Family Mediation Counsellor

**Highlights of this opportunity**: As a **Family Mediation Counsellor**, you will walk alongside Indigenous youth aged 12-18 and their families, providing trauma-informed, culturally grounded, and strengths-based support. The Mediation Program empowers youth and their kin to strengthen relationships, navigate challenges, and build on their gifts through holistic and relational approaches to wellness. Guided by Indigenous values of respect, responsibility, and interconnectedness, the Family Mediation Counsellor facilitates healing conversations and helps families: - Identify the emotional and cultural impacts of their experiences - Recognize individual and collective strengths - Set meaningful goals rooted in their own definitions of wellness - Engage in transformative, inclusive dialogue across generations Utilizing a range of therapeutic and culturally responsive practices, the Counsellor ensures all support is led by the voices and choices of youth and their families. **As a Clinical Counsellor at YBL, you will engage in**: **Key Responsibilities**: - Provide one-on-one and group counselling sessions both in-house and through community outreach - Offer weekly counselling support at Young Bears Lodge, UNYA’s Tier 3 Indigenous Healing Lodge for youth changing their relationship with substance use - Co-create and deliver culturally relevant psychoeducational circles and support groups - Collaborate with youth, caregivers, and community partners to create safe, welcoming, and inclusive spaces for healing - Work from a decolonial, anti-oppressive lens that honours the diverse identities, teachings, and lived experiences of Indigenous youth and families - Report directly to the Director of Clinical Programs and participate actively in team-based planning and care - This role is ideal for someone who brings a deep understanding of Indigenous cultural teachings, a commitment to community-based wellness, and a passion for relational work with youth and families. - **Location**: UNYA Head Office, with outreach to Young Bears Lodge and community location. Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM **Qualifications and Conditions**: - Knowledge & training of Indigenous Cultural Safety and experience providing culturally safe care to Indigenous people, families or communities. - Understanding of the family and social issues faced by Indigenous youth today, including the generational impacts of the residential school system on families and communities. - Demonstrated strong understanding of, and a willingness to participate in, Indigenous protocols, ceremonies, and other practices. Specifically, must demonstrate a strong knowledge of Indigenous healing modalities and a strong working knowledge of other community resources in Vancouver - Must demonstrate the ability to identify with mandate, policies and procedures of the organization. - Must have a criminal record check completed by and satisfactory to UNYA. - Must have a personal support system and self-care plan in place. - Must have a valid Class 5 B.C. Driver’s License (Class 4 a strong asset). A driving abstract will be required upon request. - Proof of Covid19 vaccination will be required **What we offer**: - Salary range $90,000- $95,000 - 40 hours a week - Vacation and Wellness days - Employer paid - Comprehensive Benefits package - Access to our Employee Assistance Program (EAP) which consists of no-cost counselling services to UNYA staff - Support from UNYA’s Elder in Residence for cultural and spiritual guidance or teachings - Monthly Staff development **How to Apply**: Posting will close when position is filled. Only those shortlisted will be contacted. **Who we are**: UNYA has been supporting the health and wellbeing of Indigenous youth in the Metro Vancouver area for over 30 years. As a respected non-profit, charitable organization, we recognize Indigenous youth as experts in their own lives and strive to provide youth with programs and opportunities that are relevant and meaningful to them. At Urban Native Youth Association (UNYA) we have developed a Philosophy of Care foundation, drawing from best practices. These philosophies are the grounding framework that shapes all of our decisions and every interaction we have with the youth we serve. Following these philosophies empowers our staff to meet youth where they are at, by giving them the ability to balance flexibility and structure. This allows us to meet our youth’s needs, and ensure that our youth experience a consistent quality of care across all UNYA programs. Our 5 key philosophies are: - **Trauma**-**Informed Practice**: - **Two-Eyed Seeing**: - **Harm Reduction Practice**: - **Youth/Person Centered Practice**: - **Culture as Therapy