Social Worker - Regional and Mobile
This is an until–filled competition. Candidates are encouraged not to delay submitting their application as this posting can close at any time with 24-hours posted notice. Resumes will be screened at regular intervals until the position is filled or the competition closes, whichever is earliest
This posting
This posting will be used to fill 1 permanent full-time positions working 75 bi-weekly. It will establish a 12-month eligibility list which may be used to fill similar positions.
This job is based in Watson Lake in the beautiful Yukon.
Who we are
The Family and Children's Services Branch is responsible for territory-wide delivery of services and programs that support positive and healthy outcomes for children, youth, and families.
This position's recruitment is a collaborative initiative between the Liard First Nation (LFN) and the Ministry of Health and Social Services. The position is based out of Watson Lake and will work closely with Liard First Nation Justice Director. LFN is one of five Kaska Dene communities. The Kaska Dene are of Athapaskan descent and have lived in southeast Yukon, southern Northwest Territories, and north-western British Columbia long before the arrival of European explorers. The five traditional Kaska groups have been divided into bands and referred to as First Nations. By the Indian Act, and have become separated by Provincial and Territorial borders.
The Kaska lived a nomadic lifestyle within their traditional territory and travelled in extended family groups to hunt, fish, and gather vegetation. They continue to follow a moiety system that is comprised of a Wolf Clan and a Crow Clan and observe the potlach for ceremonial purposes.
At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the Hudson's Bay Company began establishing trading forts in the area. Conflicts arose with the Tlingit speaking Chilkats of Alaska, who controlled trading with various inland Athapaskan speaking groups. Gold prospectors also began exploring the area and the discovery of gold near Dease Lake created the Cassiar gold Rush of 1874, followed by the Klondike Gold Rush of 1898.
Contact with Europeans had a tremendous impact on all Aboriginal people of the subarctic. Dependencies developed on goods such as guns, knives, cooking pots, clothing, and eventually, food since the practice of harvesting animals for food and supplies turned into trapping them for furs to trade. Many species of animals were depleted in the process. The health of Aboriginal people suffered with the introduction of alcohol and diseases such as smallpox, measles and influenza, which resulted in epidemics, famines, and social disruptions. Tuberculosis was especially prevalent in the north in the mid-19th century.
Watson Lake became a major refueling spot for American Crews during World War II. As a result, Watson Lake was established and served as a supply and accommodation center for the building of the Alaska Highway in 1942.
The Indian Act that came into effect in 1876 removed the rights of Aboriginal parents to their children, making them wards of the state. The Federal Government entered into agreements with various churches to run residential school systems designed to assimilate aboriginal people into the dominant Euro-Canadian society. Many Yukon students attended the Lower Post Residential School, which was located across the BC-Yukon border and run by the Catholic Church.
In the early 1990s, former residential school students began coming forward with widespread accounts of physical, mental, and sexual abuse that occurred in Residential Schools throughout Canada.
Following changes to the Indian Act in the 1960s, social workers were given a legal mandate to remove aboriginal children from their homes. Often without the knowledge or consent of their families, this has come to be known as the "Sixties Scoop."
Historical trauma has been defined as cumulative emotional and psychological wounding over the lifespan and across generations due to massive group trauma experiences.
Today, the town of Watson Lake is referred to as "The Gateway to the Yukon" as it is located just a few kilometers from the BC border. It is a key transportation hub as it sits at the junction of the Alaska Highway, the Robert Campbell Highway to the central Yukon and Northwest Territories and Stewart Cassiar Highway from central BC.
Watson Lake is located 438 kilometers east of Whitehorse. The population of Watson Lake is approximately 800, and approximately 300 are identified as Aboriginal. LFN members live on the outskirts of Watson Lake in the communities of Two Mile, Two and a Half Mile, Upper Liard, and Lower Post Villages. Liard First Nation is not self-governing but is in negotiations with the Federal Government. LFN has band offices located in Watson Lake that provide services to their members, including health care, housing, justice, and social services.
This opportunity
As a Regional Social Worker, you will deliver Child Welfare in community of Watson Lake. In this role, you will make a positive difference in the lives of children, youth and families within Yukon
If you have a desire to support the lives of Yukoners through a dedicated career in social services, consider becoming a member of our dynamic Family and Children's Services team. We seek a highly motivated, dynamic, resourceful and results-oriented social worker for our communities.
Regional Social Workers are delegated to carry out duties under the Child and Family Services Act, provide after hours on-call coverage as required and work collaboratively and with transparency with First Nation governments.
- For more information on this job, please contact Brian Bendell, Manager Regional Services at Brian.Bendell@yukon.ca
- For more information about the recruitment process, please contact Darlene Allain, HR Consultant at Darlene.Allain@yukon.ca
Your benefits
In addition to a competitive salary, we offer many additional financial and non-financial benefits
Your career, your home, your lifestyle
We are the Yukon public service. Every day, we come together to serve the people who live here and make a difference in so many ways. Here, you will find the diverse opportunities you desire to develop your career while enjoying a warm sense of community and vibrant artistic, cultural, and recreational amenities, all set in a spectacular natural environment.
As part of our team, your achievements and enjoyment in both your work and personal life will be valued as you explore the many opportunities the Yukon, and the Government of Yukon, has to offer.
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Important application and job requirements
Essential qualifications
Please submit your resume clearly demonstrating how you meet the qualifications below. Selections for further consideration will be based solely on the information you provide in your resume.
- Bachelor of Social Work and
- Social work experience and/or practicum in providing services to families, children and individuals.
- Experience working in remote communities and indigenous cultural competency would be an asset to this role.
- Prior child welfare/intervention experience within the last three years may be considered an asset.
NOTE: If your Bachelor of Social Work degree was obtained outside of Canada, you need to confirm it has been assessed for equivalency through any members of the Alliance of Credential Evaluation Services of Canada (ACESC).
Candidates who are currently students in a Bachelor of Social Work program, who can demonstrate the essential qualifications through internships, practicums, cooperative and voluntary placements, and that have verification of graduation in 2024 may be considered.
It may be helpful for you to review “Prepare your resume and cover letter”.
Desired knowledge, skills and suitability
If selected for an interview, candidates should have, and may be assessed on, the following:
- Ability to work in a multicultural environment with an emphasis on Yukon First Nation's culture.
- Strong knowledge and experience in social work principles and practices in child welfare and case management.
- Sound ethical decision making and judgement skills that demonstrates the capacity to complete family, children and individual assessments at a professional level.
- Excellent decision-making skills and practice guided by the Canadian Association of Social Work Code of Ethics.
- Ability to build and maintain effective relationships and professional partnerships that demonstrates a professional level of written and oral communication.
- Ability to take a broad-based, strategic approach to community development in response to mandated client service.
- Ability to prepare affidavits or court documents and intervention services including investigations and core protection services; and,
- Ability to work independently and as part of an interdisciplinary team.
It may be helpful for you to review “The job interview process”.
Conditions of employment
You must meet the following conditions before being hired, or within the time frame noted.
- Criminal Records Check with Vulnerable Sector,
- Valid Class 5 driver's licence or equivalent,
- Verification of Bachelor of Social Work; and,
- Demonstrate the potential to be delegated within 12-months of hire under the Child and Family Services Act.
Job requirements
This job requires you to perform, and/or be exposed to, the following:
- Willingness to work in rural communities.
- Travel is required.
- Provide coverage for other workers as needed.
- Frequent evening, weekend and statutory holiday work hours are required; and,
- Occasional involvement in situations involving angry, abusive or abused clients.
- May be exposed to hazards from frequently working around volatile parents and/or children who are in crisis.
Learn more
• For help on creating your E-recruitment profile, email E-Recruitment.clientsupport@yukon.ca or phone 867-667-9453.