Community Support Worker

Do you want to make a meaningful impact within your community and work closely with community members and partners? Do you have strong communication skills, and have experience in conflict resolution, and social work? The Mustard Seed is seeking a Community Support Worker in Edmonton.

The Community Support Worker works closely with The Mustard Seed's participants accessing the Canora Centre's drop in. You will be encouraging guests in their journey and facilitating a safe and respectful space. The Community Support Worker fulfills the mission of The Mustard Seed by maintaining a high level of professionalism, and respect for all who enter the building and neighborhood. Community Support Workers respond to participant needs using a person-centred approach. On an ongoing basis, they ensure guests are supported and cared for. Support workers will be expected to provide advocacy supports to clients by connecting them with internal and external resources. Crisis intervention, meaningful conversations and conflict resolution are daily occurrences for this role.

Employment Type: Casual
Schedule: Flexible schedule with no guaranteed hours (may include day, evening and weekend)
Reporting to: Director of Programs
City:  Edmonton
Number of Positions to Fill: 3
RFR #: 1575

MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Front line Duties:

• Greet and welcome community members, visitors, and other stakeholders into our Centre; sign in guests in our information database, and conduct intakes and program evaluation with guests
• Create a safe, healthy, and respectful environment for all community participants, staff, volunteers and visitors accessing our services and programs
• Provide non-violent crisis intervention and use de-escalation techniques as required with a proactive approach
• Foster meaningful relationships with community members, volunteers, coworkers, supervisors, and other stakeholders
• Ensure daily tidiness and cleanliness of the work area in addition to participating in daily sanitization of high touch areas
• Assist in emergency situations as required
• As needed advocate for guests accessing site within the organization and with other agencies and partners as required working in a collaborative manor

Program Coordination Duties:

• Aid in the implementation, and facilitation of programs that support and nurture the community
• Collaborate with community members to encourage positive changes in lifestyle and behavior through supportive relationships and day-to-day interactions
• Promote programming to the community members, encourage them to participate in programs, and lead participants and volunteers involved in the programs

Administrative Duties:

• Ensure all materials and equipment needed for programs are in good working order
• Maintain measurables and assessment tools for programming and ensure that these are recorded/met
• Collect data and generate reports on statistics as required
• Ensure incident reports and daily logs are done as required in a timely manner
• Maintain a high level of confidentiality and professionalism

OTHER RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Respond to conflicts in a healthy, respectful and safe manner
• Model healthy relationships with community participants and volunteers through listening, advising, and providing appropriate referrals
• Assist community participants in accessing The Mustard Seed services, including the drop-In programs and activities, registration for pop up events, and/or booking appointments.
• Assist with onsite Food Services programs as needed
• Participate in all staff training (e.g., First Aid, ASIST, Non-violent Crisis Intervention, etc.) and attend meetings as required
• Enforce guests loss of services as necessary and participate in restorative practices with guests
• Receiving and sorting donations
• Other duties as assigned

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS AND SKILLS

• An undergraduate degree in Social Work or related field or equivalent level of experience
• Minimum of 1 years' experience working in community development initiatives
• Front line experience working with vulnerable populations and program facilitation
• Knowledge within the field of community development and community resilience initiatives
• Demonstrated ability to engage, communicate, and work effectively with a diverse range of people from various cultural and socio-economic backgrounds
• Experienced with developing creative solutions to complex challenges and problems
• Demonstrated effective conflict management, networking, and interpersonal communication skills
• Interest and skills in recreational activities are an asset
• Must be self-directed and can work independently as required
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite
• A valid driver's license and access to a reliable vehicle with a minimum of $2,000,000 liability insurance is considered an asset

WORKING CONDITIONS

• The position will require ongoing compassionate care, frequent manual labor, conflict resolution and organizational ability
• This position is often fast-paced, and requires moderate amount of mental effort to analyze information and problem solve
• This position requires varied mental and emotional effort, must be able to respond appropriately to intense situations, provide conflict resolution, work directly with clients at risk
• This position requires the training and use of two-way radio communications and MS Office based programs
• This position requires the ability to lift up to 50 lbs. Periods of standing, walking, indoors and outdoors
• Employees are to be aware that many of our clients may experience difficulties or impairment at times, which could result in them uttering threats, discriminatory statements, and other insults at your person. This may in a raised voice, or in seeing unpredictable behaviour up to and including the possibility of them becoming aggressive
  • Training on how to respond is provided, but this is to be considered typical working conditions. Many of our clients are unaware of the impact of these comments

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

• An Employment Background Check is required for all positions at The Mustard Seed
• As The Mustard Seed is a Christian ministry, we require our employees to agree to respect and not detract from The Mustard Seed's Employment Values during their employment at The Mustard Seed.
• Must have legal authorization to work in Canada on a full-time basis for anyone other than current employer

NOTE

• Your privacy is important to us. The information we collect is used solely for consideration for employment.
• We thank all candidates for their interest, however, only those candidates selected for an interview will be contacted. The Mustard Seed reserves the right to amend job advertisements. No phone calls please.
• Please visit our Careers page to see more job opportunities.