Harm Reduction Worker
Sandy Hill Community Health Centre, Canada
Job Description
Internal/External Employment Opportunity
Position Title: Harm Reduction Worker
Component/Team: Oasis
Status 1: Permanent, 1.0 FTE Full-Time (35 hours per week)
Status 2: 15 Month Contract, 1.0 FTE Full-Time (35 hours per week)
Salary Scale: $46,283 $55,747 annualized salary plus benefits
# of Positions: 3
Start Date: Immediately
APPLICATION DEADLINE: June 7, 2023 at 4:00 p.m.
Position Description:
The role of the Harm Reduction Worker is to ensure that participants, clients and guests of the Centre have access to services and support to minimize harms associated with substance use and to restore their agency and to achieve their self-defined recovery goals.
The Harm Reduction Worker is a resource for participants, clients, and guests providing general information about resources available at the Centre to facilitate access to services. The Harm Reduction Worker plays a vital role in establishing positive relationships and will monitor client behaviour to detect situations that if not addressed, may become problematic.
As part of a team of Harm Reduction Workers the Harm Reduction Worker plays key roles in the supervised injection service: Safer injection and smoking supply distribution, Injection Room support and post injection Drop in Support.
Reporting Relationship:
The Harm Reduction Worker is directly accountable to the CTS Team Leader and through him/her to the Director of Oasis and to the Executive Director.
Requirements
Skills, Education and Experience:
Requirements for this position include:
Education and Language
- College diploma in related field
- An equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered
- Be a member in good standing of a college or order such as the College of Registered Social Workers and Social Service Workers
- Under the Centre’s designation to provide French Language Services, this position is designated bilingual preferred:
- French (oral expression): Advanced
- French (oral comprehension): Advanced
- French (reading comprehension): Advanced
- Fluency in English, both oral and written
Professional Experience
- One year experience working in a role that places an emphasis on harm reduction, engaging clients and de-escalating problematic behaviour in a therapeutic manner.
- Experience working with a broad range of populations, including: youth, street involved, people living with mental health issues, people living with substance use disorder, multi-cultural communities and disenfranchised groups
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
- Excellent interpersonal skills
- A non-judgmental and positive attitude towards street-involved people, people who are HIV+ or who are at risk of becoming HIV+ and people with substance use disorder, mental illness and concurrent disorders
- Excellent active listening skills
- Knowledge of community resources in Ottawa
- Ability to work within a harm reduction framework
- Ability to de-escalate an acting out client in a therapeutic manner
- Ability to work under stress with multiple demands
- Ability to identify client service needs
Hours of Work
- Currently looking for availability Monday to Friday. Shifts will be based on a rotating six week schedule and will be 9.5 hours in length (excluding breaks).
Benefits
Sandy Hill Community Health Centre offers employees an excellent benefits package which includes 4 weeks holidays (pro-rated to status) in addition to a Pension Plan (Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan - HOOPP) and excellent Group Insurance Plan.
Conditions of Employment:
Hours of work will be developed in collaboration with the successful candidate to ensure a healthy work-life balance. A schedule of work will be based on the Centre’s hours of operation and program requirements.
An offer of employment will be conditional upon the candidate completing a criminal reference check, verification of educational requirement for this position and linguistic profile to the satisfaction of the Sandy Hill Community Health Centre.
Please note that Sandy Hill CHC has a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy. All applicants are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to be considered for employment. An offer of employment will be conditional upon the candidate providing proof of full vaccination. Reasonable accom