VEC's Website

Vancouver's economic development agency

The Vancouver Economic Commission's (VEC) purpose was to build a resilient, zero-carbon, and inclusive economy for all in Vancouver.

The VEC's approach to economic development helped hundreds of local businesses grow and expand, informed landmark cities policies, helped create over 18,000 jobs, and facilitated billions of dollars of high-impact investment into Vancouver.

Businesses, government leaders, and industry change-makers came to the VEC's website looking for up to date economic metrics, unique perspectives on the opportunities and challenges of Vancouver's economy, or to enrol or learn more about the results-driven programs offered by the VEC.

Primary Responsibilities as Web Manager

Content management

Working with the communications manager, the marketing director, and relevant in-house subject matter experts I ensured that all content maintained brand consistency and aligned with overall brand strategy.

Responsive design

Using my knowledge of HTML and CSS, I often created custom, responsive page layouts for new landing pages, report download plages, and blog posts. I also made sure to test new pages on desktop and mobile devices to ensure compatibility.

Reporting & analytics

After maintaining a robust Universial Google Analytics property for 6 years, I transitioned the VEC website to Google Analytics 4 and setup several custom events and reports that aligned with our marketing strategy. I reported monthly KPIs in a custom-built Google Data studio report, the findings of which influenced the prioritization and design of new web features and content.

SEO

My monthly analytics reports also included SEO, where we tracked and monitored performance of a prioritized key word list. I also worked with the Communications Manager on SEO audits of key pages to ensure that they maintained their high ranking and to create new pages based on emerging key word opportunities.

Examples of my work

Vancouver Affordability Guide (2020)

Credits:

Data and research conducted by SFU Beedie and VEC, funding provided by Mitacs.

Project Details

The VEC collaborated with SFU's Beedie School of Business to produce an affordability guide for businesses and professionals seeking information about what costs are associated with moving and living in the Metro Vancouver area.

The guide had two objectives:

Provide prospective employees with a comprehensive view of the affordability landscape in Vancouver, including the cost of housing, childcare, and transportation.
The data needed to be presented in a way that was visually engaging, dynamic and easy to navigate based on the readers unique circumstance.

The second objective is where I came in. I sourced a web-based mapping tool that enabled me to build responsive, interactive neighbourhood maps so that the user can view prices by geographical location. I designed a custom transit map, tax breakdown infographics, and cost tables to help the reader sort through a lot of data and information. Finally, it had to align with the VEC's refreshed brand standards.

The end result was user-friendly, intuitive to navigate, and approachable. The guide was featured in local media outlets such as the Daily Hive and was one of our most visited webpages in 2020.

Economy Report Archive

Film & TV Industry Spend Data

Much of the work I do in supporting local organizations occurs on the unceeded lands of many nations including the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), səĺilwətaɁɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) and kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem) people which are now also home to First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. As work commonly happens both remotely and in-person, land acknowledgements allow us to engage in ongoing reconciliation by reflecting on individual connection with and responsibility to the land.