Community Development Worker

Are you passionate about contributing to the community? Are you interested in working for an organization that helps families thrive by strengthening their mental health and wellbeing?

**POSITION OVERVIEW**:
As a Community Development Worker you will support and facilitate communities to bring their vision for their neighbourhood to life. You might work with individuals, families and whole communities to:

- Identify their assets, needs, opportunities, rights and responsibilities
- Plan what they want to achieve and take appropriate action
- Develop activities and services to generate aspiration and confidence
- Raise public awareness on issues relevant to the community

You'll frequently be involved in addressing inequality. Projects often engage people/communities that have experienced/are experiencing systemic inequities. Staff may be required to focus on particular populations based on age (e.g. youth, seniors), geography, or other factors.

The focus of this position is:
Youth - Approximately aged 12-25. This role supports 2 neighbourhoods, 1 in Waterloo 1 in Kitchener.

Paulander - A Kitchener based neighbourhood

Erb - A Waterloo based neighbourhood

**RESPONSIBILITIES**:
**_ Engagement _**
- Create and increase engagement and participation in the community
- Foster and develop leadership in the community
- Maintain open communication with community members, volunteers, partners and the community services team(e.g. via social media, collective meetings, calendars/newsletters etc)
- Build and maintain relationships with partner organizations and groups. Navigate conversations between program delivery, organizational commitment and donors and know when to bring in supervisor/manager.
- Build relationships with community members and support relationship development between community members.
- Identify Community needs and assets.
- Planning, attending and coordinating collective impact meetings and large community events

**_ Project Management _**
- Manage program budget and engage neighbours in participatory budgeting
- Design and implement systems to disperse gift cards, bus tickets, honoraria and other resources
- Recruit, train and support volunteers
- Maintain up to date records and participant databases (e.g. Link2Feed, Penelope)
- Support with evaluation and grant reporting
- General administrative duties including gathering program data and preparation of reports.
- Support the work of Carizon in other ways as required.
- To always perform work safely and in compliance with the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA)

**EDUCATION/KNOWLEDGE/EXPERIENCE**:

- College Diploma (3 Year relevant program)
- 2-3 years of experience
- Ability to work independently within the community with limited supervision
- Knowledgeable and experienced in working and communicating with a very diverse population from an equity lens
- Excellent communication skills required which include: courtesy, tact, discretion, providing detailed explanations, mediation or guiding, problem solving, interpretation, negotiation, counselling and diplomacy
- Ability to interact effectively with external stakeholders such as community partners, program funders and other clients (i.e. participatory and engagement practices)
- Ability to manage time pressures; deal with lack of control over outcomes and set boundaries with community members.
- Sensitive to the needs of clients and the culturally diverse communities served
- Demonstrated group work, conflict resolution, mediation and problem solving skills to support community programs
- Understanding of Youth Engagement (or Community Development) principles and processes (i.e. Hart’s ladder,, Asset Based Community Development or another lens)
- Group facilitation skills
- Program and facility coordination
- Project management skills
- Advocacy and networking skills
- Excellent communication, interpersonal and team-building skills
- Good listening skills
- Research and report-writing skills and the ability to interpret or present data
- Knowledge and understanding of community and social issues
- A non-judgmental and positive attitude
- Creative thinking and problem-solving ability

**WORKING HOURS/CONDITIONS**:

- Work will take place in a community centre and/or various locations within the community
- Ability to work evenings and weekends may be required based on the needs of the program
- Travel may be required throughout the Region of Waterloo
- Must have access to a reliable vehicle, a valid driver’s license, and valid automobile insurance
- Satisfactory vulnerable sector criminal background check required

**HOW TO APPLY**:
**_ As we continue to be responsive to the changing needs of our communities, we acknowledge the historical and present-day violence and systemic barriers that continue to harm members of our Region and that we must ask ourselves not if we are complicit, but how._**

**_
Carizon is committed to developing anti-oppressive practices and equitable outcomes