AVI Health & Community Services Society is Looking for Staff Support Contractor Full Time

ABOUT AVI

AVI Health & Community Services (AVI) is a multi-disciplinary community based organisation providing HIV, hepatitis C and harm reduction services out of 4 locations across Vancouver Island. We work within a social justice and health promotion framework to ensure equity and access to services for all. AVI works with and employs peoples from or individuals from diverse populations including people who are criminalized for their drug use; who have racialized identities; Indigenous persons; people living with and/or at risk of HIV and hepatitis C; LGBTQI2S+ identities; sex workers and people with disabilities. AVI has over 100 part and full time employees who come to AVI with a broad range of education, backgrounds and experience.

AVI offices are located on the unceded territories of the lək̓ʷəŋən peoples, the Esquimalt (Xwsepsum) and Songhees nations.

ABOUT THE ROLE

The Staff Support Contractor role will support AVI’s staff to navigate administrative systems such as PWD and peer exemption programs and providing referrals to appropriate health, housing and income support services. The Staff Support Contractor will bring a collaborative and relational approach to supporting AVI staff. The Staff Support Contractor will provide support to AVI’s staff members on an as-needed basis in person and remotely. They will set their own hours but be responsive to staff requests for support in a timely manner.

Area of Responsibilities:

• Communicates with staff who are seeking access to support and referrals.
• Supports staff in ways that are in line with principles of social justice, trauma-informed care and cultural humility.
• Provides advocacy to staff by working with them on issues such as housing, medical, legal and other support agencies.
• Provides support to staff including accompaniment (or support to find accompaniment) to appointments and advocacy in accordance with established care plans.
• Meet people where they are at both physically and figuratively
• Initiates and prompts while honoring resistance and stated needs
• Actively collaborates with community members, clients and organizations
• Pre-empts and address challenges and generates creative and unique solutions
• Liaises with appropriate managers or human resources for supports at staff request and consent.
• Provides information related to harm reduction, HIV/AIDS, and hepatitis C to other service providers, such as government and community-based agencies, and within medical and educational settings.
• Maintains both paper and electronic confidential staff files.
• Fosters safety by following protocols related to AVI’s violence prevention and critical incidents such as overdose and other medical emergencies.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

ABOUT YOU

You are someone who works from a relational perspective, is supportive and empathetic and able to uphold AVI’s values of harm reduction, social justice, trauma-informed care and cultural humility with staff. You are an experienced social worker, systems navigator or community support worker who has experience with taking a collaborative approach. You are a strong communicator, with an inquisitive and open mindset who is readily able to build and maintain trust with a diverse range of people.

ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE

• Direct service delivery and advocacy experience with community-based and governmental support services and systems (financial aid, housing, healthcare, justice system, etc.) in the Province of British Columbia and on Vancouver Island in particular.
• Experience and passion for providing relational, practical and empathetic support and coaching to people with diverse personal and professional experience and ability to self-reflect
• Excellent interpersonal skills including the ability to foster empathic communication and demonstrate clear boundaries
• Demonstrated ability to establish respectful rapport, provide support and advocate for a diverse range of individuals who are actively using substances and living with significant barriers to their health and well-being
• Demonstrated commitment to social justice principles and practices, including harm reduction, anti-racism, decolonization, combating stigma related to drug use, HIV, hepatitis C, and challenging gendered oppression, ableism, homophobia, and transphobia
• Demonstrated understanding of colonialism and the ways in which historical and ongoing colonization impacts Indigenous People inter-generationally
• Demonstrated skills, experience, and knowledge in the areas of harm reduction/health promotion practices, safer sex and safer drug use practices, addictions, safer sex, sex work, HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis C, poverty, trauma and mental health.
• Excellent written and verbal communication and interpersonal skills and demonstrated
• Demonstrated time management and personal organization skills
• Demonstrated ability to work independently as a contractor.
• Have lived and/or living experience with criminalized substance use and navigating social service systems, is an asset

Contract Details:

• Pay: $35.00/hour
• Hours and Schedule: Schedule to be determined by the Contractor. 15 hours/week (on average)
• Work Location: This role will work with staff out AVI offices and remotely
• Contractor Position: This role is for an independent external contractor position. The successful candidate will provide their own computer.
• Contract Length: Starting as soon as possible and running until August 30, 2023

To Apply for this Contract position: Please send a letter outlining your experience and why you would be a good fit for this contractor position through the Indeed system or through [email protected] by 5 pm on March 12, 2023.

AVI strongly encourages applications from, but not limited to, folks who identify as Indigenous Persons, persons of colour, racialized, persons living with a disability, persons who use/d drugs, persons with experience of sex work, persons who live with HIV and/or hepatitis C, and persons representing diverse genders and sexualities.

Job Type: Freelance

Salary: $35.00 per hour

Work Location: Hybrid remote in Victoria, BC