Director, Chinatown Storytelling Centre at Vancouver Chinatown Foundation

Director, Chinatown Storytelling Centre

Location: 168 East Pender Street, Vancouver BC

Type: Full-Time (35 hours/week)

Reports to: Chief Executive Officer, Vancouver Chinatown Foundation

Compensation: $120,000 – $135,000, commensurate with experience

About the Chinatown Storytelling Centre

Opened by the Vancouver Chinatown Foundation in November 2021, the Chinatown Storytelling Centre (CSC)

is the first permanent space of its kind in Canada dedicated to the Chinese Canadian experience as told

through the lens of Vancouver’s Chinatown. The CSC presents exhibits, public and educational programming,

an artefact and archives collection, and the Learning Lab, a dedicated space for hands-on educational

engagement with students, families, and community groups.

Position Summary

The Vancouver Chinatown Foundation is seeking a Director to lead the Chinatown Storytelling Centre into its

next chapter as one of Vancouver’s most distinctive cultural destinations. Reporting to the CEO of the

Vancouver Chinatown Foundation, the Director is the senior leader on site: the public face of the Centre, the

executive responsible for its audience and earned-revenue growth, and the leader of its operational team.

The Director provides executive leadership across the CSC’s operations, working through the CSC Manager

and alongside parallel functions at the Foundation. The Director leads the CSC’s public engagement, business

development, audience growth, and team leadership, while collaborating with the curatorial team, the events

& rentals team, and the VCF marketing, fundraising, and membership teams in their respective domains.

The curatorial function at the CSC reports directly to the CEO and operates as a parallel function to the

Director. The Director and the curatorial team work in close collaboration as peers: the Director focused on

audience, public engagement, business development, and operations; the curatorial team responsible for

exhibits, archives, films, and editorial content.

Day-to-day operations are handled by the CSC Manager, who reports to the Director. The Director’s role is to

set strategy, secure partnerships, grow revenue, represent the Centre externally, and lead the team.

We are looking for an experienced cultural-sector leader who is comfortable as the public face of the Centre,

who can grow audiences and earned revenue, and who can lead a senior team. Proficiency in Cantonese and

experience working within Chinese Canadian communities would be considered strong assets.

Primary Responsibilities

Public Engagement & External Representation

• Serve as the public face and lead spokesperson for the Chinatown Storytelling Centre as an institution

and destination, representing it to government, media, donors, corporate clients, and community on

matters of strategy, partnership, and operations.

• Cultivate and steward relationships with community organizations, schools, post-secondary

institutions, local businesses, and cultural institutions in Canada and abroad.

• Represent the CSC at public events, openings, civic gatherings, conferences, and off-site

engagements, including occasional public-speaking and ambassador appearances.

• Defer to and amplify the curatorial team as the authoritative voice on content, exhibits, and editorial

matters.

Business Development & Revenue Growth

• Develop and grow the CSC’s earned revenue across audience-driven lines, including ticketed

admissions, paid public programs, memberships, and on-site retail where applicable.

• Build the CSC’s sales pipeline for space rentals, corporate events, and filming opportunities, in close

collaboration with the Foundation’s Events & Rentals team, who execute and deliver booked events.

• Cultivate sponsorships and corporate partnerships in collaboration with the VCF fundraising team,

who steward and execute donor relationships.

• Support the growth of the CSC’s membership program in collaboration with the VCF membership

team, contributing strategy, partnerships, and public visibility.

• Guide the CSC’s grant strategy and maintain a working knowledge of the BC and federal funding

landscape sufficient to quality-control submissions prepared by staff or consultants.

Audience Engagement & Public Programming

• Set the strategy for audience growth and visitor engagement at the CSC, with clear visitation and

engagement goals and an operational plan to meet them.

• Work in tandem with the CSC’s curatorial, education, and programming teams to ensure that

exhibits, content, and the Learning Lab reach the broadest possible audience through strong public

programming, partnerships, and outreach.

• Provide executive oversight of public programming — talks, tours, family days, community events,

and seasonal activations — delivered by the programming team.

• Collaborate with the VCF marketing and communications team on the CSC’s brand, audience

development, and storytelling across newsletters, social media, press, and campaigns. The CSC works

closely with VCF marketing; the Director represents the Centre’s priorities within that partnership

rather than driving marketing strategy or content.

• Coordinate with the education team on the Learning Lab’s school bookings and alignment with the

BC curriculum.

Team Leadership & Operations

• Provide executive leadership to the CSC’s operational team — encompassing education, programming,

front-of-house, and volunteer functions — primarily through the CSC Manager, who is responsible

for day-to-day building operations.

• Foster a positive, inclusive, and safe work environment across the CSC team, in partnership with the

Volunteer Manager and VCF HR.

• Lead the annual planning and budgeting cycle for the CSC, working with VCF’s accounting function on

financial reporting, controls, and record keeping.

• Oversee strategic recruitment and performance management for senior operational staff, in

partnership with VCF HR.

• Maintain the strategic and administrative systems that allow the CSC to operate as a high-functioning

cultural destination.

The ideal candidate will have the following qualifications:

• Senior leadership experience. 5+ years of progressively senior experience in the cultural, museum,

hospitality, non-profit, or attractions sector, including accountability for revenue, staff, and external

partnerships.

• Public-facing presence. Experience representing an organization externally to media, government,

donors, partners, and community, with the polish and judgment that role requires.

• Revenue growth track record. Experience growing earned revenue at a cultural venue, attraction, or

comparable destination — through audience development, programming, memberships,

partnerships, event cultivation, or comparable lines.

• Team leadership. Experience leading staff and operational teams, ideally through a manager or layer

of management, with a track record of building positive, high-performing work cultures.

• Collaborative orientation. A track record of working effectively alongside curatorial, content, or

creative teams as a peer, enabling their work to reach audiences without displacing their authorship

or editorial independence; comfort operating within a matrix of parallel functions.

• Fundraising literacy. A working knowledge of BC and federal funding structures, sponsorship, and

donor cultivation, sufficient to direct and quality-control submissions prepared by staff or

consultants.

• Community sensibility. A genuine understanding of, and demonstrated ability to work within,

Chinese Canadian and other diverse cultural communities.

• Communication skills. Exceptional writing, presentation, and public-speaking ability.

• Relevant education. A post-secondary degree in a relevant field (e.g., Arts Administration, Museum

Studies, Asian Studies, History, Hospitality, Business, or related).

• Operational and systems thinking. Strong organizational and administrative judgment, with

proficiency in using software and technology to build organizational capacity.

• Flexibility. Willingness to work and weekends consistent with the rhythms of a public-facing cultural

venue.

• Proficiency in Cantonese would be a strong asset.

• Familiarity with Chinese Canadian history, heritage, or community organizations would be a strong

asset.

• Familiarity with the BC school curriculum and provincial learning outcomes would be a strong asset.