Title: Senior Recovery Specialist

Employee Working Location: Partially Virtual / Hybrid (Canada)

Employment Status: Fixed Term Full-Time (12 months)

The Canadian Red Cross (Red Cross) – an inspirational not for profit organization, helps people and communities in Canada and around the world in times of need and supports them in strengthening their resilience. As a Canada’s Best Employers 2024, we are committed to having an accessible, diverse, inclusive, and barrier-free work environment.  

The Senior Recovery Specialist works alongside local and Indigenous community leadership to support communities in leading their own recovery following a disaster or disruptive event. The role provides specialized expertise in recovery planning, governance, stakeholder coordination, and operational support, helping communities organize priorities, facilitate decision-making, and structure recovery processes. Leveraging deep technical knowledge, the Senior Recovery Specialist analyzes complex challenges, applies evidence-based approaches, and provides guidance and mentorship to both community partners and internal teams. The role requires hands-on facilitation, capacity building, and coordination skills, including supporting recovery frameworks, action plans, and multi-partner collaboration. The Senior Recovery Specialist also delivers targeted guidance, tools, and training to strengthen the ability of communities and internal staff to manage recovery effectively and sustainably.


In this role, you will:  

Program and Service Delivery

• Provide specialized knowledge, research, and data-driven insights to enhance program/service design, implementation, and evaluation related to community recovery planning and coordination.
• Lead implementation of specialized programs, services and initiatives that align with organizational goals and industry best practices.
• Lead the development and refinement of technical frameworks, guidelines, and methodologies to ensure high-quality service delivery.
• Act as a member of a service delivery team including service implementation as a specialist in the program or service.
• Act as a resource for complex program/service challenges, providing expert analysis and solutions based on best practices.

Monitoring, Evaluation and Evidence-Based Practice

• Lead the development of specialized metrics, evaluation tools, and impact assessment models to measure program effectiveness.
• Analyze qualitative and quantitative data to generate evidence-based recommendations for continuous improvement.
• Provide technical guidance on monitoring, evaluation, and reporting frameworks to ensure data-driven decision-making.

Partnerships, Training and Knowledge Sharing

• Serve as an expert representative in working groups, advisory committees, and cross-sector partnerships where appropriate.
• Lead technical training sessions, workshops, and knowledge-sharing initiatives for internal teams and external partners involved in recovery planning and coordination.
• Develop and contribute to research, reports, and policy recommendations to shape best practices in disaster recovery planning and community recovery coordination.

Community Engagement

• Ensure community engagement strategies integrate technical insights, equity principles, and culturally responsive practices.
• Provide guidance on ethical considerations, accessibility, and inclusive service design to remove barriers for marginalized communities.
• Facilitate participatory processes that empower communities to co-design and influence program/service direction within recovery planning and coordination activities.

 Risk, Compliance and Operational Resilience

• Develop specialized protocols, risk assessments, and compliance strategies to strengthen operational resilience.
• Ensure risk mitigation strategies align with evolving sector policies and humanitarian principles.
• Provide technical recommendations on regulatory standards, funding compliance, and ethical considerations in service delivery.

What we are looking for:

• Minimum of 6–9 years experience in disaster recovery, program design, implementation, management, or related work.
• University degree in public administration, emergency management, social & health sciences, community development or a related field and/or equivalent combination of education and experience. 
• Requires expertise in a specialized discipline or broad experience across fields, along with an understanding of interconnections between process and business units.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications (Word, Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint) and SharePoint is required.
• Experience in stakeholder engagement, partnership development and working with diverse communities.
• Experience in program design, implementation, management and evaluation.
• Ability to identify complex problems, analyze interrelated factors, assess and mitigate risks, and develop solutions using specialized skills.
• Communication and influence skills to gather perspectives, understand needs, and present information to reach consensus, often in somewhat sensitive situations.
• Proven experience building and managing partnerships with internal teams, community organizations, government agencies, and external stakeholders.
• Experience applying community engagement principles, participatory approaches, and culturally safe practices.
• Ability to integrate best practices and evidence-based approaches into program frameworks.
• French language skills are considered an asset.

 
Working Conditions: 

• Role includes fieldwork, deployment to communities affected by disasters, and office-based or remote work during non-deployment periods.
• Domestic travel will be required and may occur with short notice.
• Work requires the ability to work to multiple, conflicting deadlines.
• Work requires interactions with clients who may be agitated or experiencing stressful situations.
• In a large-scale emergency, where staff numbers are compromised or additional resources are required, personnel may provide disaster relief and/or emergency field operational support.
• Will be required to work extended hours during peak periods on short notice.
• All roles within the Humanitarian Services team contribute to emergency response efforts directly or indirectly. Personnel may be required to support emergency operations and deploy to response or recovery activities as required.
• Eligibility to work in Canada is required. If selected for this role, you will be required to complete a successful pre-employment screening process including a satisfactory Enhanced Police Information Check (E-PIC).