EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

Engagement Coordinator - Youth

Black Health Strategy

Provincial System Support Program

The Provincial System Support Program (PSSP) at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) works with communities, service providers, government, and system partners, including Ontario Health's Mental Health and Addictions Centre of Excellence (CoE), to move evidence to action and create sustainable change in Ontario’s mental health and addictions system. With expertise in implementation, knowledge mobilization, evaluation, equity, lived experience engagement, and data management, PSSP is on the ground across the province, collaborating with a wide variety of health and social care partners to build a stronger, more equitable and more accessible mental health and substance use care system.

Job Description:

PSSP is seeking a full-time, contract (1 year), Engagement Coordinator to work in our Black Health Strategy portfolio. This position will report to the Senior Manager, Black Health Strategy. The Engagement Coordinator will lead youth engagement activities across programs and services that seek to improve the health and wellbeing of Black children, youth and communities, including the Substance Abuse Program for African Canadian and Caribbean Youth (SAPACCY). SAPACCY is the first-ever Canadian hospital and community partnership focused on advancing care for Black youth. This model of care provides safe, accessible, Africentric and racial trauma-informed support for Black youth and families who are impacted by mental health and/or substance use concerns, and is currently available at eight (8) locations across Ontario.

In this role, you will be involved in supporting youth engagement activities across SAPACCY community partner sites and related projects, and supporting the implementation of participatory research and system transformation initiatives in the context of broader engagement and clinical research activities involving Black youth and communities. This will include coordinating the activities of a Provincial Black Youth Advisory Panel (BYAP), comprised of diverse Black youth between the ages of 12-29 years, and supporting the development of a Provincial Black Youth Online Network to ensure that our work centres the voices and lived experiences of Black youth. You will work collaboratively and effectively with the Black Health Strategy team at PSSP, the Youth Empowerment Initiative team in the Margaret and Wallace McCain Centre for Child, Youth and Family Mental Health, with the broader CAMH and PSSP team, and with various community partners, including the Black Health Alliance.

The Engagement Coordinator will be an expert engagement program developer and facilitator, and will be able to lead the development of engagement projects, support social media engagement, blogging, oversee the development of interactive and developmentally informed presentations, workshops and on-line and print resources, and provide guidance and coaching to team members about effective youth & community engagement and facilitation. Additionally, they will contribute to the development of proposals, reports and manuscripts.

Further, the Engagement Coordinator will have expertise in using participatory action research strategies involving robustly engaging diverse end-users in the co-creation/co-design of projects, interviews, focus groups and other user-centered modalities. The Engagement Coordinator will support the development of a program that incorporates evaluation approaches reflecting the priorities of diverse Black youth and communities. Central to this role will be a thorough understanding and an ability to apply strategies that support equity and inclusion of people with lived experience. Involvement in this range of activities demands that the Engagement Coordinator be adept at working within teams that involve engaging and activating people with lived experience along with people with other types of expertise, including health care professionals, researchers, digital developers, editors, graphic designers, external funders and project managers. You will possess high-level communication skills, including both oral and written communication, especially as they are applied to plain language writing and editing, to promote access to information, health literacy and social inclusion.

You will support a healthy workplace that embraces diversity, encourages teamwork and complies with all applicable and regulatory requirements. The successful candidate will be committed to respectful, ethical, culturally responsive, and youth focused programming and aware of best practices related to engagement with Black youth and communities. Applicants who are members of diverse Black communities and reflective of intersectional Black experiences (e.g., 2SLGBTQIA+, faith and traditional spiritual communities, newcomer, etc.) and young people are strongly encouraged to apply.

This position is located in Toronto. This position may involve remote work / work from home, with a minimum of two days per week working in the office, and may be subject to change. This role may also require occasional travel within Ontario and some evening hours.

Qualifications and Requirements:

• The successful candidate will have lived experience as a member of the diverse African, Caribbean and/or Black communities; lived experience as a recipient of mental health and/or substance use services would be a strong asset
• The successful candidate will have 3 years of experience working in youth and community engagement with diverse African, Caribbean and/or Black communities within a collective impact or participatory action setting, or 5 years of experience working within a peer support setting or related field where lived experience as a recipient of mental health and/or substance use services is a core component
• Experience supporting health initiatives and/or community development work that centres the dismantling of anti-Black racism, anti-oppressive and anti-racist practices, or culturally responsive clinical care and its collective impact would be an asset
• Demonstrated experience fostering spaces that are inclusive and affirming of intersectional experiences of Black youth (e.g. 2SLGBTQIA+, newcomer, faith and traditional spiritual communities, etc.)
• Proven expertise in facilitating youth focus/consultation/advisory groups and integrating the input of youth
• Professional-level project coordination skills and strong verbal and written communication skills are required
• Experience working within a co-creation model, where power-sharing and inclusion are integral to the success of the project, is required
• Expertise in working within participatory action research and/or patient-oriented research is highly desirable.
• Ability to work effectively in a wide-range of settings with individuals from diverse backgrounds and program areas is required
• Expertise in working with w eb-based technologies is a desirable skill in this position
• Bilingualism (French/English) or an ability to communicate in languages other than English, including Indigenous languages spoken in Ontario and languages and dialects spoken in the African Diaspora would be an asset

Vaccines (COVID-19 and others) are a requirement of the job unless you have an exemption on a medical ground pursuant to the Ontario Human Rights Code.

Please Note: This full-time, contract (1 year) contract position is part of the OPSEU Bargaining Unit.

Salary Range: $33.59 - $45.31 per hour

Please click the apply button below.

CAMH is a Tobacco-Free Organization.

CAMH is fully affiliated with the University of Toronto and is a teaching hospital and research institute. As a CAMH employee, you will be expected to actively support CAMH’s teaching and research activities, in addition to supporting the clinical work of the hospital.

At CAMH, we strive to be an equitable and inclusive employer. Our commitment to equity is grounded in an institution-wide commitment to achieving a working, teaching, and learning environment that is free of discrimination and harassment.

CAMH actively seeks candidates from First Nations, Métis and Inuit, racialized and LGBTQ2S+ communities, women, and people with disabilities (including people who have experienced mental health and substance use challenges).

We encourage people from all backgrounds to apply to our positions.
We thank all applicants for their interest, however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted. Please inform us if you require accommodations during the interview process.