Wellness Navigator

**Req ID**:189776**
**Location**:Central** Zone,**Halifax Infirmary Robie Street Entrance - QEII**
**Department**:PHC CZ DSE CDW NS Brotherhood Initiative**
**Type of Employment**:Permanent**Hourly FT** (**100%**) x**1**
**NSGEU** **Healthcare** Position**
**Posting Closing Date**:4-Feb-25**

Nova Scotia Health is the largest provider of health services in Nova Scotia, with some specialized services also offered to clients throughout Atlantic Canada. We’re on a mission to achieve excellence in health, healing, and learning through working together, which is reflected in the hospitals, health centres, and community-based programs we operate across the province. Our passionate team of professionals provides a variety of high-quality inpatient and outpatient services including academic, tertiary, and quaternary care, as well as continuing care, primary health care, public health, and mental health and addictions. Join a diverse team of innovators, collaborators, and creative thinkers today.

**About the Opportunity**:
The Nova Scotia Brotherhood Initiative (NSBI) is a community-based health initiative that focuses on providing cultural and gender specific care to African Nova Scotian Men. The NSBI will deliver wellness programming, Primary Care and Chronic Disease Management, and navigation. The NSBI works in collaboration with other provider groups and services to offer programming and supports. While the NSBI is a district-wide initiative, it will focus its work on three key regions (East Preston, North Preston, Cherrybrook and Lake Loon; North End Halifax and North End Dartmouth; and Hammonds Plains, Lucasville and Beechville).

Reporting to the Health Services Manager, the Wellness Navigator demonstrates flexibility and innovation in supporting citizens of the communities that the NSBI serves in accessing the services, programs, and/or resources that can support health enhancing behaviours. Responsibilities of the Wellness Navigator include meeting with individuals and families with complex health and wellness needs to support them to navigate health care and community resources (this includes assessing and prioritizing needs using a determinants of health lens, developing a care plan, providing advocacy, creatively mobilizing resources across the continuum of care, coordinating health and community resources, and providing transitional support) researching, developing, and maintaining in depth awareness of resources within the community and the surrounding areas of the district through a community development, population health and collaborative approach; developing and facilitating emotional wellness programming and facilitating other health and wellness programs ; developing community partnerships and conducting community engagement.

The Wellness Navigator is team focused and will collaborate with the NSBI staff, family physicians, other health care providers and community groups to maintain awareness of existing supports within the community and in the surrounding areas of the district through a community development, population health and collaborative approach. This individual also works collaboratively with the team and partners to develop, implement and evaluate the community-based wellness navigation model that guides their work. The incumbent is a member of an inter-professional team and collaborates with colleagues to determine team goals and objectives, participates in the evaluation of team effectiveness, solves problems, and shares responsibilities. Excellent interpersonal and written communication skills are required.

**About You**:
We would love to hear from you if you have the following:

- Bachelor's degree required from an accredited institution in one of the following health care disciplines: Occupational Therapy, Social Work, Registered Nurse, Recreation Therapy
- Registration with respective professional regulatory association required
- Minimum 3-5 years of related experience required
- 3-5 years of experience in a Primary Health Care setting/community-based team/community setting; individual and group education/facilitation utilizing adult education, self-management supports, and motivational enhancement principles
- Previous work experience with African Nova Scotian Communities is preferred
- Preferred experience in partnership development, stakeholder collaboration, and community development
- Experience working with people living with a chronic condition
- Understanding of population health, health promotion strategies, and behavior change principles
- In-depth knowledge of local district health authority and community-based services
- Demonstrates person-centered / family-focused, diversity relevant approaches to care
- Well developed interpersonal, teamwork, oral and written communication skills
- Demonstrates flexibility, adaptability and willingness to change
- Demonstrates innovation in program planning, implementation and evaluation, and quality improvement
- Planning ski