Navigator - Black Focused Social Prescribing Program

**Career Opportunity**

**Position Title**: Navigator - Black Focused Social Prescribing Program

**Classification**: Community Health Worker (under review)

**Job type**: 1.0 FTE (35 hrs/week) TERM until june 30th, 2026

**Department**: Mental Health & Counseling

**Reports to**: Manager, Mh & Counseling

**Compensation**$28.78 - $34.72 per hour plus 14 hs paid personal leave

**Start date**: as soon as possible

**Deadline to apply**:July 11th 2025 by 12:00pm**
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**About us**

We are Somerset West Community Health Centre (SWCHC), a non-profit, community-governed organization that serves over 18,000 clients annually. Established in 1978, SWCHC provides a wide range of health care services such as primary health care, health promotion, community development, mental health, and harm reduction. We are deeply connected to the communities we serve and committed to removing barriers to accessing services for people who experience vulnerabilities because of their age, income, ability, sexual orientation or gender identity, and language or culture.

SWCHC strives to ensure that our team reflects the communities we serve. We work within an anti-racist, anti-oppressive framework that acknowledges the existence and impacts of systemic racism and seeks to ensure that systems are fair and equitable for everyone.

**What You’ll Do**

Reporting to the Manager, Mental Health and Counselling, The Social Prescribing Navigator - Black Focused Social Prescribing Program (BFSP) is responsible for enhancing service coordination and connecting clients to various social services and non-clinical programs needed to manage their health care goals, as well as identifying and facilitating the development of programs and/or services for members of the Black community in Ottawa. The Navigator will be called upon to establish formal pathways for connecting clients, to act as a liaison, resource and navigator, to explore and develop partnerships and to implement health, social and community support programs based on identified community needs.

The Navigator will work as part of an inter
- and multi-disciplinary team to support client access to the health, cultural, recreational and community resources necessary to improve and maintain overall well-being. This role is actively involved in the intake, assessment, care planning, and referral processes within the clinical team, and will coordinate both internal and external referrals and service connections as appropriate.

This position involves a hybrid of work from home, virtual, in office and face-to-face client and administrative hours, including potential of evening and weekend hours, and inter-provincial travel.
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**What We’re Looking For**

**Your Education Path**
- Post-secondary education in a related field of social services, social work, mental health, community development or related health discipline OR equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.

**Linguistic profile**
- English required
- French, Arabic, Swahili and other priority languages in our service community are an asset

**Professional Experience**
- Minimum 3 years’ experience in a community-based setting with emphasis on health promotion, community development, and mental health support and care coordination
- Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with staff, volunteers and community partners in a multi-disciplinary environment
- Experience in program development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation
- Experience with a wide range of diverse populations e.g. low income, immigrant and newcomers, racialized groups, people who use drugs, people living with homelessness, mental health, and addiction challenges etc.
- Experience providing outreach in a community setting
- Experience with service navigation and advocacy for people who’ve experienced trauma, racial trauma, and discrimination due to systemic barriers
- Experience providing and facilitating community groups and workshops
- Demonstrated ability in community engagement and community needs assessments
- Working knowledge of Afrocentric principles of wellbeing or willingness to learn.

**What You Bring to the Table**
- Lived experience as a member of the African, Caribbean, and/or Black community, and a demonstrated commitment to working from a “by the community, for the community” model of care within a Black Mental Health program.
- Commitment to working within a client-centered and social determinants of health framework
- High sensitivity to psychosocial and health needs of marginalized communities
- Excellent communication skills, able to bridge gap between clients and service providers/service agencies
- Strong relationship building, interpersonal and advocacy skills
- Demonstrated ability to work independently and as an effective member of an interdisciplinary team
- Commitment to strength-based philosophy and practice
- Extensive knowledge of local community resources