Program Specialist - Safe & Healthy Communities

City of Red Deer; Red Deer; On-site; CAD 73,000 - 77,000; Full time

Job summary

The City of Red Deer invites applications for a Program Specialist – Safe & Healthy Communities. The role focuses on facilitating FCSS-related initiatives, delivering funded programs, and promoting social well-being in our community.

You will work with diverse partners, evaluate outcomes, and support evidence-based decision making. We seek a candidate with a university degree in social sciences or related fields, at least five years’ experience in community development, and strong communication

Qualifications

• Extensive knowledge of community development practices.

Responsibilities

• Provide leadership and oversight to staff, volunteers, and partners.
• Plan, implement, evaluate, and improve community programs and initiatives.
• Manage funding agreements, contracts, and reporting with accountability.
• Build collaborative relationships with community organizations and government partners.

Job description

About Red Deer:

Red Deer sits at the heart of Central Alberta along the QEII corridor, perfectly positioned between Calgary and Edmonton. With more than 100,000 residents and a regional reach of over 300,000, it’s a growing hub for business, services, and opportunity.

Here, big-city amenities meet small-city ease. Enjoy abundant parks and trails, vibrant arts and culture, excellent recreation and education, and a strong sense of community.

With easy access to lakes, outdoor adventures, and the mountains, plus a thriving economy and high quality of life, Red Deer is an inviting place to live, work, and grow.

About The City of Red Deer Municipal Government:

The City of Red Deer is a dynamic municipal organization with a $480M operating budget, a $60M capital program, and a workforce of nearly 1,700 employees. It is focused on growing with purpose by attracting talented, community-minded people who want to make a difference.

Guided by the vision “Our City, One Voice,” Red Deer is building a thriving, inclusive, and connected community, with priorities centered on a vibrant economy, community wellbeing, and strong engagement.

At its core, the City values its people, embracing diverse perspectives and fostering a culture of collaboration, innovation, and shared success

The Opportunity:

The City of Red Deer is currently hiring a Program Specialist – Safe & Healthy Communities to fill a permanent, full-time position. The Program Specialist - Safe & Healthy Communities is responsible for facilitating City of Red Deer actions related to Community Development primarily focused on Family and Community Support Services (FCSS).

This position is responsible for the effective delivery, accountability and evaluation of programs and services funded by The City of Red Deer and Red Deer and District FCSS under contract to other orders of government. Red Deer and District FCSS is a Multi-Municipal partnership between Bowden, Delburne, Elnora, Penhold, Red Deer County and Red Deer. The District program is administered through the City.

The Program Specialist provide s facilitation and professional program and administrative consultation to individuals, groups and agencies working collaboratively to develop, support and promote preventative social initiatives, projects and services that enhance the social well‑being of individuals, families, and/or the community.

Top Key Responsibilities:

• Provide leadership, guidance, and performance oversight to staff, volunteers, facilitators, and community partners, including recruitment, training, coaching, and development.


• Lead the planning, implementation, evaluation, and continuous improvement of community programs, services, projects, and initiatives that address current and emerging community needs.


• Manage funding agreements, contracts, and service delivery requirements, ensuring accountability, compliance, reporting, and effective stewardship of public resources.


• Build and maintain collaborative relationships with community organizations, government partners, advisory boards, stakeholders, and funding agencies to strengthen community capacity and outcomes.


• Provide professional consultation and support to community agencies and organizations on program development, service delivery, governance, funding, and community development practices.


• Monitor program outcomes and performance measures, prepare reports and recommendations, and support evidence-based decision-making and continuous improvement.


• Facilitate community engagement activities to identify needs, gaps, challenges, and opportunities, and develop strategies to enhance community wellbeing.


• Coordinate financial, administrative, audit, and reporting processes related to funded programs and agreements with external funding partners.


• Prepare and deliver presentations, reports, public communications, and recommendations for stakeholders, senior leadership, advisory boards, and Council.


• Support emergency response efforts as part of the City's Emergency Social Services program during emergencies and local states of emergency.

As our preferred candidate, you will have:

• Requires a university degree and courses specific to socialsciences, community development, mediation, program planning, recreation, environmental, art & culture implementation and evaluation.


• Requires a minimum of five years’ experience, particularly in community development, social or prevention focused programming.


• Considerable experience with volunteer boards and with group dynamics within organizations.


• Extensive knowledge of the community, preventative programs and services,various government ministries and funder mandates.


• Ability to make sound judgments, gather information from a variety of sources and articulate findings effectively in oral and print format.


• Demonstrated communicationskills, including the ability to public speaking effectively,high level written communication and web maintenance.


• Knowledge of basic accounting principles and the techniques of budget preparation.

Affiliation:

Canadian Union of Public Employees, Local 417

Status:

Regular Full-time

Remuneration:

$53.45 to $56.26 per hour

Hours of Work:

75 hours biweekly, Monday to Friday. Some evening and weekend work may be required.

The City of Red Deer does not permit the use of unauthorized internet resources or Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools (for example, Copilot, ChatGPT or any other form of AI) during interviews or any supervised or timed assessments. Any violation may be investigated and result in serious consequences, including the rejection of your application.

We thank you for your application. Only those selected for an interview will be contacted.