Life Skills Coach – Wesley Youth Housing

Posting #: 3943 Posting Date: 11/14/2024 Posting Closing: 12/29/2024 4:00 PM

Have you heard of us?

Wesley is a long-standing local non-profit and a certified Ontario Living Wage Network (OLWN) employer. We are passionate about assisting people struggling with poverty. Our work is focused on children and family programs, housing & homelessness, and resettling newcomers to Canada in Hamilton, Halton, and Brantford.

We are deeply committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace where every individual feels valued and respected. Our Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) policies are integral to our mission and practices. We believe that a diverse team brings a wealth of perspectives and experiences that enhance our ability to serve our community effectively.

All members of our organization are expected to embrace and actively participate in our EDI initiatives. By joining our team, you will be contributing to an environment that promotes equity, respect, and inclusion for all.

Are you the one we're looking for?

We are seeking a dynamic, highly motivated Life Skills Coach who demonstrates our values of compassion, accountability, responsiveness, and empowerment; to our clients, families, and each other.

The Life Skills Coach is a position that works out of the Wesley Youth Housing program, which provides service to up to 19 youth who are homeless or at imminent risk of homelessness. Life Skills Coaches provide one-to-one and group life skills programming to youth, which may include cooking classes, social rec programs, and mental health programming among others. This position engages with youth ages 16-21 and builds a youth's independent living skills, so they are able to graduate from the program to gain independent stable housing in the community.

The Youth Housing program provides an individualized and strengths-based approach to each young person to help them achieve their goals of independent living with case management and life skills.

This position is a unionized, full-time, permanent position. The rate of pay is $20.99 per hour. Hours per week are 40. This position works on a schedule of Sunday-Thursday, 3 pm to 11 pm.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Ability to establish a strong positive rapport with a diverse group of youth by being friendly, non-judgmental, non-intrusive, and approachable.
2. Oversee the 19-unit program and residents, handling issues that may arise within a single-staffed team
3. Plan, schedule, coordinate, and evaluate programs, within a specified budget, that are geared towards increasing self-efficacy, coping skills, and overall capacity for independent living.
4. Assist with appropriate life skill referrals and linking youth to relevant programs within the community.
5. Maintain regular, effective communication with Intensive Case Managers to ensure a consistent team approach that will provide the best support possible for the youth in the program.
6. Actively develop and encourage resident-led program activities.
7. Maintain appropriate and accurate record-keeping practices and document activities for client files, tracking the success of the Life Skills programs, and collecting monthly and quarterly statics.
8. Develop/keep up-to-date inventory for program cleaning supplies, pod/apartment furnishings, food pantry, and food requests, identifying maintenance issues as required.
9. Complete household cleaning responsibilities as required.
10. Complete regular room checks to ensure rooms/pods are in appropriate condition.

What you will bring:

1. Post-secondary degree/diploma in the Social Service related field. Preference will be given to those candidates with a Life Skills Certificate.
2. Minimum of 2 years' experience working with marginalized youth and a demonstrated ability to build rapport with youth, including those with mental health and substance use issues.
3. Must have current food safe handling certificate and strong cooking/baking skills and confident in facilitating cooking classes.
4. Demonstrated a strong ability to motivate and engage youth by using fresh ideas/techniques, positive attitude, youth involvement, and empowerment.
5. ASSIST, CPI Nonviolent Crisis intervention, First Aid/CPR, and Mental Health First aid training is required.
6. A valid driver's license and a reliable vehicle is required.

Invest in Yourself as we Invest in You! Wesley offers…

• A positive work culture that prioritizes all staff having an opportunity to contribute
• A supportive team that will empower you to achieve great milestones!
• Fun and engaging organizational events such as our Staff Appreciation Event
• Professional development and training opportunities
• Full Health & Dental Benefits (Eligible After Three Months)
• Personal & Vacation Days
• RRSP Contribution Program (Eligible After One Year)
• Employee Assistance Program Available Immediately
• Employee Discounts

Please Apply Via: Our Wesley Bamboo Portal:

1. Click on this link: https://wesley.bamboohr.com/jobs/
2. From there you can access all of Wesley's job postings

Wesley is an equal-opportunity employer. We encourage applications from all qualified applicants. Only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted. No phone calls, please. More information about Wesley can be found on our website at www.wesley.ca.