Engagement Coordinator Indigenous Wellness Initiatives - Youth Wellness Hubs Ontario

The Engagement Coordinator will be responsible for leading the outreach, recruitment, and the onboarding of Indigenous advisors to support the PIYFAC at the YWHO PO.  As part of their role, the Engagement Coordinator will be responsible for various administrative tasks, including processing honoraria, organizing meetings/consultations, preparing agendas in advance of meetings, documenting key takeaways from conversations for follow up, and communicating with various staff and teams across the PO. 

Additional responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:

• Co-developing, facilitating and establishing direction, objectives, and consensus across diverse partners, including youth, family members, Knowledge Keepers, Elders, staff, and service providers.

• Provide coaching to multiple levels of organizational staff about effective youth and family engagement, including from an Indigenous lens. 

• Providing mentorship, direction, and support to Youth Engagement Specialists, as well as using strength-based problem solving, active listening, motivational interviewing, modeling, and other coaching strategies.

• Lead the development of engagement projects and overseeing the activities of a group of youth and family members/caregivers with lived/living experience with mental health and/or substance use challenges.

• Supporting meaningful engagement of youth and families by coordinating and facilitating advisory group meetings, focus groups, and consultations with broader groups of people with lived/living expertise; as well as supporting outreach, recruitment, and the onboarding of youth advisors

• Strategizing with various teams to select appropriate tactics for facilitating meaningful engagement of people with lived experience in each new initiative.

• Supporting integration of lived/living experience priorities and recommendations into decision-making across the YWHO initiative, including the PO, provincial-wide advocacy, and for implementation locally with YWHO Hub Networks

• Providing expertise and advice related to equity, anti-racism, anti-oppression, and Indigenous inclusion to strengthen internal YWHO practices to support the implementation and evaluation of the YWHO model across sites.

• Contributing to knowledge translation and education activities, including the development of training, infographics, tip sheets, webinars, videos, interactive and developmentally informed presentations, workshops, digital/print resources, and abstracts for conference submissions

• Other duties as required

This position requires the incumbent to be First Nations, Inuit or Métis. The successful candidates will have at least 3 years of experience working as a facilitator and lead engagement facilitator within a participatory action and/or lived experience engagement setting, or 5 years of experience working within a peer support setting, or another setting where lived experience as a recipient of mental health and/or addiction services is a core component, combined with proven expertise in facilitating lived experience focus/consultation/advisory groups and integrating the input of people with lived experience. The candidate must also have:  

• A thorough understanding of principles and practices of Indigenous youth and family engagement is required in addition to advisory and committee work experience.

• Demonstrated knowledge of First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities, cultures, perspectives and health service providers.

• Experience collaborating with and activating youth and families as equal collaborators with staff, engaging them in projects, conferences and educational presentations to share their knowledge, recommendations and solutions.

• Demonstrated experience conducting lived experience engagement in complex long-term projects in partnership with advisors of all ages and in a wide variety of settings is preferred.

• Proven experience of working within a co-creation model, where power-sharing and inclusion are integral to the success of the project.

• Demonstrated commitment to principles of equity, inclusivity, respect and social justice.

• Strong knowledge of Ontario’s mental health and addiction system/services.

• Excellent organizational, planning and time management skills, with the ability to multi-task, produce, and coordinate projects to tight deadlines

• Demonstrated ability to collaborate and work on a team, as well as function independently with minimal supervision. 

• Demonstrated strong interpersonal, communication (oral/written), community engagement, and creative problem-solving abilities are required.  

• Expertise in working with web-based technologies is preferred.

• Demonstrated experience upholding policies to protect privacy and safety of advisors and colleagues

• A high degree of familiarity with Microsoft Office (e.g., Outlook for email and calendar management), virtual meeting platforms (e.g., Webex, Zoom), and social media fluency. 

• Bilingualism (French/English) and/or the ability to speak an Indigenous language is also considered an asset.  

The YWHO Provincial Office at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) supports a healthy workplace that embraces diversity, encourages teamwork, and complies with all applicable standards and requirements. 

A valid license, access to vehicle and ability to drive as regular travel across Ontario is required as related to program assignments. This role will require work during some evening hours to perform duties. 

All applicants offered and accepting employment must complete either a Broad Record Check or Vulnerable Sector Police Record Check. The offer of employment will be conditional upon receipt of a satisfactory records check.

Salary Range: $37.51-$50.60/hour

CAMH is a fully affiliated teaching hospital and research institute of the University of Toronto. As a CAMH employee, you will contribute to our mission by supporting teaching, research, and clinical care across the hospital.

CAMH is dedicated to equity, diversity, and inclusion. Our commitment is to foster a workplace, teaching, and learning environment that is inclusive, respectful, and free from discrimination or harassment.

CAMH strongly encourages applications from candidates who reflect the diversity of the communities we serve, including First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Peoples; Black and other racialized communities; LGBTQ2S+ communities; women; and people with disabilities, including those with lived experience of mental health and substance use challenges.

We welcome applicants from all backgrounds. Thank you to all who apply; however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted. If you require accommodations during the application or recruitment process, please let us know.