Community Connection Coordinator – HIV Outreach & Support

Guelph Community Health Centre; Guelph; On-site; CAD 14,000 - 21,000; Part time

Job summary

Guelph Community Health Centre is seeking a Part-Time Peer Community Connection Coordinator to provide outreach, peer-led support, system navigation, and connection to health and social services related to HIV, across Guelph and surrounding communities.

Drawing on lived experience and a trauma-informed approach, you will strengthen community ties, reduce barriers to care, and connect residents to internal and community supports through Hive Health Services' interdisciplinary team.

Qualifications

• Experience working with underserved populations.
• Ability to navigate health and social services.
• Trauma-informed approach is preferred.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
• Cultural humility and adaptability.

Responsibilities

• Conduct community outreach to populations facing barriers to HIV services.
• Build relationships with trusted community spaces and organizations.
• Increase awareness of HIV prevention, testing, and treatment services.
• Support culturally and linguistically responsive engagement approaches.
• Identify community needs and barriers to access.
• Collaborate with Hive’s interdisciplinary team to ensure accessible, person-centred care.

Job description

EMPLOYMENT STATUS: Part-Time

HOURS/WEEK: 15.5 hours per week – 2 positions (10 month contracts)

What We Live By:

Our Vision: A community without barriers to health and wellbeing

Our Mission: We work with our community to promote and sustain health and social wellbeing for all

Our Values: Compassion, Social Justice, Courage, Integrity, Adaptability

Guelph Community Health Centre prioritizes people who face barriers to health and accessing services, and people who identify as:

• Homeless or at risk of homelessness
• Living on low income
• Newcomers to Canada with language barriers
• Having moderate to severe mental health and/or addiction issues
• Having moderate to severe disabilities
• Indigenous First Nations, Inuit and Métis
• Black, mixed race and racialized populations
• Experiencing intersectional oppression
• 2SLGBTQIA+
• Vulnerable children and their families experiencing conflict, isolation or attachment struggles

Embedded within Hive Health Services' interdisciplinary team, the Peer Community Connection Coordinator will provide community-based outreach, peer-led support, system navigation, and connection to care for individuals affected by or at risk of HIV. Drawing on lived and/or living experience and using a trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and status-neutral approach, the Peer Community Connection Coordinator will foster trust, promote engagement, and support individuals in accessing health and social services.

The Peer Community Connection Coordinator will strengthen relationships within the community, reduce barriers to care, and support individuals who may face challenges accessing HIV services due to stigma, social isolation, immigration-related barriers, geographic location, healthcare system navigation, or other social determinants of health. The role will serve residents across Guelph, Wellington, Dufferin, Waterloo Region, and surrounding rural communities, helping to improve access to HIV prevention, testing, treatment, and wrap-around supports.

Principal Job Duties:

Community Outreach & Engagement

• Conduct outreach with communities experiencing barriers to HIV services
• Build relationships with trusted community spaces and organizations
• Increase awareness of HIV prevention, testing, treatment, and support services
• Support culturally and linguistically responsive engagement approaches
• Identify community needs, barriers, and opportunities for improved access

Peer Support & Navigation

• Provide welcoming, non-judgmental, person-centred support
• Build trusting relationships with individuals accessing HIV-related services
• Support individuals newly diagnosed with HIV or returning to care
• Help individuals navigate healthcare and social service systems
• Connect clients to appropriate internal and community supports
• Work collaboratively with Hive’s interdisciplinary team, including:
  nurse practitioners, physicians, social work, allied health providers
  and community partners
• Contribute community knowledge and lived experience to strengthen HIV service delivery and ensure care remains responsive, accessible, and person-centred.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Knowledge and understanding of inequities in HIV care access
• Lived experience and/or strong community connection with populations served
• Emergency First Aid (or equivalent) and CPR level C (Health Care Provider level, preferred)
• Ability to build rapport with vulnerable populations (gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men; newcomers, immigrants, and refugees; individuals living in rural and underserved communities; individuals experiencing HIV-related stigma and barriers to healthcare access)
• Excellent interpersonal and written/oral communication skills.

Working Environment:

• Weekend/evening work may be required
• Combination of desk/office work, majority of time spent in community
• Work involves interaction with vulnerable populations

Guelph Community Health Centre is committed to employment equity and encourages applications from all qualified candidates, including individuals from priority populations who may identify as 2SLGBTQIA+, persons with disabilities, Indigenous, First Nations, Inuit and Metis individuals, and members of Black and other racialized communities.

We thank, in advance, those who apply, but will contact only those who qualify for interviews.

If at any stage in the selection process you require accommodation, please let us know the nature of the required accommodation.

We require that all finalist applicants undergo a Criminal Record Check and Vulnerable Sector