Program Specialist - Capacity Building

Title: Program Specialist - Capacity Building

Employee Working Location: Partially Virtual / Hybrid

Employment Status: Permanent Full-time

The Canadian Red Cross (CRC) - an inspirational not for profit organization, helps people and communities in Canada and around the world in times of need and supports them in strengthening their resilience. As a Canada's Best Employers 2024, we are committed to having an accessible, diverse, inclusive, and barrier-free work environment.

In this role, you will:

The Program Specialist - Capacity Building is a member of the Education and Training (ET) team within the Business Support& Program Management unit of the Risk Reduction and Resilience service line. The ET team supports the design of evidence-informed, culturally responsive resource development and the training programs to enhance community resilience and staff development. The ET team also manages the recruitment, onboarding, scheduling, and administrative support for trainers across service lines.

The Program Specialist coordinates and facilitates Training of Trainer (ToT) programs under RR&R, delivering training across service lines on topics such as violence prevention, community wellness, and disaster preparedness. You will also provide mentorship to Casual Trainers to enhance their skills and effectiveness in support of Indigenous and at-risk communities and youth. More specifically, you will:

• Implement culturally relevant and accessible learning programs across multiple formats, including instructor-led, virtual, e-learning, webinars, and videos.

• Contribute to development of training frameworks, guidelines, and methodologies to enhance service delivery and learning outcomes.
• Support the implementation of specialized programs, services, and initiatives that aligh with organizational goals and industry best practices. .

• Adapt and curate training content to suit diverse learning styles, sector-specific needs, and community contexts.

• Coordinate and facilitate train-the-trainer sessions, mentor trainers, and support professional development initiatives.

• Implement evaluation tools and feedback mechanisms to assess training effectiveness, analyze engagement data, and recommend improvements.
• Implement learning solutions that align with identified training needs and perfomance objectives.
• Support quality assurance, compliance, and risk management efforts within program or service delivery.

• Represent CRC in professional learning networks, working groups, and partnerships to advance training and capacity-building efforts.

• Maintain and update learning materials to ensure relevance, accuracy, and alignment with organizational goals.

What we are looking for:

• Qualifications include a minimum of 4-7 years experience and a 3-year college diploma or university degree in instructional design, adult education, learning & development or a related field and/or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Experience collaborating with subject matter experts (SMEs) and stakeholders to develop instructional content.
• Experience applying community engagement principles, participatory approaches, and culturally safe practices.
• Strong understanding of instructional design principles and adult learning theories.
• Experience working with diverse communtiies, including Indigenous, rural and underserved populations.
• Ability to design and facilitate engaging training sessions, both in-person and virtually.
• Proficiency in standard computer applications (Microsoft Office Suite).
• Skills to investigate problems and propose solutions, including interpreting information in unfamiliar areas, consulting with others, and innovating on standard procedures.
• Communication skills, diplomacy and empathy to interpret information and deliver advice, clarify client or stakeholder needs, offer solutions, and resolve escalations in new or sensitive situations.
• The ideal candidate has lived and/or has professional experience with First Nations, Inuit and/or Métis Nations or communities.
• Fluency in English is required; French language proficiency is strongly recommended.

Working Conditions:

• Occasional travel to remote and challenging locations, sometimes under difficult conditions, is required
• May require some domestic or international travel to generally safe environment.
• Ability to adapt to changes in work priorities and respond to time sensitive needs.
• All teams contribute to emergency response efforts directly or indirectly.
• All CRC roles are required to adapt work and priorities to support emergency response efforts, be present in person as required to support service delivery and deploy to emergency responses when appropriate and/or required (personnel availability and request for exceptions will be discussed with line management).
• For CRC roles that are assigned a function in the Emergency Relief operational structure (in field and virtual), personnel may be required to be part of an on-call roster and be available for scheduled on-call work.
• As we work with and support people (managers, colleagues, beneficiaries/customers, volunteers, donors and external partners) and communities in Canada and around the world, applicants whose first language is not English may be required to perform the responsibilities of the role in English.
• Eligibility to work in Canada. At this time, we welcome applications from candidates eligible to work in Canada. If you are not a citizen or permanent resident of Canada, we encourage you to carefully review your visa to find out whether you are eligible to work in the job you are considering applying for. Refer to our FAQ for more information.
• If you are selected for this role, you will be required to complete a successful pre-employment screening process which includes a satisfactory Enhanced Police Information Check (E-PIC).