Youth and Family Advocate

The aim of this position is to support Black and marginalized students and their families. Student and Family Advocate will help students and their families navigate school systems and other community supports, and act as advocate for them in alignment with organizations mission.
- **KEY RESPONSIBILITIES**:_

**Community Outreach**:

- Organize and develop a community forum for service providers and community agencies to educate them about the project.
- Participants including service providers and community agencies that will be referred to throughout the project are secured.
- Organize and develop a community forum for parents, students and Black-led organizations to educate them about the project. - Participants including students, parents and Black-led organizations are secured.
- Students, parents and Black-led organizations build relationships with each other and the project staff.

**Advocacy**:

- Engage educational institutions and advocate on behalf of Black students and families by:

- Initiating/attending meetings with educators, counsellors and administrators to discuss student’s progress.
- Negotiating with schools on behalf of students and families for additional supports.
- Helping participants access culturally relevant resources, skills development and training.
- Refers clients including parent and students to culturally appropriate services and resources within the community by:

- Meeting regularly with clients to learn about their experiences, challenges and needs.
- Discussing needs with partner agencies and referring participants to agreed upon services.
- Helps develop parent advocacy plans to support families.
- Empower parents to continue to advocate for their child after an incident has occurred within school and to deal with similar challenges in the future.

**Mentorship**:

- Meets with students on a regular basis to provide support with navigating the education system, career and education planning, (e.g. course selection, school selection, employment, volunteering), culturally specific challenges (e.g. identity, belonging) and well-being.
- Refers students to other community mentors and leaders to support them with their long-term goals and planning.

**Cultural Broker**:

- Organize training session for parents with the support of Cultural Broker volunteers. - Develop knowledge and capacity to support student learning.
- Build relationships between families and schools.
- Support change to enable parents to influence schools and communities.
- To interpret cultural issues and support culturally relevant dialogues between parents, educators and school administration.

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The training will enable parents to:

- Parent volunteers build capacity to advocate for students and refer students, families and educators in the community to the SFA.

**Workshops**:

- Develop and organize educational workshops for students, parents, educators and school administrators.
- Organize workshops for parents, educators and school administrators will build knowledge and understanding of mental health, racial disparities and anti-Black racism.
- Organize workshops for students will build knowledge of culturally and racially appropriate coping skills, and how to navigate the Ontario Education System.

**Qualifications/ Skills Required**:

- Post-secondary degree in social work, sociology, law, or a related field, as well as pertinent experience and training
- Strong communication skills (written and oral) with a demonstrated ability to build rapport with a diverse group of individuals and stakeholders
- Excellent ability to exercise judgement, provide advice, and support decisions while maintaining personal and professional boundaries
- An understanding of and commitment to principles of diversity and inclusion, including anti-racism and anti-oppression practices
- Experience in program development, implementation, and assessment across multiple and diverse stakeholder groups
- Experience working with students and parents from diverse backgrounds
- Knowledge of community and social service providers and resources
- An understanding of the barriers and challenges faced by black youth and parents
- Demonstrated ability to build rapport with parents & students
- Able to work independently and build strong working team relationships
- Must be able and willing to travel within the Ottawa area on a regular basis - a vehicle is preferred
- Must be flexible to work evenings and weekends.
- Bilingual preferred. Other languages commonly spoken among Black student population will be considered an asset.

**Salary**: $29.00-$33.00 per hour

**Benefits**:

- Flexible schedule
- On-site parking
- Paid time off

Schedule:

- 8 hour shift
- Day shift
- Evening shift
- Monday to Friday

Work Location: In person