Join us as our Engagement Lead!
Engagement Lead
Health Justice is hiring an Engagement Lead to support our community engagement and education work. We expect the role to be part-time at 28 hours per week (0.8FTE), and we may have a second role at 21 hours per week (0.6FTE). The positions will run until March 31, 2024 with the possibility of extension depending on funding availability.
About us and the role
Health Justice is a non-profit organization that uses research, education, and advocacy to improve the laws and policies that govern coercive health care in BC. We take a human rights and equity-based approach to our work. Our current priority is to better support human rights and wellbeing in involuntary mental health and substance use care by reforming BC’s Mental Health Act.
Engagement is central to our work and this position is an exciting opportunity to play a key role in helping us learn from and be led by people with lived and living experience of involuntary treatment under the Mental Health Act as well as others impacted by the issues we address. The role will support our lived and living experience governance process, design and carry out engagement activities, and centre lived and living experience in our organization.
More specifically, the role will include tasks like:
Working in collaboration with the Health Justice governance bodies and staff team to identify engagement priorities;
Designing engagement processes like interviews, focus groups, surveys, and other tools;
Planning meeting agendas, taking meeting notes, and tracking honoraria payments;
Supporting people with lived and living experience who participate in our organizational activities;
Maintaining and continually improving Health Justice’s engagement ethics and consent processes;
Co-facilitating Health Justice human rights and lived experience-based training and education sessions with other staff;
Working with Health Justice staff to provide input and feedback on internal and external documents, policies, processes, etc.;
Collaborating with Health Justice staff on other tasks as needed.
Qualifications and Attributes
The successful applicant must have lived or living experience of involuntary treatment under BC’s Mental Health Act. In addition, it is beneficial if they are willing to be open about the fact that they have had that experience, particularly with project participants and in other appropriate situations where common experiences are key to building trust and credibility. The successful applicant will have control over how much they would like to share about their experience within the context of their role.
Note that it is possible we may hire two applicants depending on the applicant pool. As a result, we encourage applicants to apply if they bring some, but not all, of the attributes set out below.
The following will be an asset in the role:
Experience supporting community engagement, including lived and living experience engagement in various forms, such as in-person groups, individual interviews, storytelling, surveys, and other formats;
An awareness of the ethics and accountability related to hearing, carrying, and integrating lived experiences of oppression into research, education, and advocacy;
Experience with engagement styles that centre trauma and violence-informed approaches, cultural safety, as well as other forms of safety and accessibility;
Comfort with bringing a critical lens to professionalism and power, including collaborating with partners/co-workers who bring multiple forms of expertise;
Experience facilitating presentations, workshops, or other public speaking educational sessions with diverse audiences (familiarity with engaging with audiences both virtually and in-person is an asset);
Compassionate, clear, non-judgmental verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to adjust style and tone for a variety of audiences;
Comfort navigating relationships with people and communities with a diverse range of beliefs and values;
Familiarity with law and policy related to state intervention and detention systems and the disproportionate impacts those systems may have on people who are marginalized on the basis of disability, substance use, Indigeneity, gender, poverty, race, age, etc.;
Lived experience related to or a demonstrated understanding of and commitment to decolonizing and combatting oppression on the basis of Indigeneity, race, place of origin, immigration status, ability, sex, sexual orientation, gender, family status, and socio-economic status;
Comfort working remotely and largely independently, with independent self-direction to check in and collaborate with team members; and
Project management experience or the ability to manage multiple tasks and details.
Health Justice values diversity, and particularly acknowledges the expertise applicants may bring related to their Indigeneity, race, place of origin, immigration status, ability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, family status, and socio-economic status. We encourage applicants to explicitly self-identify any personal characteristics or experiences that will support our commitment to bringing diverse perspectives to the organization if you feel comfortable.
Salary, benefits, working conditions
The wage range for this position will be between $35 and $37 per hour. The role includes paid sick/personal time, paid vacation, paid office closure periods, extended health and dental benefits, and a flexible and inclusive workplace.
Health Justice operates remotely, with the possibility of some limited drop-in office access in Vancouver. The successful applicant can work from anywhere in BC with stable internet access, although preference may be given to applicants in the Lower Mainland due to organizational needs. Health Justice will provide equipment and remote working infrastructure. Travel for work may be required, but we do not anticipate it being a regular occurrence.
To apply
Please send your resume and a one-page cover letter to jobs@healthjustice.ca (PDF format is preferred). Please submit your application by Monday, June 26, 2023.
We expect we may receive a large volume of applications for this position so we may not be able to respond to every applicant. We will not be able to respond to phone calls about the position. If we do not respond to your application, please know that we’re truly grateful for your interest working with us – we know a lot of time and energy goes into applying for a job like this one. We will do our best to let all applicants know when the hiring process is complete.