ABOUT THE JOB:

The Provincial Manager, IRAS, is responsible for supporting the development, expansion and maintenance of a province-wide independent rights advice service for involuntary patients under the Mental Health Act. The role is responsible for leading a provincial operations team at CMHA BC to provide backbone support and for working collaboratively with a group of organizational partners to deliver the service. While regional partners become established, the provincial office may also be involved in direct service delivery.
The Provincial Manager, IRAS, will focus on external facing relationships including healthcare providers and stakeholder education, funder engagement, and systemic advocacy with a range of health authority partners to ensure service needs are met.
The service will be designed and delivered using a partnership model that brings together multiple organizations and stakeholders. This role will be a keystone to the model. Success in the role will require an appreciation of collaboration and sharing power, recognition of multiple forms of expertise and knowledge, comfort with ongoing learning, and the ability to solve problems in a relational and effective way.

HUMAN RESOURCES AND FISCAL MANAGEMENT

• Support the recruitment, supervision and support of the IRAS operations team at CMHA BC.
• Co-design a shared Rights Advisor job description and contribute to the recruitment processes of IRAS positions at regional partner organizations as needed.
• Recruit and retain Rights Advisors at CMHA BC for regions with no subcontractor.
• Co-lead budget development in collaboration with the departmental director.
• Support the IRAS Operations Supervisor in managing distress and moral distress among IRAS staff and in escalating systemic concerns to senior leaders.
• Implement and monitor IRAS service budgets to ensure cost-effectiveness and program accountability, with the support of service partners.
• Forecast spending and suggest remedial action if expenses are projected to outpace revenue.
• Develop and produce confidential timely project reports, updates, and briefing notes to various internal and external senior leaders, CMHA Board, and the IRAS Governance Council and Lived Experience Leadership Committee.
• Other duties as needed.

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE

• A post-secondary degree (graduate degree preferred), preferably related to public health, mental health and substance use, public policy, law, or a similarly relevant discipline.
• A minimum of 5-7 years of relevant experience managing programs, projects and staff while exhibiting strong, purposeful leadership qualities.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES

• Leadership (including change-management) experience in relation to large or complex service delivery projects, ideally in a health, justice and/or nonprofit context.
• Experience with engagement and partnership-based projects.
• Ability to prioritize and maintain professionalism amidst a high volume of communications, meetings, data and requests.
• Experience co-developing services with people with lived and living experience of involuntary treatment.
• Skills related to nurturing external relationships including systemic advocacy and conflict management.
• Experience supervising staff in a unionized context- including peers (those with lived experience of mental health and substance use challenges)-using collaboration and relationship-based approaches.
• Experience supervising a remote workforce.
• Experience with overseeing direct service, in-person outreach services and understanding the complexities and challenges of this kind of work.
• Background or training in supporting distress, including moral distress and vicarious trauma.
• Personal experience with mental health issues, services, or involuntary treatment is an asset in this role.
• Experience and comfort prioritizing multiple forms of knowledge and expertise.
• Knowledge of the Mental Health Act and the involuntary treatment system in BC.
• Experience with the publicly funded mental health and substance use system.
• Knowledge of human rights, their benefits as a determinant of health and of systemic inequities related to gender, sex, race, Indigeneity, (dis)ability, substance use, and other aspects of a person’s identity.
• Knowledge of reconciliation, decolonization, and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
• Experience working to provide services in a trauma-informed, culturally safe and anti- oppressive way.
• Ability to work collaboratively and effectively with multiple communities and stakeholders while balancing assertiveness and diplomacy.
• Ability to work with humility and create a culture of ongoing learning.
• Strategic and conceptual thinking, including the ability to adapt.
• Excellent interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills.
• Experience leading education and training efforts.
• Financial management skills.
• Ability and confidence to work in a self-directed manner.
• High emotional intelligence.
• Resourcefulness, judgment, flexibility and innovation to solve problems.
• Recent experience in program evaluation using multiple approaches, including quantitative data, qualitative data, stories, and developmental evaluation.
• Knowledge and agility with Office 365 tools and cloud-based software platforms.
• Successful completion of background screening checks including a criminal record check and education verification.

ABOUT US:

Founded in 1918, The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) is a national charity that helps maintain and improve mental health for all Canadians. As the nation-wide leader and champion for mental health and addiction, CMHA helps people access the community resources they need to build resilience and support recovery from mental illness and/or addiction.

The duties and responsibilities associated with this position are described below: