BC Healthy Communities

Community Well-being Specialist

Victoria, B.C.

Maternity leave position of approximately 16 months

35 hours per week (1.0 FTE)

Application deadline: September 16, 2018 at 9:00 pm PST

Desired start date: October/November

We are looking for a Community Well-being Specialist to join our innovative and interdisciplinary team at BC Healthy Communities Society (BCHC). As part of our team, you will be working in a highly collaborative learning environment to design and deliver a wide range of healthy community programs and fee for service offerings to communities across BC. In your role, you will be working closely with multi-sectoral groups that include municipal governments and regional districts, regional health authorities, First Nations and not-for profit and community organizations, to build capacity for collaboration and action around critical community health challenges.

Key Responsibilities

• Designing and delivering workshops, curriculum and planning processes;
• Facilitating workshops and webinars and other learning events and processes;
• Providing content expertise to support community focus areas (i.e. healthy built environments, food security, active transportation, social connectedness, health and climate change, age-friendly planning, housing, etc.);
• Connecting directly with communities to assess where they are at – helping to determine what types of issues they are facing and how we can support their work;
• Supporting the creation of multi-sectoral partnerships and fostering collaborations;
• Work with communities to identify strategies to move forward and create positive solutions to difficult challenges they are facing—within their own local/regional context
• Gathering data to help communities and BCHC determine if we are effecting change;
• Analyzing and synthesizing information from facilitated sessions, identifying themes, opportunities, and areas for further development/support; and
• Nurturing meaningful social relationships and partnerships with community groups and local champions in a range of other sectors.

About you …

You’re a highly experienced facilitator with a demonstrated track record. You have the ability to work through complex community challenges with multi-sectoral collaboratives. You are able to think on your feet, quickly synthesize data and adapt processes as needed.

Other important things about you include:

• You love to have fun while at work;
• You enjoy people! – and strive to facilitate and nurture meaningful relationships with communities and individuals, including those in various levels and types of government (local, regional, provincial, and First Nations);
• You have a positive attitude with lots of curiosity and the drive to be continually learning;
• You understand the links between key social and environmental determinants of health, especially within Indigenous communities. Focus areas could include one or more of the following:
  o Developing Comprehensive Community Plans, rural health and development, affordable housing, poverty reduction strategies, food systems and food security, sustainability planning and climate action, community engagement processes, and/or community health assessment;
• You recognize and understand the implications of emerging issues which may have broader influence on communities;
• You bring research skills – to ask good questions and then find ways to answer them;
• You are self-directed and you feel comfortable working on complex issues;
• You show evidence of a high degree of organizational/planning skills and resourcefulness;
• You have excellent interpersonal and communications skills.

To do this job you will need:

• A degree in public health or community development, ideally with special coursework related to Indigenous peoples’ health (or equivalent is a bonus);
• Minimum 3 years’ experience and demonstrated track record in facilitation and group processes;
• Experience working with Indigenous communities;
• Experience working in, or with, a local government (municipality, regional district or First Nation) and/or health authorities;
• Experience in curriculum development/workshop design and evaluation;
• Must be available to travel to communities across BC (estimated 2- 3 times per month); some evenings may be required for work/travel; and
• Ability to work well independently and as part of highly collabortive a team.

About Us …

BC Healthy Communities (BCHC) is a province-wide not-for-profit organization that facilitates the ongoing development of healthy, thriving and resilient communities. We provide a range of programs, events and resources as well as fee for service offerings to support communities, local governments and multi-sectoral groups to collaborate around a shared vision for a common purpose.

• Our values include Integrity, Respect, Equity, Learning and Service and as such we foster and model principles, processes and practices of community development, emphasizing the value of listening, learning, respect and active engagement;
• We honour the strengths and experiences of each community, while offering support for capacity building;
• We promote inclusion of a broad range of people and perspectives;
• We take a big picture, whole systems approach, identifying roots of issues and looking for ways to leverage change; and
• We support connections, collaboration and human development at multiple levels: individuals, organizations, sectors and communities

Our Commitment to You

BCHC offers a progressive workplace culture that encourages leadership and learning. We are an interdisciplinary team and we enjoy our time together, with a light hearted and compassionate approach to our work. The benefits of working at BCHC include:

• A supportive, respectful team that ‘walks-the-talk’ around personal health and sustainability;
• Opportunities for professional development to improve your existing knowledge and passion for healthy communities;
• Health and a range of other benefits; and
• Competitive compensation.

How to Apply

Please title the subject line of your email: Community Well-being Specialist_ <First Name Last Name> for example—Community Well-being Specialist_Jodi Mucha
Send a cover letter and resume to: Jodi Mucha at jodi@bchealthycommunities.ca
Application Deadline: Sunday, September 16, 2018 at 9:00pm PST
** Please note that only successful candidates will be contacted
** No telephone inquiries please