Regional Lead – Community Engagement (GTA/Central Ontario)

About this position

The Ontario Caregiver Organization (OCO) exists to enhance the experience for Ontario’s 3.3 million family caregivers; the family members, partners, friends and neighbours who support someone with a physical or mental health challenge. With a mission to improve the experience for all caregivers, the OCO provides supports and services regardless of the disease, location, age, ethnicity, or condition. Come join us as we build our team!

We are recruiting for a:

Regional Lead – Community Engagement (GTA/Central Ontario)

Mainly Home Office based (100% during Covid-19;  split home/OCO office in Toronto post-pandemic)
Full Time, Permanent

The Ontario Caregiver Organization (OCO) is hiring a Regional Lead to build connections and collaborate with caregivers, health/social service providers, and key stakeholders at the community level. This position will also have a strong focus on growing local engagement and support of caregivers that have unique needs or barriers to inclusion including but not limited to Black, Indigenous or Persons of Colour, or on the basis of, national or ethnic origin, religion, sexual orientation and gender identity, age or mental or physical disability or socio-economic status.

This role represents an exciting opportunity for someone who is eager to join a small team that aims to have a big impact on the caregiver experience in Ontario. We are looking for someone who will enjoy working in a fast-paced environment where they will help to improve caregiver access to support, grow the number and diversity of caregivers we serve, and build organizational partnerships to help address caregiver needs.

Community engagement is at the heart of our work here OCO and is the main purpose of our Regional Team. Understanding of and experience working with diverse and marginalized communities is critical for this role as we seek to enhance well-being and support for all caregivers in the province.

Key Responsibilities:

Reporting to the Director, Strategic Partnerships and Innovation, the Regional Lead will:

• Develop and deliver a plan for regional implementation of OCO goals and priorities
• Identify and engage organizations and service providers to address gaps in local caregiver support and advance OCO’s goals
• Build and sustain collaborations with stakeholders across multiple sectors including health care, non-profit, social services, housing and others
• Build relationships with community organizations that can help OCO to reach, understand and support caregivers, with a special focus on those with unique needs or who may be facing barriers to inclusion
• Inform the development of OCO’s strategies for equity, diversity and inclusion
• Increase local/regional awareness of OCO and our programs and services
• Organize and facilitate in-person and virtual presentations, workshops, education sessions, and events for caregivers and stakeholder organizations
• Create opportunities for caregivers to connect with peers, learn, access support, and inform OCO plans
• Lead partnerships that result in increased community capacity to support caregivers, new opportunities for OCO program delivery, and new channels for caregiver referral to OCO
• Lead projects to spread and scale proven models for caregiver support and recognition within the region
• Act as a local resource and point of contact for caregivers seeking support
• Increase recognition of caregivers and awareness of OCO within the region
• Ensure accurate and timely reporting of data and performance indicator and maintain regional stakeholder information in database system
• Other duties as assigned

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years’ experience in community and stakeholder engagement in health care, non-profit, community support, and/or social service sectors
• Strong preference will be given to candidates with a social work or social services background
• Understanding of and experience in diversity, inclusion, equity and accessibility with proven ability to build relationships with organizations and individuals from diverse or marginalized communities
• Exceptional communication skills – verbally, in writing and in virtual environments
• Excel at facilitation of interactive workshops, presentations, and meetings (online and in-person)
• Established network with relevant stakeholders within GTA and Central Ontario
• Compassionate style and good listening skills, preferably with experience engaging caregivers and/or people with lived experience
• Ability to foster relationships with professionalism, diplomacy, and trust
• Ability to develop and deliver action plans with clear goals and timelines
• Results-oriented, with ability to anticipate and solve challenges or barriers
• Self-starter with high degree of initiative, resourcefulness, and productivity
• Highly developed organizational skills and attention to detail
• Lived experience related to caregiving, diversity, inclusion and accessibility is a definite asset
• Driver’s license and ability to travel by car for meetings within the GTA and Central Ontario
• Proficient with Microsoft Office applications including Word, Excel, PowerPoint
• Ability for occasional work after hours or on weekends to accommodate meetings or events
• Proficiency in languages other than English is an asset

Education

• Minimum Bachelor’s degree in a relevant discipline. Post-secondary education in social work or social services is a definite asset.
• Education and training related to diversity and inclusion is an asset.

We invite qualified applicants to submit a cover letter and resume to OCORecruit@ontariocaregiver.ca.

This position will remain posted until the position has been filled.  Please quote the title Application: Regional Lead – GTA/Central Ontario in the subject line of your email.

We thank all applicants for their interest; we will contact only those applicants selected for further consideration. Applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis, and therefore early submission is encouraged.