Intake and Residential Care Counsellor

_**Employment Opportunity**_
- **Young Bears Lodge Intake and Residential Care Counsellor**_
- **Full-Time**_
- **Monday - Friday 9am
- 5pm**_
- **on-call as needed**_

**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

**Highlights of this opportunity**:
Are you passionate about empowering Indigenous youth? Do you have a knack for building positive relationships? Are you strategic, creative, and dynamic in your approach to youth work? Does working within a fast-paced environment energize you? If you said yes, then this is the opportunity for you
- Contribute to a team focused on increasing stabilization, belonging and empowerment for youth.
- Be a positive role model for youth, working in cooperation with others and positively participating and implementing programming.
- Work in a variety of trauma-informed healing modalities.
- Provide individual case management support to youth, from overseeing health appointments, medication needs, communicating with support teams, follow ups, and after-care planning.
- Participate in Indigenous protocols, ceremonies, and other practices.
- Support youth and their families during pre-intake and intake into the Young Bears Lodge as well as their transition back into community.
- Provide leadership in residential care, responding to critical incidents and care needs for the youth & families accessing our service.
- Support and co-facilitate workshops.
- Assist in the development and implementation of outcome-oriented and culturally relevant treatment and transition plans.
- Share responsibility for the daily operations of Young Bears Lodge, including meal planning and preparation, maintaining timely, accurate logs, case files and reports.
- Represent Young Bears Lodge in the community; building connections to ensure widespread dissemination of program information to youth, their families and community referring agencies.
- This role requires on-call duties

**Qualifications and Conditions**:
1. Post-secondary education in Child & Youth Care, preferably a Degree/Diploma/Certificate in a related field. Preference for experience working with Indigenous youth. **We recognize that formal education is not the only relevant qualification for this role, and will also consider an equivalent combination of lived and work experience, alongside training in cultural healing practices, coaching, or education.**

2. Experience working with the Indigenous community. Must demonstrate a good working knowledge of community resources in Vancouver, particularly youth & Indigenous-specific resources.

3. Knowledge and understanding of Indigenous culture and traditions.

4. Knowledge and understanding of the family and social issues that Indigenous youth face today, including the generational impacts of the residential school system on families and communities.

5. Must demonstrate the ability to identify with mandate, policies and procedures of the organization.

6. Must have a criminal record check completed by and satisfactory to UNYA.

7. Proof of Covid19 vaccination will be required

9. Exceptional verbal and written communication skills, coupled with strong crisis intervention and conflict mediation skills. A strong spirit of collaboration, dependability, positivity, and a love of what you do.

10. Class 5 BC Drivers License + own vehicle

**What we offer**:

- $36.16/per hour
- 40 hours a week
- Comprehensive Benefits package
- Vacation, Sick, and Wellness days
- 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**:

- UNYA acknowledges that we are gathered on the ancestral, traditional and unceded territories of the Coast Salish Peoples, including the territories of the _**xʷməθkʷəy̓əm**_ _(Musqueam), _**sḵwx̱wú7mesh**_ _(Squamish) and _**sel̓íl̓witulh**_ _(Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. We are honoured and grateful to be able to do o