SEED's mandate is to empower young Nova Scotians to better understand and make informed decisions that support their professional and personal success. Through strategic partnerships, programming, and community collaborations, SEED works to enhance training opportunities, skills development, and educational access for youth across the province. By fostering meaningful engagement and innovative support systems, SEED aims to create pathways that help youth overcome barriers and thrive in today's workforce and beyond.

This role is part of an exciting program currently being launched at SEED, the EDGE Program (funded by OSD). We're looking for individuals who are comfortable with change, eager to contribute to a new initiative, and ready to help shape its success from the ground up.

The EDGE Program is an early intervention program that provides targeted employment focused programing for youth (ages 18-26), who are connected to Employment Support Income Assistance (ESIA), or at risk of becoming connected.

Reporting to the Program Manager at EDGE, the Mental Wellness Coordinator provides virtual group and one-on-one support to help participants discover and overcome challenges both within the program and in their personal lives. They will focus on fostering a positive and supportive environment within the EDGE Program, encouraging participants to prioritize their emotional and mental health.

SEED's Core Competencies:
Collaboration - working effectively and respectfully with others
Community - delivering high quality client services
Innovation - thinking things through and solving problems
Impact - showing initiative and being action-oriented

Duties:

• Meet with youth one-on-one to address their individual mental health needs and concerns
• Completes assessments to determine the youth's mental health concerns and needs
• Providing support to youth regarding innovative mental health solutions
• Provides personalized guidance and assistance to youth struggling with various challenges, whether related to the program, work, or personal life
• Establish individualized mental wellness plans with youth
• Designs and facilitates group sessions focused on building coping mechanisms and managing stress, including topics such as anxiety management, overall wellness, self care
• Work in collaboration with the EDGE Team for optimal programming support and mental health connections
• Train and educate staff to increase competency in this area and to understand the limitations of the supports that they can provide
• Propose appropriate programs and develop curriculum to promote mental wellness and create a library of resource materials for staff, youth and families
• Provide rapid response to stressful family situations for youth as they transition to independence
• Connect clients to provincial mental health system (where applicable)
• Connect and collaborate with provincial mental health systems to establish a referral system that connects EDGE participants to these services in a timely manner
• Pursue ongoing professional development, to remain responsive to the evolving needs of clients
• Maintain accurate client files while adhering to internal and professional privacy protocols
• Develop partnerships and collaborations within the community to provide support to youth
• Attend a weekly case management meeting with all EDGE staff to discuss youth progress and updates
• Complete program evaluation and analyse data to identify program improvement opportunities

Qualifications

• Graduation from an accredited graduate school with a degree in counseling, social work, psychology, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Extensive experience working with youth, young adults and adults with mental health issues, illnesses, past trauma and family issues.
• Demonstrated knowledge of best practices in mental health interventions for youth, young adults and families
• Demonstrated expertise with collaborative case management, working within a multi-disciplinary team environment, and preforming mental health assessments
• Experience in developing content and facilitating group sessions (including topics such as anxiety management, overall wellness, self care, coping mechanisms and managing stress)
• Experience in creation of individualized mental wellness plans
• Recent and substantial experience in the direct delivery of work with youth at risk
• Experience working with youth in the capacity of conflict management
• Knowledge of youth and family resources, programs and services within the community and within the province
• Knowledge, understanding and experience in working with culturally and socially diverse youth
• Ability to work with youth in strengths-based and relationship-based perspectives
• A wide variety of therapeutic and treatment approaches for persons with mental health challenges and family/relationship related barriers, such as: A.C.T., emotion regulation therapy, anger management therapy, C.B.T., motivational interviewing, inner child work, gestalt therapy etc.

Additional Information:

A typical workday is from Monday-Friday, 8:30 am-4:30 pm; however occasional evenings/weekends/overnights could be necessary. Travel within HRM and across NS could be necessary.

SEED is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to fostering an inclusive, accessible environment, where all employees and customers feel valued, respected and supported. We are dedicated to building a workforce that reflects the diversity of our customers and communities in which we live and serve and creating an environment where every employee has the opportunity to reach their potential.

This is a full-time position (37.5 hours per week) offering a competitive benefits package and RRSP matching. Clear Criminal Record Check (Vulnerable Sector Check included), and clear Child Abuse Register Check (updated annually). This position is dependent upon program funding availability.