Community Engagement Lead – Ref #2024-140

at  Sioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority

FULL TIME

• Sioux Lookout, ON
• Posted 1 day ago
• $67,166 - $98,084 per annum CAD
  Community Engagement Lead – Ref #2024-140

JOB SUMMARY:

Diabetes has been identified as a high priority health issue impacting First Nations communities in the Sioux Lookout Zone. The Sioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority (SLFNHA) and the University of Toronto (U of T), have formed a partnership to improve community-based diabetes prevention, management and care. A core element of our initiative is to enhance and expand a customized capacity building program for community health workers (CHWs), based on Canadian clinical guidelines, international best practices and local knowledge.
The Community Engagement Lead plays a key role in this initiative by helping to lead and support the CHW Diabetes Program in participating First Nations communities. S/he will collaborate with the joint SLFNHA – U of T program team to undertake planning processes with community leaders and health system providers, support the implementation and enhancement of a training curriculum and education tools, act as a mentor and quality improvement coach, and oversee the collection of monitoring and evaluation data for community engagement activity. This role is the primary liaison for all community engagement undertaken by the CHW Diabetes Program, which is currently active in 13 communities.
The Community Engagement Lead reports to the Community Health Worker Diabetes Program Coordinator.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Persons of First Nations ancestry will be given preference (OHRC, Part II, Special Employment)
• Education or training in nursing, health education, public health, primary health or similar OR a combination of a university degree and relevant experience
• Diabetes Educator certification considered a strong asset
• Experience working with First Nations communities in rural, remote and on-reserve settings and advanced knowledge of related community health issues considered strong assets
• Experience in coordinating and implementing adult training / education programming, and in providing mentoring, coaching and capacity-building support
• Experience or strong familiarity with the implementation of professional level training materials / tools, preferably in the area of primary care
• Experience with monitoring and evaluation, community-based research and knowledge translation methodologies
• Proven track record in developing professional relationships with different health system providers and community health leaders
• Excellent interpersonal and organizational skills including demonstrated ability to work productively in collaborative settings while also functioning independently
• Technical understanding of diabetes and other primary health issues and programming
• Strong oral and written communication skills; ability to speak in a local dialect a strong asset
• Proficiency with MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint
• Willingness to frequently travel to remote Northern communities (approximately once per week) by small aircrafts and ability to stay overnight in community when required
• The ability to perform the requirements of the role on a regular basis

• Program Implementation & Delivery

Lead day-to-day program implementation and delivery activities with a focus on community engagement; manage and oversee program sites and collaboratively develop plans with the program team and local health leaders and providers; manage and deliver internal program monitoring & reporting activities:

• Contribute to the development of program workplans and budgets and implement community engagement activity within the allocated timelines
• Contribute to narrative reports on community engagement activities (e.g., progress against work plan)
• Provide regular progress updates to the program team and external collaborators on community-based activities
• Ensure timely and effective monitoring of all community events and activities
• Lead and report on program evaluation framework and data collection as it relates to community engagement
• Provide routine and ad hoc information for donor/grant reporting
• Contribute to broader program planning processes
• Training, Mentoring & Coaching

Implement the CHW training and capacity building program within participating communities (currently 13 communities):

• Lead on-boarding and orientation for new CHWs entering the program
• Organize and help deliver all off-site training / capacity building for CHWs and their supervisors and all onsite training / capacity building for CHWs and other health facility / community-based health team members
• Conduct capacity building visits to each site to provide mentoring and supportive supervision based on the individual CHWs and community-based health teams
• Provide remote support via phone, email and video conferencing to CHWs and community-based health teams
• Monitor and support continuous program improvement plans and activities with CHWs and community-based health teams (e.g., refine standard processes, test and verify data collection tools, etc.)
• Establish and maintain a peer-to-peer support network for participating CHWs
• Establish community sharing circles to distribute knowledge about the program and obtain feedback on program improvement
• Contribute to further development or enhancement of the existing training program, as required
• Representation

Act as a liaison and represent the program as required by the program:

• Liaise and coordinate with community health leadership and local and regional health authorities/providers
• Organize and facilitate local forums and consultation processes
• Present program results at external meetings, forums and conferences
• Research and Knowledge Translation (KT)

In collaboration with the program team, support program research and KT activities:

• Contribute to the design and planning of the program’s evaluation framework and related community-based research
• Provide logistical support for community-based research activities
• Contribute to the development of methods and tools for sharing and disseminating knowledge generated by the program