Title : Psychosocial Support (PSS) Advisor - Community engagement and partnerships

Employee Working Location : Remote (BC, Canada) 

Employment Status : Temporary Full-time (15 months)

Salary Band : $ 58,126 - $ 74,794 / year

The Canadian Red Cross (CRC) – 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.

In this role, you will :

Responsibility 1 – Community and Stakeholder Engagement

• Play a key role in supporting the development of relationships with external stakeholders relating to Mental Health & Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) recovery programming, following direction of the MHPSS Manager.  
• Identify and reach out to MHPSS external stakeholders and contributes to supportive and strong relationship development.
• Participate in external coordination meetings around MHPSS community needs, programs and partnerships, and presents/facilitates meetings as invited.
• Gather and share information on MHPSS needs, gaps, available resources, best practices, and programming and funding opportunities with community stakeholders.
• Support MHPSS needs assessment activities, which may include gathering statistics and research, carrying out stakeholder interviews or group discussions, and gathering data from Operations teams and Recovery Services, as appropriate.
• Advocate for a client- and community-centred approach both internally and externally in matters of mental health and psychosocial support, which recognizes issues of equity and cultural diversity.

Responsibility 2 – Project Management

• Support MHPSS-related collaborative partnerships and grants development, design and monitoring, contributing to community-based and community-owned recovery.
• Support applicants to understand program parameters and submit project applications.
• Participate in the assessment of submitted grant projects in alignment with approved program guidelines and assessment criteria.
• Coordinate with grant applicants, partners and service providers throughout process of agreement development, to clarify questions, refine projects etc.
• Facilitate project launch and monitoring meetings, visits and check-ins, to offer ongoing support on achieving project goals in accordance with the agreement and being responsive in supporting partner to identify and communicate modifications needed to project.
• Lead project monitoring and related communication with partners, utilizing CRC monitoring tools and supporting partners to utilize same and creating space for open communication.  
• Review and provide feedback on reports submitted by funded partners, ensuring that MHPSS outcomes are being attained.
• Support linkages between the geographic MHPSS team and Recovery Services with regards to implementation and progress of programs with MHPSS outcomes.

Responsibility 3 – Capacity Building

• Deliver capacity building initiatives in/with impacted communities, for example workshops and training in Psychological First Aid (PFA).  
• Support capacity building of the overall organization through participation in lessons learned and evaluation processes.
• Participate in readiness activities/exercises organized by MHPSS Provincial/Territorial and National teams.

What we are looking for :

• Completion of an undergraduate degree in social work, nursing, education, psychology or comparable related degree, with a minimum 2 to 4 years of job-related professional experience or an equivalent combination of education, training and experience.
• Preference for registration with governing body and in good-standing.
• Solid experience in project management and monitoring and/or community engagement and development work.
• Completion of Psychological First Aid (PFA) Instructor training/ willingness to complete.
• Experience in living or working in a cultural context other than their own.
• Background in psychosocial work, nursing, teaching, social work, youth engagement, public health is an asset.
• Background in project management (project design, monitoring, evaluation) and familiarity with project budgeting and financial management is an asset.
• Training in protection and violence prevention, and Psychosocial Support in Emergencies preferred.
• Knowledge and certification in crisis intervention, ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training), or similar preferred.
• Fluency in English is required, French is an asset.
• Strong orientation to customer service and conflict resolution skills mandatory.
• Demonstrated experience in facilitation or leading group sessions and the ability to listen to trauma, loss and grief.
• Ability to be on-call to respond to urgent and complex cases, including situations of safety, as well as adult and child protection.

Working conditions :

• This position will primarily require remote work or work from a home environment.
• The majority of work will be within traditional working hours, however periodic work in non-traditional working hours may be required based on operational demands and will be compensated for as per CRC policy.
• Periodic travel to partner meetings and/or community visits may be required.
• Eligibility to work in Canada : At this time, we welcome applications from candidates eligible to work in Canada. If you are not a citizen or permanent resident of Canada, we encourage you to carefully review your visa to find out whether you are eligible to work in the job you are considering applying for. Refer to our FAQ for more information.
• If you are selected for this role, you will be required to complete a successful pre-employment screening process which includes a satisfactory Enhanced Police Information Check (E-PIC).

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