Housing and Homelessness Action Plan Project Manager

Division

Homelessness Services and Community Engagement

The position of Housing and Homelessness Action Plan Project Manager will be working in the Commissioner’s Office within the Community Strategies and Priorities Team.

About Us

Serving a diverse urban and rural population of more than 475,000, Niagara Region is focused on building a strong and prosperous Niagara. Working collaboratively with 12 local area municipalities and numerous community partners, the Region delivers a range of high-quality programs and services to support and advance the well-being of individuals, families and communities within its boundaries.

At Niagara Region, we value diversity - in background and experience. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We aspire to hire and grow a workforce reflective of the diverse community we serve.

Job Description

Job Summary

Reporting to the Director, Homelessness and Community Engagement this role is accountable for the development, implementation and monitoring of the Housing and Homelessness Action Plan. Working in close collaboration with a wide range of community partners, this role will establish and manage relationships with community agencies, local planning bodies, other orders of government, service users, lived experts, and other interested and impacted parties, to establish local priorities, support implementation of actions, and monitor outcomes.

Education

• A degree in Business/Public Administration/ Social Sciences, or equivalent
• Community Engagement and Public Engagement certificates are preferred
• A project management certification (PMP or CAPM), or equivalent combination of education, training and experience is preferred

Knowledge

• Minimum five years’ experience in a Human / Social Services environment working with issues of poverty and/or homelessness / community housing
• Experience working collaboratively with multiple diverse community partners to improve service to clients
• Experience working in the public sector or for a non-profit organization
• Knowledge of community partners and programs related to housing and homelessness.
• Experience leading change initiatives within a community agency network
• Knowledge of collective impact/community development principles, and grant administration
• Knowledge of project management techniques/software, facilitation tools, and public engagement and consultation principles and techniques
• Facilitation skills required
• Presentation and media skills required
• Proficiency in all MS office applications (Visio, Word, Excel, Powerpoint)

Responsibilities

Project Management: Strategy Development, Implementation and Monitoring (30% of time):

• Leads and facilitates partner meetings, internal and external communication, developing work plans and organizing public engagement to support the internal and externally-linked governance structures, assessing risks, and managing a budget.
• Prepare reports, presentations, and other key documents to support communication and reporting.
• Establish community ownership with defined leadership roles and reporting.
• Ensure internal coordination of departments and resources.
• Prepare an annual report on Housing and Homelessness Action Plan performance for the community, Council and the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing.
• Coordinate the establishment of a single, common monitoring report to track key housing and homelessness indicators across the entire housing continuum including those mandated by the province.
• Identify measures to assess the effectiveness and success of the implementation of each of the Housing and Homelessness Action Plan actions.
• Prepare reports using performance measures, demographic and statistical information for the province, regional council and standing committees.
• Lead all project management functions which includes; internal and external communication, work plans and public engagement.
• Assist Niagara Regional Housing, Housing Services, Growth Strategy and Economic Development, Strategic Transformation Office develop performance statistics for actions assigned to them.
• Full review of Housing and Homelessness Action Plan every 5 years.

Establish and maintain governance structures that will support the implementation of the Housing and Homelessness Action Plan (20% of time):

• Establish a regional planning working group structure and local planning groups as appropriate to coordinate planning efforts in support of the Housing and Homelessness Action Plan and the broader housing system.
• Review and refine the conceptual community engagement model and governance structure set out in the Action Plan.
• Develop a formal terms of reference for the all advisory and working groups.
• Establish accountabilities of roles and reporting linkages for Action Plan.
• Establish and define a coordinated, community-based engagement model and its recommended actions and clarify governance structure that will support the implementation of the Housing and Homelessness Action Plan.

Develop Internal and External Stakeholder Relationships (20% of time):

• Establish and maintain a wide range of mutually beneficial relationships and partnerships with respect to Housing and Homelessness Action Plan and other Homelessness programs.
• Develop strong working relationships with staff and leaders in relevant community agencies and groups in order to develop buy in and partnership aimed at joint implementation of the Action Plan.
• Establish and support partnership with the academic community to advance research and analyze data to support planning, attract funding and generate interest in ongoing housing and homelessness research.
• Participates in the Affordable Housing Steering Committee, local area municipality committees and Niagara Poverty Reduction Housing Committee.
• Support collaboration with the Niagara Ontario Health Team, Niagara Health System, Community Health Centers as important service providers for people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.
• Working with Niagara Regional Housing and other housing providers and partners to develop and implement a strategy to engage with landlords and tenants.
• Develop new relationships with community agencies, groups and funders (e.g. – justice, health) to support improved service coordination and to help achieve Action Plan goals.
• Maintain relationships with the 12 local area municipalities, Niagara Regional Housing, other regional departments and community agencies.

Communication and Education Sharing (10% of time):

• Develop and implement education and communication strategies to increase awareness of housing and homelessness issues and solutions in Niagara.
• Develop a media and stakeholder communication plan relating to Housing and Homelessness Action Plan including presentations to appropriate decision making bodies.
• Engage partners in the development of a media relations campaign aimed at changing the public image of homelessness services system and the clients.
• Develop tools and support resources that can be used to implement the Housing and Homelessness Action Plan.
• Develops a system of communicating results that build public support, attract funding and build community ownership for solutions.
• Work with relevant agencies to measure their performance and impact.
• Delivery of presentations to Council, committees, community organizations and other on housing and homelessness.
• Support the development of system and agency capacity through education, research and development of training and workshop programs for agencies, management and front-line staff.
• Respond to media requests, participate in media interviews, participate in community panels and presentations to system leadership.

Special Requirements

• Must maintain ability to travel in a timely manner to other offices, work locations or sites as authorized by the Corporation for business reasons.
• Regional staff strive to enable the strategic priorities of council and the organization through the completion of their work. Staff carry out their work by demonstrating the corporate values.

Closing Statement

Uncover the wonder of the Niagara Region and join a team dedicated to meeting tomorrow’s challenges TODAY! Let us know why you would be an excellent team member by submitting your online application. We thank all candidates for their interest however, only those candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.

If you require an accommodation for the application process in accordance with the Ontario Human Rights Code and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, the alternate formats for contacting us are as follows:

• Email: myhr@niagararegion.ca
• Phone: 905-980-6000 or 1-800-263-7215
• Bell Relay: 1-800-855-0511
• In-person: Sir Isaac Brock Way, Thorold, ON L2V 4T7 – Human Resources Department