Job Title Registered Social Worker
Reports to Health Director
Status Full Time
Hours 8:30am to 4:30pm
Wage $97,600.00 annually, plus a comprehensive health and wellness plan

Key focus of Laichwiltach Family Life Society
Our vision is to empower and promote healing and education in our communities from an Aboriginal perspective, nurturing and encouraging cultural awareness and self-sufficiency. We envision and celebrate a thriving, proud, respectful and inclusive community.
About this role
Working in a collaborative, team-based care environment, the Registered Social Worker plays an integral role in promoting health and well-being within our Indigenous Community Health Care Centre by providing culturally safe, client-centered support to patients, caregivers and families. The Registered Social Worker will be responsible for the development, implementation and monitoring of needs and services related to the social determinants of health. Reporting to the Health Director, the Registered Social Worker will work with patients, caregivers and families to identify necessary supports, provide advocacy, and resources taking a person-centred approach to planning, monitoring and evaluation.
What you will do: Primary responsibilities
Working in a trusted care giving relationship with patients, and if they choose caregivers and family, the Registered Social Worker will bring a culturally humble, trauma-informed approach to all patient interactions and will support a wholistic approach to each patient with a clear view to the social determinants of health. Your primary responsibilities in this trusted role include:

1. Treatment Planning and Care:
• Provide comprehensive assessments of clients’ social, emotional, and environmental needs. Develop and implement individualized care plans in collaboration with clients and other health care professionals. diagnostic, treatment, counselling, and follow up support to patients. This may include assisting with referrals, mental health assessments, crisis intervention and providing culturally safe and trauma-informed support to patients and families.
• Provide immediate support and intervention for clients facing crisis, ensuring safety and emotional stability while connecting them to appropriate resources.
• Work closely with the health care team to support a holistic approach to treatment planning and the delivery of care. This may include acting as the link between primary care and acute care in the event of patient hospitalization or transfer.

2. Advocacy and Coordination:
• Often acting as the lead in coordinating services for patients and families and, when necessary, advocating for the services, supports and needs of the patient.
• Coordinate community-based services and supports.
• Facilitate programs and workshops that promote health education, cultural awareness, and community well-being.
• Integrate Indigenous cultural practices and teachings into social work practice and advocate for the recognition of Indigenous rights and perspectives in health care.

3. Continuity of Care Provision:
• As the most constant clinical touch base with a patient the Registered Social Worker will build trust-based relationships over time, support the patients through treatment planning, the delivery of care over time, evaluation, re-assessment and, when required, referrals.

4. Documentation and Reporting:
• Maintain accurate and timely records of client interactions, assessments, and interventions in compliance with the organizational policies and regulatory standards.
How we will work: Team responsibilities
1. Collaborative Support: The Registered Social Worker works closely with all clinic staff, including Family Physicians (FPs), Registered Nurses (RNs), Occupational Therapist (OTs), Physiotherapists, Dietitians, and the broader clinical team to ensure a coordinated, patient-centred treatment plan is in place to support the patient and their caregiver and/or family.

2. Professionalism and Adaptability: The Registered Social Worker demonstrates respect and professionalism for the team by:
• Practicing clear written and verbal communications.
• Clearly identifying and advocating for culturally appropriate supports and services for the patient; and
• Carefully documenting clinical chart information, treatment plans, progress reports and external requests made on behalf of the patient.

3. Confidentiality: The Registered Social Worker respects confidentiality and shares only what is needed to support patient-centred care and avoiding any sharing of information that could lead to judgement, stigma or shame on the patient.

4. Training and Role Updates: As the team grows, the Registered Social Worker will work with the Health Director to support the onboarding of new team members and establish a shared understanding of the Registered Social Workers scope of work and integration within the broader team. Engage in ongoing professional development to stay current with best practices in Social Work.
There will be other responsibilities that emerge, and this job description will be reviewed and updated annually in partnership with the Registered Social Worker and the broader team to ensure a collaborative and cooperative work environment.
Cultural competencies
Culturally safe and appropriate care is critical to who we are and how we work. We are seeking team members who are committed to a lifelong journey of learning and unlearning so that we can bring humility, kindness and safety to every health care experience. This means that all team members must:
• Recognize the importance of First Nations and Indigenous cultural identities as part of a healthy and balanced person and community. Specific to this role, this includes an understanding of the social determinants of health and how to access culturally appropriate supports and services.
• Promote a culturally safe environment by implementing practises that respect and incorporate Indigenous ways of knowing and being.
• Understand and honour First Nations cultural principles, protocols and ways of healing that may be unique to traditional Western medicine.
• Work with patients, caregivers and families to all social determinants of health into treatment plan which fully integrating First Nations norms and ways of being from assessment, treatment, and evaluation.
Cultural competencies
Culturally safe and appropriate care is critical to who we are and how we work. We are seeking team members who are committed to a lifelong journey of learning and unlearning so that we can bring humility, kindness and safety to every health care experience. This means that all team members must:
• Recognize the importance of First Nations and Aboriginal cultural identities as part of a healthy and balanced person and community.
• Understand and honour First Nations cultural principles, protocols, and ways of healing that may be unique to traditional Western medicine.
• Understand (or seek to better understand) the communities we serve, their unique strengths and challenges and how culture supports wellness and health.
• Promote a culturally safe environment by implementing practises that respect and incorporate Indigenous ways of knowing and being
• Communicate in respectful, friendly and helpful ways with all patients, families and clinic staff.
Understand (or seek to better understand) the communities we serve, their unique strengths and challenges and how culture supports wellness and health.