Contract position, June 2018 – March 31, 2019 (may be renewed depending on funding)
Reports to: Yúusnewas Program Manager Hours: 35 hours/week, negotiable on offer
Salary: $20/hour (may be eligible for an increase & extended health benefits, including paid days off and professional development funds on successful completion of 3 month probation)
Location: YouthCO (located at 568 Seymour St., Vancouver) and workshop sites throughout British Columbia
YouthCO works to reduce the impact of HIV and Hep C on the youth of British Columbia through peer support, education and meaningful community engagement. We strive to foster inclusive communities where youth empower youth to make informed decisions about their own well-being. We strive to end the stigma surrounding HIV and Hep C.
Yúusnewas is an Indigenous peer-led education program that provides workshops around safer sex strategies, HIV, Hep C, Harm Reduction, and Decolonizing Our Health across the province of British Columbia. We also provide space for Indigenous youth to connect to culture through the “Culture is Healing” program, where we use culture as a way to connect with our community and talk about things like HIV and sexual health. We approach the topic of sexual health by centering Indigenous perspectives and incorporating traditional teachings. We’ve been working hard to connect Yúusnewas’ programming with YouthCO’s values, specifically around anti-oppression and inclusivity, and are actively working to incorporate programming led by communities most impacted by HIV, including Indigenous communities. We work to provide safer spaces for Indigenous youth through ongoing learning around accountability and responding to community needs in real-time.
Position Description
The Provincial Outreach Educator will work alongside the Yúusnewas Program Manager using peer education approaches to lead workshops with youth about harm reduction, and decolonizing our health. The Yúusnewas team includes a Program Manager, two Provincial Outreach Educators, and an Outreach Coordinator. The successful applicant will travel throughout British Columbia (including up to two five day overnight trips per month*) to facilitate workshops at Indigenous schools, youth organizations, youth groups, and service providers in Indigenous communities. These workshops take place in remote and urban communities.
Duties and Responsibilities
With the support of the Yúusnewas team, the Provincial Outreach Educator will:
- Facilitate workshops about harm reduction, naloxone training, and decolonizing our health, to Indigenous youth in community-based organizations, youth groups, service providers, and Indigenous communities throughout British Columbia*
- May be asked to support the Yúusnewas team in facilitating workshops on HIV, Hep C, and Sexual Wellbeing
- On occasion, may facilitate workshops in non-Indigenous settings, including local schools and drop-in spaces
- Build relationships with community partners and members
- Promote traditional healing and ceremony as a way of taking care of ourselves
- Lead outreach to Indigenous youth in different settings including youth drop-ins, community centers, and community events
- Perform relevant administrative tasks including booking workshops, liaising with volunteers, and completing program evaluations
- Participate in facilitating YouthCO’s Core Training, hosted three times per year
- Facilitate programming during the annual five-day overnight First Directions video making retreat and workshop, typically hosted in March
Shared Leadership at YouthCO
Everyone at YouthCO is expected to participate in our approach to shared leadership which includes:
- Role modelling and demonstrating YouthCO’s values in professional and public spaces
- Participating in staff meetings regularly, including sharing successes, challenges, and providing timely updates about opportunities for peer learning
- Using YouthCO’s systems, policies, and procedures appropriately, e.g. NationBuilder, TimeMaster, program reporting tools, calendars, staff policy, etc.
- Supporting YouthCO’s online presence, including social media
- Asking for help and support from colleagues and supervisors
We’re looking for an Indigenous young person who …
- Is passionate about building supportive communities for youth living with HIV and Hepatitis C
- Will center Indigenous knowledge and teachings of health and wellbeing
- *Is able to travel up to two times per month to rural communities for 3-5 days at a time
- Has lived experience with HIV, Hep C, sexual health and/or harm reduction
- Is comfortable communicating in spoken, written, and verbal English. (Additional languages are an asset)
- Is able to use Microsoft Office
This position involves travel, and as such, ready access to a vehicle and/or being comfortable driving a rental car is necessary to reach some communities. Access to a vehicle and/or a driver’s license is an asset, but is not required. Please don’t let this be a reason not to apply!
Hiring Process
It doesn’t hurt to apply! You may have noticed this job doesn’t have a minimum requirement for education or number of years of experiences. We want to see your resume whatever level of education or work experience you have! As a peer-led organization, it is most important to us to hire someone who will connect with the communities that we work with.
We believe that youth are best positioned to connect with our peers on topics related to sex and substance use. As an organization that strives for anti-oppression and to hire youth who are most impacted by HIV, Hep C, colonization, racism, homophobia and transphobia, and other systems of oppression, it is important to us to hire people who are part of the communities we work with.
We strongly encourage youth who are under the age of 25, living with HIV or Hep C, Black, Indigenous, People of Colour, Two-Spirit, gay, bisexual, queer, transgender, and/or living with disabilities to apply.
How to apply: Applications, consisting of a resume and answers to four questions (below), are due by Friday, June 15th, 2018 at 10:00 AM. Please submit applications to [email protected] with the subject line: “Application – Yúusnewas Provincial Outreach Educator”.
When submitting your resume, please include responses to these four questions (max 250 words per question) in the body of e-mail or in an attachment:
1. How are you uniquely positioned to excel in this role?
2. Why is YouthCO’s mission important to you?
3. What are two strengths that you are excited to bring to the YouthCO team?
4. How are you connected to communities we engage with through Yúusnewas in Vancouver?
As a peer-led organization, we know that answering these questions may mean sharing information about our identities and experiences that is private, although doing so is not required. Any information you choose to share about your identity or experiences will be kept confidential, shared only with the hiring team, and shredded afterwards.
We will be in touch to confirm we have received your application, and to let you know whether or not you have been selected for an interview. Ideally, interviews will take place in person at the YouthCO office the week of June 18th – 22nd, 2018
Applicants are encouraged to get in touch with any questions or clarifications. Call the office at 604-688-1441 or email Kayla at [email protected]
*Most travel occurs between September and April; the amount of travel does fluctuate. In rare circumstances, the Provincial Outreach Educator may have the opportunity to travel more than twice per month although this will not be required.