Community Health Ambassador

**Job Position**:Community Health Ambassador

**Department**:Health Services

**Status**: Full-Time - 35 hours per week. This posting is for an active vacancy.

**Location**: Mississauga & Brampton. This role is on-site and/or community based.

**Compensation**: $26.00 per hour plus benefits

Indus Community Services is an accredited, not-for-profit community benefit organization that has served local communities for over four decades. We are a registered charity, supported by our donors and by all three levels of government. Through our professional staff, we are a leader in the provision of culturally responsive services to newcomers, families, women & seniors.

Vision: To be leaders in building strong and inclusive communities.

Mission: We are a community benefit organization focused on building resilient and healthy communities by offering person-centered, anti-oppressive programs and services.

**Position Summary**:
In collaboration with researchers at the University of Toronto, Indus Community Services has partnered with multiple community organizations including Lakeshore Area Multi-Services Project (LAMP) Community Health Centre and Punjabi Community Health Service (PCHS) on a 5-year project aimed at developing a community-focused approach to address the burden of Type 2 diabetes in Peel region.

Under the general guidance of the Manager - Health Promotion Programs the incumbent will engage across Indus, LAMP Community Health Centre, and PCHS to ensure meaningful engagement and culturally specific community outreach, support knowledge translation activities, provide feedback to the project team, and promote the project initiatives within the Region of Peel.

**Responsibilities and Duties: (but not limited to)**
- Share health promotion related information to community members and local businesses.
- Organize health promotion information sessions, and distribute resources through tabling sessions/events, presentations at local community venues, community wellness fairs, religious venues and businesses.
- Dispel culturally specific myths/misinformation through culturally and language specific education and information sessions.
- Identify and build relationships with potential community partners.
- Support recruitment of community members (patients and caregivers) with lived experience of Type-2 diabetes from different life stages and diverse backgrounds.
- Support cross-organizational collaboration and coordination amongst the community partner organizations.
- Engage and liaise with diverse stakeholders including local businesses, community groups, religious organizations, policymakers, academic and researchers, public health professionals and practitioners, and internal and external partner agencies.
- Support knowledge mobilization and dissemination of project activities and project deliverables.
- Respond to queries and concerns regarding a variety of health promotion topics and provide strategies and resources to support community wellness and education.
- Support administrative tasks related to community engagement, honorarium distribution, logístical support.
- Work with the designated partners to implement outreach strategies and report data.
- Participate in staff and team meetings, and professional development opportunities.
- Adopt safe work practices, reporting unsafe conditions immediately.
- Perform other duties as required.

**Qualifications and Skills**:

- Post-Secondary education in health promotion, health studies and/or health sciences and prior experience in health promotion and community engagement.
- Lived/living experience of Type-2 diabetes as a patient or caregiver is an asset.
- Critical understanding of theoretical approaches and determinants of health strategies required for health promotion activities and interventions.
- Strong understanding of institutional and other systemic barriers and how they impact individuals/communities and access to services.
- Excellent communication and presentation skills to clearly convey information in a manner that engages the audience and helps them understand and retain messaging.
- Must be able to communicate verbally and in writing in English and at least one second language (Punjabi, Hindi, Urdu, Tamil, Arabic, Spanish, Chinese, or Portuguese preferred).
- Strong knowledge and understanding of community resources and diabetes specific health information within the Region of Peel.
- Ability to mobilize people at the grassroots; strong networking skills.
- Ability to work flexible hours including evenings, weekends and from any Indus work-site and within the community.
- Demonstrate a strong interest in making an impact in the community through service, leadership, and education.
- Ability to motivate a sometimes unreceptive, uninformed or misinformed diverse population, including community members, business owners and other local agencies to modify behavior to reduce and mitigate the spread of diseases/illnesses within the community