Peer mentor Jobs in Burnaby, BC

Status : Permanent, Full-time

Location : Vancouver, BC

Schedule : Tuesday to Saturday 8 : 30am to 4 : 30pm

Salary Range : $64,359.00 to $101,785.00

About Coast and Resource Center / Peer Support Program

Coast Mental Health (Coast) is one of the largest mental health non-profit societies in Canada, and operates a large array of innovative housing and community-based rehabilitation services for people with a mental illness living in and around Vancouver. Coast operates in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia providing approximately 1000 people with supportive housing and 4000 clients living in the community with a wide variety of programs and services.

Coast fosters a client-driven, recovery-oriented environment that promotes restoring health, personal growth and a return to society for individuals with a mental illness through advocacy and providing direct programs and services.

Coast Mental Health's  Peer Support Program  offers a range of support services provided by Peer Support Workers (PSWs) who work one-on-one with clients and in group settings to engage in recovery-based conversations and goal setting. Our PSWs are trained in-house in accordance with Peer Support Canada's national guidelines and standards; this process involves a 3-month training, a 3-month practicum, and an additional 6-month work contract. Peer support is a recovery-oriented and evidence-based practice that focuses on supporting the autonomy of clients.

The Peer Program operates out of Coast’s Resource Centre. The Resource Center is a place for individuals to access support through staff and community resources. It is a space to have a meal, access laundry / shower services, participate in community programming and socialize with community peers. The Resource Centre meets people where they’re at and focuses on building relationships, trust and help people improve their health and pursue recovery.

The Position

The Program Manager of the Peer Support Services will be responsible for the safe and efficient operation and management of the program located at 1225 Seymour Street in Vancouver. These programs work in partnership with Vancouver Coastal Health, City of Vancouver, St Paul’s Hospital, Fraser Health Authority, and other community partners.

Your goal will be to provide a strength-based, culturally safe and trauma-informed approach to inform all aspects of service delivery for vulnerable clients with direct experience of being unhoused or precariously housed. You will support staff in employing the principles of psychosocial rehabilitation, harm reduction, motivational enhancement and other evidence-based best practices to assist clients to move forward in their recovery and life goals.

This position leads unionized staff operating within the Peer Program. You will establish a positive, healthy and safe work environment for this team, and manage all aspects of the employee lifecycle. This also involves working on peer worker retention and working on creating new placements for peer support workers.

Program leadership includes risk management for the programs including safety aspects, financial management of program budgets, working in partnership with the Vancouver Coastal Health and Coast Safety Teams, and developing program plans in alignment with overall Coast strategies and operational plans. Another key element of this position will involve working with other divisions and sites within Coast to promote and raise awareness of the program. This will also include collaborating with other managers in order to conduct a needs assessment for peer support programs and the implementation of these programs at different sites.

You will operate in a collaborative manner, not only with other Program Staff but in partnership with the friends and family members of clients, community agencies, and any agency or person who is committed to positive outcomes for clients. As part of the Coast leadership team, you will collaborate and openly communicate with other leaders across the organization.

JOB QUALIFICATIONS

The ideal candidate has strong knowledge of mental illness and substance use issues and the overarching social structures in which people find themselves needing additional supports to help them in their own personal recovery. Current or recent experience working with unhoused and highly vulnerable population is essential for this position, a working knowledge of all related legislation is required. A good understanding of community and social services in the Vancouver area will support your success in this role. Experience and knowledge, working in peer-based programs and supporting individuals conducting peer work within the local community, Coast sites and hospital settings.

We are looking for someone with established leadership skills, and experience working with unionized staff – knowledge and experience with the HEU Collective Agreement would be ideal.

Other skills critical to this role include the ability to problem solve, planning and organizational skills, financial management, and strong computer proficiency. Communication skills and the ability to build relationships and engage effectively with partners internally and externally are critical to this role.

The successful candidate will be passionate about the mission of Coast, and will be committed to achieving our strategic priorities.

We require a minimum of 5 years’ experience in mental health, with experience in peer program service delivery / outreach / housing programs working with concurrent disorders, and minimum 5 years of supervisory and administrative experience.

A degree from a recognized post-secondary institution would be considered an asset. Coast will consider an equivalent combination of education, training and experience.

You must have a current First Aid / CPR certificate, training in Crisis Management, a Valid B.C. Driver’s License and access to a reliable vehicle.

Successful completion of WHMIS

Successful completion of a Criminal Records Check will be required

The Pay Range is the minimum and maximum annual salary based on full time equivalent hours.

Incumbents are typically hired, transferred or promoted between the minimum and midpoint of the range based on their knowledge, skills, abilities and experience in relation to the role requirements.

The top 10% of the pay range is for the incumbents who are industry experts in the job with the combination of exceptional experience and competencies needed to perform all duties and responsibilities at a superior capability level.