in a variety of ways:
Competition Delivery
- Manage full competition lifecycle from planning to launch to awards and dissemination
- Coordinate committee logistics, agendas, minutes, and action items
- Build timelines, workplans, and production schedules to execute competition plan
- Coordinate multiple events including venue, AV, catering, accessibility, signage and logistics
- Manage entrants, jury, technical advisors
- Support with sponsors and partners
- Manage/support with competition asset development such as trophy, publication and merch development and production
Anchor Programming Delivery
- Manage other programming such as debates, studios and talks
- Manage coordination speakers and debaters once secured by committees
- Manage event-day coordination including production schedule, scripts, slides, and all logistics
Administration and Reporting
- Track budgets, expenses, and program deliverables
- Maintain program records and documentation
- Produce event summaries and reports
- Collect attendance, feedback, and evaluation data
Fundraising
- Research grant opportunities for programming
- Draft grant applications and reports
- Collect data and supporting materials
- Coordinate competition sponsorship deliverables and fundraising admin
- Track deadlines, deliverables, and funder requirements
This position requires:
- 5+ years experience in urban design, planning, architecture, development or related city-making sectors
- Exceptional organizational skills and attention to detail
- Strong written and verbal communication skills
- Programming and event production experience
- Ability to work collaboratively with executive-level colleagues, committees, and external partners
- Proficiency in Google Workspace
- A knack for providing hospitality and stakeholder stewardship
Working Conditions
- Salary is based on 40-hour work week
- Work is mostly performed in an accessible downtown Vancouver office, but can include our small, pop-up studio space on Granville Island and work from home days
- Occasional evening and non-traditional hours required for events, board meetings, and programming.
- Opportunity to work with government leaders and other leaders in city-making fields
- Professional development and other learning opportunities provided
Compensation Range
$70,000 - $85,000
Full-time position, with benefits, competitive vacation and professional development funds
Land Acknowledgement
The Vancouver Urbanarium Society acknowledges that Metro Vancouver is the unceded, traditional and ancestral territory of many First Nations including 10 local First Nations: the Katzie, Kwantlen, Kwikwetlem, Matsqui, Musqueam, Qayqayt, Semiahmoo, Squamish, Tsawwassen and Tsleil-Waututh.
As an organization that focuses on city-making, Urbanarium knows that how we relate to the land we occupy matters. We are actively working on reconciling our relationship to colonialism and are prepared for this to change the way we work. Our programming and other outputs aim to reflect First Nations perspectives and elevate respectful approaches to land use and land rights.
To Apply
Please fill up a short application form, which should take about 5 minutes to complete. You will be asked to upload a brief cover letter and resume as a single PDF file.
Application Deadline: Monday, August 24, 2026, 11:59 PM PST. To support our hiring timeline, we will begin reviewing applications as received and may contact candidates before the deadline.
If you have any questions, please email us at careers@urbanarium.org.
We encourage applications from people of colour, Black and Indigenous people, members of the LGBTQ2SIA+ community, gender diverse people, Disabled people, neurodivergent people, immigrants, and other candidates with lived experience of systemic oppression.
About Us
Urbanarium is a forum for the discussion of ideas and issues dedicated to helping people improve our cities. Our programming works to inspire actionable solutions to the urgent challenges of the day, from housing affordability to climate change. With a sustained interest in the creative and the pragmatic, we create competitions, debates, talks and studios that help us discover more about ourselves and our cities.
Vancouver Urbanarium Society is a registered charity led by a 20-person Board of Directors made up of people who are passionate about city building, including architects, landscape architects, planners, developers, academics, community organization leaders and more. As well, we have 12 distinguished individuals on a Board of Advisors and a long roster of energetic and committed volunteers. We currently have two full-time staff who advance the work with care and dedication.
Learn more at urbanarium.org