Manager of Justice

First Light; San Juan de Terranova; On-site; CAD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Driver’s license required

Job summary

First Light is seeking a Manager of Justice to lead and coordinate Indigenous-centred justice initiatives. This leadership role requires deep cultural safety and trauma-informed oversight across court support, intake, and youth justice services.

The Manager will drive community-driven solutions and work with Elders, partners, and internal teams to advance holistic care. The role emphasizes restorative justice, land-based healing, and discharge planning for Indigenous community members, including

Qualifications

• Strong understanding of Indigenous cultures, traditions, and restorative justice approaches.
• Demonstrated experience in program leadership, team supervision, and service delivery within the justice sector.
• Experience planning, delivering, or overseeing court advocacy, intake processes, inreach, or youth intervention programs.
• Demonstrated ability to build trust across diverse stakeholder groups, including Elders and community partners.
• Experience managing project budgets, grant reporting, and resource allocation.

Responsibilities

• Provide operational leadership for all justice initiatives with culturally safe, trauma-informed delivery.
• Oversee intake, court support, CSC programming, inreach, and youth justice projects.
• Direct Court Support services and bail navigation, advocating for Gladue pathways when applicable.
• Partner with correctional facilities to deliver culturally aligned support and community reintegration.
• Lead youth justice services including land-based healing and discharge planning.
• Monitor program outcomes and support evaluation and continuous improvement.

Skills

Relational leadership

Cultural safety

Trauma-informed

Indigenous knowledge

Community engagement

Advocacy & policy

Education

Diploma or Bachelor’s degree in Criminology, Social Work, Indigenous Studies, or related field

Job description

The Manager of Justice plays a pivotal leadership role within First Light’s portfolio, reporting to the Director of Community Connections. While the Director provides strategic vision across community programs and connections, the Manager oversees the day-to-day operations and service delivery of all justice initiatives, ensuring they remain responsive, culturally safe, trauma-informed, and grounded in Indigenous self-determination.

This role provides operational oversight for justice programs focusing on prevention, intervention, court support, intake, and community reintegration. The Manager provides overall leadership across court support, intake processes, correctional support including in-reach initiatives, and youth justice services. In this capacity, the Manager oversees culturally grounded rehabilitation, land-based healing, discharge planning, and system navigation including youth aged 12–17 operating under the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA). The Manager is directly supported in these operations by a dedicated Justice Coordinator, ensuring shared administrative and frontline capacity across all functional areas.

Working alongside the Director of Community Connections and peers across Core Services, this role braids justice supports into a holistic system of care that honours Indigenous traditions, restores balance, and advances community well-being.

Who You Are & What You Carry

You understand that safety, restoration, and justice are deeply connected to community wellness, belonging, and cultural connection. You lead with care, communicate with clarity, and create environments grounded in dignity, accountability, and respect. You bring relational leadership, emotional intelligence, and a deep respect for Indigenous knowledge systems, restorative practices, and community voice.

You are:

• Rooted in or committed to Indigenous values, cultural safety, and holistic wellness.
• A relational leader who builds trust and accountability through presence, guidance, and support.
• Someone who fosters a collaborative, reflective, and strengths-based team culture.

You bring:

• Cultural awareness: You apply Indigenous teachings, protocols, and restorative frameworks in program leadership.
• Reflective leadership: You guide with humility, curiosity, and relational accountability.
• Operational strength: You balance strategic vision with effective day-to-day coordination and project execution.
• Collaborative spirit: You build relationships across justice systems, community partners, Elders, and internal teams.
• Advocacy mindset: You champion Indigenous voices in justice policy, alternative sentencing, Gladue rights, and service design.
• Grounded communication: You express yourself with clarity, confidence, and care.

What You’ll Do

Program Oversight & Service Delivery

• Provide operational leadership for all justice initiatives, ensuring culturally safe, trauma-informed service delivery across the portfolio.
• Manage key justice initiatives, including court support, intake, Correctional Service Canada (CSC) programming support, correctional inreach, and specialized youth justice projects.
• Oversee justice Intake and Assessment processes, ensuring culturally grounded, trauma-informed intake procedures, needs assessments, and appropriate referrals for Indigenous community members accessing justice supports.
• Direct Court Support services, guiding staff who accompany community members through legal and court processes, assisting with pre-charge/post-charge navigation, bail support, and advocating for alternative measures or Gladue pathways.
• Institutional Partnerships & Reintegration: Partner with federal and provincial correctional facilities to deliver culturally aligned support, Elder access, case management, and seamless community reintegration pathways for Indigenous individuals.
• Adult In-Reach & Discharge Services: Lead culturally grounded support for incarcerated Indigenous individuals, focusing on continuous community connection, pre-release planning, and holistic reintegration.
• Youth Justice & Rehabilitation: Oversee culturally rooted services, land-based healing, mentorship, and individualized discharge planning for youth aged 12–17 navigating the youth criminal justice system.
• Support harm-reduction approaches and restorative justice practices rooted in Indigenous teachings.
• Ensure programs actively integrate an intersectional Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA Plus) lens, ensuring safe access for diverse groups, including 2SLGBTQI+/Indigiqueer youth and community members.
• Work with First Light’s Management team to ensure justice services are collaborative across Core Services and aligned with the organizational Strategy Wheel.
• Supervise, mentor, and guide the Justice Coordinator and Cultural Support workers using approaches emphasizing kindness, reflection, and accountability.
• Lead regular team meetings focused on shared learning, reflective practice, and collaborative problem-solving.
• Promote ongoing professional development, cultural safety training, and staff wellness.

Community Engagement & System Partnerships

• Facilitate authentic, respectful relationships with Elders, Knowledge Keepers, participants, and individuals with lived experience in the justice system.
• Establish and maintain effective and collaborative partnerships with federal (CSC) and provincial correctional institutions, court officials, legal counsel, community agencies , and Indigenous governments and partners.
• Support court and system navigation efforts to protect participant rights, such as facilitating access to Gladue reports, pre-sentence reports, and pre-existing system supports.
• Work with First Light’s Experiential Learning Team to promote and deliver cultural diversity and anti-racism training for external justice professionals, court staff, correctional officers, and partner organization staff.
• Represent First Light at justice forums, court committees, community tables, and systemic policy networks.

Program Evaluation & Improvement

• Monitor and evaluate justice projects using reflection, community feedback, and framework indicators (such as RE-AIM) to guide continuous program improvement.
• Collaborate with research, evaluation, and policy leads to document program outcomes, track key performance indicators, and prepare evidence-based policy briefs.
• Ensure culturally grounded frameworks and trauma-informed methodologies guide evaluation and data collection.

Budget & Resource Stewardship

• Lead budget planning, expense tracking, and resource management across all justice projects, including federal and provincial funding, justice grants, and specific initiatives like the Youth Justice Fund.
• Monitor staffing, contract resources, and operational logistics to ensure long‑term program quality and sustainability.
• Lead funding proposals, grant applications, and funder reporting requirements to maintain and expand the justice portfolio.

Skills, Experience & Requirements

We recognize that knowledge and strength come in many forms—through lived experience, cultural teachings, community care, or formal education.

The ideal candidate will have:

• Strong understanding of Indigenous cultures, traditions, court systems, CSC processes, and restorative justice approaches, with a deep commitment to cultural safety and community well-being.
• Diploma or Bachelor’s degree in Criminology, Social Work, Indigenous Studies, Community Development, or a related field; equivalent combination of education and lived experience will be considered.
• Demonstrated experience in program leadership, team supervision, and service delivery within the justice sector, court support, youth services, or community social supports.
• Experience planning, delivering, or overseeing court advocacy, intake processes, federal and/or provincial correctional inreach, or youth intervention programs.
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to build trust across diverse stakeholder groups, including Elders, youth, court personnel, institutional partners, and legal systems.
• Proven abilities in de-escalation, conflict resolution, problem-solving, and trauma-informed crisis management.
• Experience managing project budgets, grant reporting, and resource allocation.
• Valid driver’s license and reliable access to a vehicle.
• First Aid/CPR certification; ASIST, Non-Violent Crisis Intervention (NVCI), or Therapeutic Crisis Intervention (TCI) training is considered an asset.
• Ability to provide a satisfactory Vulnerable Sector Check as a condition of employment.

Preference will be given to qualified Indigenous residents of Newfoundland and Labrador.

First Light celebrates diversity and is committed to creating an inclusive and supportive environment for all members of our team. We welcome applications from all qualified candidates regardless of Indigenous identity or status, lived experience, national or other origin, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, religion, age, or other characteristics.

We strongly encourage applications from individuals who carry lived experience expertise, acknowledging the value and alignment with First Light’s organizational goals. We’re committed to supporting candidates throughout the application process by accommodating any disability-related requests.