School-Based Youth Substance Use Counsellor

ARC Programs Ltd.; Kelowna; Hybrid; CAD 4,064,000 - 4,574,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Dental plan

Vision coverage

Life insurance

Extended medical coverage

Long-term disability

Job summary

ARC Programs Ltd. seeks a qualified School-Based Substance Use Counsellor for its ChangesProgram. The role starts mid-September 2027 and runs through a staff leave, with on-site service in high schools across School District #23.

The position is full-time during the school year and transitions to part-time in summer months. Responsibilities include assessment, planning, and individual counselling for youth, coordinating with families and schools, and delivering related presentations.

Qualifications

• Educational requirements include a BA in CYC or related field or equivalent, or BSW with relevant experience.
• Certification in CYC or equivalent is preferred and may be required.
• Experience with adolescent substance-use counselling and youth/family services is expected.

Responsibilities

• Provide assessment and service planning interviews with referred youth and families as appropriate.
• Collaborate with referral agents and other service providers to develop individualized service plans.
• Support youth in developing age-appropriate life skills.
• Provide individual counselling to youth and support harm-reduction goals.
• Deliver PAC substance-use presentations and school / teacher presentations as needed.

Skills

Adolescent substance-use counselling

Adolescent treatment program

Youth and family counselling

Addictions treatment program

Youth residential treatment

Adolescent life skills training

Education

BA - CYC and 2 years related experience

BSW and 2 years related experience

BA and 3 years related experience

CYC Certificate and 5 years related experience

Job description

Who We Are:

arc programs exists to create thriving communities, free of systemic barriers and full of belonging, equity, and hope. We have a bold vision to ensure everyone in our communities feels connected and cared for, and we are excited to be expanding our team to help us accelerate our impact!

We're Hiring:

We are seeking a qualified individual to temporarily cover the role of School-Based Substance Use Counsellor in our ChangesProgram. This position is expected to start inmid- September2027, and last until the incumbent returnsfrom a leave.

The School-Based Substance Use Counsellor is responsible for providing individualized early intervention and treatment services, on an outreach basis, primarily to youth attending high schools across School District #23.

Hours / Schedule:

This role is fulltime during the school year and transitions to part-time in the summer months, as recognized by the school district.

• School year: 32 hours per week

• Summer months:30hours per week

The School-Based Youth Substance Use Counsellor will provide direct service primarily on-site at the assigned schools, working full-time Monday to Friday (please note that services are also provided over the summer break, not just during the school year).

Responsibilities:

The Counsellor must be familiar with a range of counselling modalitiestoprovide a continuum of interventions that have differing levels of service intensity andduration are based on the individual youth’s substance use andidentifiedneeds.

School-Based Substance Use Counsellorresponsibilitiesinclude:

• providingassessment\service planning interviews with referred youth, and their families if appropriate

• cooperatingwith referral agents, youth,parentsand other service providers in developing individualized service plans (GPS and ISPRs), for all program participants

• Supportingyouth in developing age-appropriate life skills.

• Providingindividual counselling to youth, as per the goals of their ISPR and provide support and encouragement to reducing their reliance onsubstances and preventing the harm associated with substance use.

• ProvidingParent Advisory (PAC)substanceuse presentations and or SD23 Teacher/PRODpresentationsas needed orrequested.

• Providingfamily /caregiver Substance Use support as per goals of the youth’s ISPR.

• Providingcounselling and encouragement to youth to support the development of a healthy

• lifestyle.

• Participatingin client service planning and review- Integrated Case Management team conferences. Where a referred client does not have an integrated case management team,facilitateintegrated case management through facilitating client intake and discharge case conferences with youth consent.

• Writingclient intake reports (assessment/Appendix C/interpretive summary, Goal Planner/GPS, ISPR’s, letter re brief service, etc.), program discharge reports, and provide other case administration procedures as per program guidelines andtime frames, whenrequired.

• Liaison with Substance Use services and other community service providers to facilitate the coordination and integration of services for client.

Preferred Education and Experience:

Educational requirements:

• BA - CYC and 2 years related experience.

• BSW and 2 years related experience.

• BA and 3 years related experience.

• CYC Certificate and 5 years related experience.

To be successful in your role,you'llalso needrelated experience in:

• Adolescent substance-use counselling program.

• Adolescent treatmentprogram.

• Youth and family counselling program.

• Addictions treatment program.

• Youth residential treatment program.

• Adolescent life skills training program.

Wage / Benefit:

$ 29.95 - $ 33.20 per hour based on experience and education.

Upon successful completion of a probationary period, full-time employees (minimum 20-hrs per week) are eligible for a full benefit package (including dental plan, vision coverage, life insurance, extended medical coverage, long-term disability plan, and RRSP orTFSAcontributions)

New full-time employees are eligible for 3-weeks paid vacation to start, as well as paid sick days as described in agency policy.

Why we’re an employer of choice!

Like most in the social services sector, arc programs is an equal-opportunity employer. We embrace diversity and ensure everyone on the team demonstrates cultural safety and sensitivity of all populations we serve.
But we believe there’s more to our work culture that promotes high levels of employee satisfaction and retention…

We are inclusive.

We use an anti-oppressive lens to inform our work with folx of all cultures, races, ethnic backgrounds, disabilities, neurodiversity, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, socio-economic status, religions, and other oppressions to enhance our approach to equality.

We are ever-evolving.

We recruit and retain highly skilled staff and support their development through training, education,
research, best practices, and innovation.

We foster a culture of continuous learning, utilizing a two-eyed seeing approach – incorporating the strengths of western knowledge and Indigenous Knowledge: ways of knowing, doing and being – while engaging meaningfully with the provincial community social services sector, Indigenous communities, and agencies.

Discover more about our agency services and work culture at arcprograms.com.

We appreciate your interest, but kindly note that due to the high number of applications we receive, only shortlisted applicants will be contacted.

We acknowledge that arc programs is situated in the ancestral, traditional and unceded territories of the Syilx peoples in the Okanagan and West Kootenay region. We also acknowledge the Métis and Inuit peoples who reside in these region