Director, Harm Reduction Services
Full-Time Regular Position (37.5 hours/week)

Parkdale Queen West Community Health Centre (PQWCHC) is a dynamic, community-based health care organization that has historically served mid-west downtown Toronto, and now provides outreach services to across the entire city. Offering a broad range of services, including primary health care, dental care, harm reduction, health promotion, counselling, and community development programming, we are also committed to serving people who face barriers to health care, and we strive to reduce these barriers. PQWCHC is a multi-sited organization.

We are seeking experienced Director of Harm Reduction Services, who shares our passion for making a difference; you see this role as an opportunity to take the next step in your successful career while contributing to a vision of Inclusive Communities. Responsive Healthcare. Healthier Lives.

Reporting to the Executive Director, the Director, Harm Reduction Services is accountable for all harm reduction operations comprising the planning, managing and delivery of high-quality services to clients of the Centre, and leading strategic sector partnerships. The incumbent is responsible for ensuring the overall quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of programs/services/care, directly leading a team of managers and Supervised Consumption Services (SCS) supervisors, and indirectly influencing the efforts of front-line staff.

As a key member of the executive team, the Director, Harm Reduction Services actively shapes the development and implementation of organizational strategy and provides purposeful leadership to the Centre and the broader provincial health care sector while also advocating and championing the needs of the various communities served by the Centre.

General Responsibilities:

• Guides and ensures effective and appropriate daily operations in the provision of all Harm Reduction programs and services
• Provides senior-level operational support to Managers and Supervisors in daily operations, new program development, and partnership engagement
• Assures service quality to provide safe and effective service to clients and meet appropriate levels of client experience
• Effectively motivates people to ensure high performance, teamwork, and collaborative relationships within an interdisciplinary framework
• Directs harm reduction operations within available budget, resources and provides variance reporting accordingly
• Participating in the development and implementation of a responsive health human resources strategy to meet client needs
• Developing, implementing, and evaluating strategies and programs to meet client needs and meet obligations of applicable funders
• Ensures development projects are based on client need, fit within available resources, and are planned collaboratively with other internal partners
• Implements and revises operational plans to achieve corporate objectives
• Liaises and works effectively with a wide variety of external stakeholders including funders, community agencies, associations, and other community health centres
• Participates in management and Board committees, task forces and working groups (internal and external) as appropriate and assigned

Qualifications:

• Graduate university degree in a relevant discipline or undergraduate university degree with recognized equivalent work experience
• Five (5) to seven (7) years of progressive management experience in a staff supervisory and management capacity, preferably in a harm-reduction based, unionized community setting
• Significant experience with Harm Reduction principles and working with people who use drugs, racialized populations, Indigenous peoples, young people, people who engage in sex work, prisoners/ex-prisoners, people with mental health issues, and people who have experienced trauma
• Advanced knowledge and appreciation of the social, economic, environmental, and cultural issues impacting on access to services in diverse communities
• Commitment to anti-oppression, cultural awareness, and responsiveness in working across diverse populations
• Demonstrated excellent leadership capabilities
• Highly effective interpersonal and communication skills
• Well-developed analytical and evaluative or research abilities
• Demonstrated experience in crisis response, de-escalation, emergency response and first aid/CPR
• Highly flexible, consistently positive, and team-oriented outlook

Compensation: Competitive salary commensurate with experience, plus Group Benefits and HOOPP (Health Care of Ontario Pension Plan)

If you are interested in joining a creative and dedicated team, we want to hear from you! Please send your resume and cover letter in a single document (MS Word or PDF format only) to , quoting “Director, HRS” in the subject line. Please submit application by 5:00 pm on January 27, 2023. We genuinely appreciate your interest; however, only those candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.

Please also note that the successful candidate will be required to provide a criminal record check as a condition of employment, however strong consideration is made to the type of offense. Employment is conditional upon having had a full series of COVID-19 vaccinations 14 days before starting employment.