Indigenous Health Specialist

This position currently falls within our hybrid model, allowing the employee to typically work a minimum of 50% of your time at your regular work location and the other 50% of time at home.

Job Summary

Salary Pending Review

Reporting to the Manager Planning Evaluation and CQI (Public Health), the Indigenous Health Specialist works to impact the health and health equity of Niagara residents by leading the development, planning, and implementation of the recommendations made throughout the Creating Our Way Forward Report. This position supports the programs and staff of Public Health and Emergency Services (PHES) to become more culturally competent and aligned with the Report recommendations.

As part of increasing cultural competence, the position will integrate an Indigenous lens and Indigenous perspectives into health promotion, community outreach, data collection and analysis, and knowledge mobilization, and will coordinate strategically reorienting current programs as well as initiating new work. This includes operational responsibility for liaising with internal and external partners, project coordination and facilitation, providing policy development, project leadership and assumes professional and strategic planning responsibilities related to this Program. To accomplish this work, the position will engage with Indigenous populations and organizations in alignment with the Indigenous engagement plans of the Corporate Reconciliation, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (RDEI) team.

The Indigenous Health Specialist will also support the Niagara Region’s Corporate Reconciliation, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (RDEI) team with Niagara Region-wide initiatives around Indigenous engagement and reconciliation. Although reporting to the Manager Planning, Evaluation and CQI; the Indigenous Health Specialist will participate in team meetings with the RDEI team to ensure alignment with corporate initiatives, and will report to the Director of Corporate Strategy & Innovation for the purposes of these Region-wide initiatives.

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Social Science / Public Health / Indigenous Studies or a related field is required. Knowledge of Indigenous Culture and/or Indigenous Language fluency as well as demonstrated skill and competency to perform the role based on past work experience will be considered equivalent to a Bachelor’s degree.
• Master’s degree in Social Science / Public Health / Indigenous Studies or a related field is preferred.

Experience

• Indigenous strategy development and implementation (preferably evidenced by 2-3 years’ experience)
• Knowledge of Indigenous history, traditional culture, political structures, Truth and Reconciliation and context specific to Indigenous people in the Niagara region and the surrounding areas
• Indigenous Cultural Knowledge and/or Indigenous Language fluency is an asset
• Building community collaborations and partnerships (preferably evidenced with experience)
• Communication, relationship building and group facilitation skills
• Knowledge of data collection, analysis, research and evaluation
• In-depth knowledge of community programs
• Knowledge of social media, web and multi-media approaches
• Well-developed network of Indigenous Advisors and Elders will be an asset
• Knowledge of project management techniques/tools/software and partner engagement and consultation principles and techniques
• Additional training in project management is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Asset Restoration & Reliability Improvement - Lead the restoration of underperforming or deteriorated assets and drive improvements in reliability performance through structured execution plans.(30% of time)
• Condition Assessment and Source Deterioration Management - Lead condition assessment activities and deterioration analysis to support asset lifecycle decision-making and capital planning. (25% of time)
• Maintenance Readiness: New and Legacy Infrastructure - Lead maintenance readiness integration for new and existing infrastructure to ensure operability, maintainability, and CMMS integrity. (25% of time)
• Obsolescence Risk Management - Lead identification and mitigation of asset obsolescence risks to support continuity of operations and lifecycle planning. (10% of time)
• Project Management - Apply structured project management methodologies and governance practices to support the successful delivery of maintenance and reliability projects and initiatives. (5% of time)
• Financial Management - Manage capital and operating budget activities in support of asset management objectives and financial accountability. (5% of time)
• Perform other related duties and responsibilities as assigned or required.

Special Requirements

• Leads strategic cultural competence activities across Public Health & Emergency Services in collaboration with the Niagara Region’s Corporate Reconciliation, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (RDEI) team and with external partners
• Lead the development and coordination of policy as it relates to both program work and departmental work to enhance cultural competence of the organization and its employees, as well as Indigenous health more generally. (20% of time)
• Builds and maintains relationships with key internal and external partners, including Indigenous partners in alignment and support of Corporate reconciliation and Indigenous engagement strategies. (20% of time)
• Best practice in research & evaluation for Indigenous health: analyzes and evaluates historical and current data quality and data collection practices, and develops new data collection and analysis in collaboration with Indigenous partners to reflect their principles
• Guides work across Divisions and programs to ensure cultural competence of service delivery and improvement of Indigenous peoples’ health status. (10% of time)

How to Apply

To view the full job description and requirements, visit our Careers page - Job Opening # 45587 .

Let us know why you would be an excellent team member by submitting your online application no later than July 7, 2026, before midnight by visiting our ‘Careers’ page on our website. We thank all candidates for their interest however, only those candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.