Job Description

Career Opportunity

Youth Health Peer Support Navigator

(Full-Time Permanent)

Closing:

Wednesday, October 29th, 2025

Anticipated Start Date:

Immediate

Salary:

$44,790.20 Annually

(Based on Qualifications and Experience)

General Description:

Reporting to the Health Director, the Youth Health Peer Support Navigator is an active member of the Healthy Communities Public Health Team and works within the Public Health Standards and Protocols and a Health Promoting Schools Approach, guided by the Public Health, Health Promoting Schools Standards. The YHPSN provides leadership, informal assessment, service navigation, youth engagement and support for youth associated with the assigned school facility and its immediate community.





The YHPSN champions youth health, health equity and facilitates youth engagement as a component of health promoting schools. The position works with youth and fosters cooperation and collaboration among school administrators, teachers, Schools Plus, guidance, student/youth support workers, primary health care, mental health and addictions and other community partners to ensure youth have access to supports, programs and services within the school and community that promote health. The YHPSN models and provides safe, equitable and inclusive youth supports and understands the





The YHPSN is a regulated team member that acts as a trusted adult for youth in the school to understand and assess youth concerns and identify needs through individual conversations and discussions in the youth health center.

Responsibilities:

Youth Support and Navigation (30%)

Assess needs of youth by utilizing professional judgement and trauma informed approach. Utilize advanced knowledge of services and supports available to youth within the school and community and make decisions with youth. Develop strong relationships with school-based service providers and others to understand critical youth service pathways and processes to support students. Ensures youth are connected to an appropriate formal assessment and referral process and assist students in accessing resources and other opportunities within their school and the community. Utilizes a strengths-based approach to support youth in a manner that is youth-centered, and that is nonjudgmental, confidential, and safe. Support and navigate youth through programs and service pathways. Work with partners and youth service providers to collectively identify opportunities for improving programs, services and outcomes for youth. Appropriately records supports and navigation provided, when necessary, as outlined in organizational policies and guidelines. diverse experiences of the school and the surrounding community.

Partnership and Collaboration (20%)

Build and maintain strong relationships with school administrators, teachers, and school staff to create safe spaces for youth and youth voices. Build and maintains strong relationships with key youth service providers such as Schools Plus, guidance counsellors, youth support workers, Primary Health Care, Mental Health and Addictions to ensure that youth have access to a wide range of programs and services that promote health while ensuring the mechanisms to coordinate youth services are in place. Create connections between the wellbeing priorities within the school and a Health Promoting Schools approach by connecting with the RCE/CSAP school health promoter. Establish a school-based advisory committee that is informed by youth and is responsible for guiding the work of the youth health center and providing youth voice. Ensure that the YHC planning work is connected and coordinated within schools and works closely with other school teams/committees such as but not inclusive to diversity/inclusion/equity teams, wellness committees and health promoting schools and wellbeing teams.

Youth Engagement (25%)

Ensures that meaningful and inclusive youth participation and engagement is adopted as a core value and embedded within the norms and practices of the school. The YHPSN applies principles of youth engagement and empowerment. Work with youth and partners in the school to ensure youth have a strong sense of ownership over processes and decisions in school that impact their lives. Establish youth engagement processes and on-going consultation (formal and informal) with youth about their health and learning needs while fostering equity across the student population by ensuring mechanisms are in place to gather diverse perspectives. Decide on the level and intensity of participation for youth engagement based on the foundational principles of engagement (IAP2 spectrum and youth engagement tools). Reports back to youth on the processes in which they have been consulted. Ensure planning and delivery of youth services is informed by a youth-centered approach and that services respond and adapt to the identified needs of the youth.

Youth Health Centre Coordination (25%)

Contributes to meeting quality, evidence-based and developmentally appropriate program and services standards within the youth health center. Coordinates use of the space and programming within the Youth Health Centre and ensuring it is inclusive and youth friendly. Works with partners to ensure evidence-based programs that support youth health, health education and health literacy are provided (e.g. healthy relationships; sexual health; mental health promotion; 2SLGTBQ+ alliances). Ensures YHC work is informed by youth and programming, and supports are adapted based on identified needs. Ensures youth resources are made available through the center (for example: pregnancy tests and condoms) Maintains program statistics and narrative reports May be required to perform other related duties.

Qualifications and Experience/Skills:

Must have Grade 12 Diploma or equivalent. Strong leadership skills while work with youth. A genuine interest in working with and supporting youth with Mental Health orders/disorders. Must be dependable and flexible to deal with unexpected/unpredictable situations. Must have valid driver's license. Criminal records check and child abuse registry check is required.

Benefits:

This position comes with a variety of benefits including Sick, Personal and Vacation Leave, Health, Dental, Disability and Life Insurance, an Employee & Family Assistance Program and employer matched Pension Plan.





Please apply with a resume, cover letter and criminal records check by the link provided or to:



Human Resources Department



Email employmentapplication@sipeknekatik.ca



Mail/drop off: 522 Church Street, Indian Brook, NS B0N 2H0



We are an equal opportunity employer; however, qualified Aboriginal applicants will be given priority in accordance with the Aboriginal Employment Preference Policy of the Canadian Human Rights Commission. The Band will not assume any expenses related to any job application process, included but not limited to travel, relocation, and application development. Please note certain positions come with mandatory employee benefits.

Only those applicants who qualify for an interview will be contacted.