Mi'kmaw Indigenous Health Consultant

The Opportunity

The incumbent provides leadership and guidance to achieve and continuously improve culturally safe and appropriate health services for Mi’kmaw and Indigenous peoples.  Essential to this end is enabling the development and support of a culturally safe, diverse and inclusive workplace.  The Consultant leads planning and implementation of activities focused on cultural safety and liaises, facilitates connection with and supports Mi’kmaw and Indigenous Health leads within Nova Scotia.
 
The Consultant applies Mi'kmaw ways of knowing and being in the planning, implementation and evaluation of policies, programs and activities with the aim of enhancing access to high quality, culturally safe and appropriate services for Indigenous peoples. They will also work across portfolios to ensure workplace policies and strategies support enhanced representation of Mi’kmaw and Indigenous Health Leads in addition to supporting respectful and safe working environments.
 
The Consultant engages with Mi’kmaw and Indigenous Health leads, communities and organizations serving Indigenous people to understand and act on improvement of health outcomes that are aligned with Mi’kmaw and Indigenous needs.  Building on the existing network of partnership tables within the health sector as well as with community, government, academic, education, research and business and community partners to incorporate promising practices in the development of resources and structures necessary to promote diversity in health and employment within IWK Health. 
 
The Consultant will support diversity, equity and social inclusion activities with IWK Health that are specific to Mi’kmaw and Indigenous communities and collaborate with other portfolios that support under-represented and/or diverse communities and work to address health inequities.
 

Hours of Work

Permanent Full-Time; 75 hours bi-weekly

Your Qualifications

• Undergraduate degree in Allied Health field, Public Administration, Health Services Administration, Business Administration or relevant areas of study. 
• Five years’ of related experience or a Master’s degree plus three years’ experience.
• Significant knowledge of Indigenous peoples across Nova Scotia and the Maritimes.
• Experience as a health professional is an asset.
• Demonstrated commitment to promoting and advocating for systemic change that addresses and advocates for health transformation initiatives that improve access and experience to the health system for Indigenous people in NS and reduces health inequities and anti-indigenous racism.
• Strong understanding and connection to Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw communities and demonstrated experience working with and engaging Mi’kmaw communities.
• Demonstrated experience in project management, coordination, facilitation, community engagement and qualitative research.
• Strong writing skills with demonstrated competency writing synthesized literature reviews, policy analysis, briefing notes and reports.
• Demonstrated planning, organization and time management skills. Ability to deal with competing priorities.
• Demonstrated critical thinking with demonstrated ability to assess and anticipate future needs, potential problems, directions and development for all aspects of strategic, financial, and human resource management.
• Strong communications skills and ability to develop and sustain coalitions, alliances, and partnerships with the members of the health care sector and external agencies. Community development experiences an asset.
• Ability to communicate and build coalitions effectively with a wide variety of stakeholders using a variety of methods.
• Innovative systems thinking with an understanding of working with priority communities.
• Demonstrated high standards of ethics, integrity, respect, accountability and upholding the public interest, and ability to use them effectively in decision-making.
• Leadership skills consisting of building a vision, team building, conflict resolution, goal setting, coaching, mentoring, delegation, change-leadership.
• Responsibilities are provincial in scope resulting in regular travel throughout the province and occasionally elsewhere in Canada.
• A current Nova Scotia Driver’s License and access to a reliable vehicle are required.
• Competencies in other languages considered an asset; Mi’kmaq preferred.

 
*This position is designated for a person of Mi'kmaw descent. It has cross-portfolio accountabilities and will work closely with leaders across the organization to advise on organizational fulfillment of the TRC calls to action, the MMIWG calls to Justice and UNDRIP, advocating for safe services that are responsive to Mi'kmaw community needs.