Specialist, First Nations Partnerships

A hiring restriction will apply for qualified candidates of Canadian Indigenous ancestry, with a priority for qualified Kwanlin Dün First Nation and Ta’an Kwäch’än Council candidates.

Job posting closes on November 22, 2024, at 5:00 p.m. (Yukon Standard Time)

At our core, the City of Whitehorse is committed to cultivating an inclusive employee community and workspace, confronting racism and biases for fairness and equity, while advancing reconciliation and accessibility.

The City promotes work life balance for its employees and offers flexible work arrangements, such as work from home and compressed work weeks, subject to applicable administrative directives.

An Eligibility List may be established from this competition – the duration of the eligibility list may be up to 12 months. The eligibility list may be used to fill future permanent full-time, permanent part-time, temporary full-time, temporary part-time, term or casual vacancies within the same department and classification based on the organizational needs by going to the next highest ranked candidate until the eligibility list expires.

This position is covered by the Management and Confidential Exclusion Employment Bylaw.

The City wishes to thank all applicants for their interest but only those candidates selected to advance in the recruitment will be contacted. Note that only those candidates eligible to legally work in Canada will be considered.

Specialist, First Nations Partnerships

Job Code:332
Department: Human Resources

Job Summary:

The incumbent will be the lead in fostering positive relationships and meaningful partnership between the City of Whitehorse and Yukon First Nations. This role primarily focuses on engagement, collaboration, and reconciliation efforts to support both the City’s strategic priority and those of First Nation communities.

The First Nations and Partnerships Specialist will play an instrumental role in designing and implementing the City’s First Nations and Partnerships strategies, will provide subject matter expertise to our team, and will work collaboratively across all areas of the City to educate, engage, and cultivate inclusive leadership practices and programs. They will also engage, collaborate, and partner externally with the First Nations community.

The City is a partner with Ta'an Kwäch’än Council and Kwanlin Dün First Nation in meeting the diverse needs of all Whitehorse residents. Our City lies within the Traditional Territories of these two Yukon First Nations, and we value the history, culture, opportunities, and partnerships that we share with Indigenous Peoples. We honour the Declaration of Commitment signed in 2018 which commits to working together and strengthening partnerships on issues of mutual interest and benefit. The City recognizes and honours the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) Calls to Action as well as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Develops and maintains strong, trusting relationships with representatives, and members of local Yukon First Nations, acting as a liaison to facilitate collaboration, communication, and understanding. Primary contact with Chiefs and Councils remains with the Mayor and Council of City of Whitehorse.
• Identifies and supports opportunities for collaborative initiatives and partnerships that align with the City's priorities and the interests of Yukon First Nations, including the implementation of collaborative engagement protocols.
• Works collaboratively with internal departments to ensure an Indigenous lens is applied when developing, revising and implementing program/service changes and new initiatives that advance reconciliation and partnership goals, ensuring the voices of Yukon First Nations are considered in decision making processes.
• Organizes, participates in and/or facilitates community engagement activities, including workshops, meetings and forums to encourage open dialogue and relationship building.
• Holds a deep understanding of the cultural, historical, and social context of Yukon First Nations, providing guidance to City staff on cultural humility and safety, ensuring respectful and culturally sensitive engagement with First Nations communities.
• Develops and implements First Nations and Partnerships strategies aligned with the City’s reconciliation roadmap, setting goals, targets, and implementation plans for these initiatives.
• Reviews and recommends updates to the City’s corporate policies and procedures to mitigate inequities and integrate First Nations and partnerships considerations, staying informed about relevant external policies, legislation, and issues affecting Yukon First Nations, advocating for supportive policies.
• Provides training and education to employees on topics related to First Nations and Partnerships to help employees better understand and appreciate different perspectives and experiences through workshops, webinars, and other forms of training.
• Collaborates with First Nation partners to establish and maintain systems for evaluating and reporting on the success of reconciliation and partnership activities, ensuring that these systems encompass the perspectives and concerns of all involved partners.
• Regularly evaluates the effectiveness of reconciliation and partnership activities, adjusting approaches as needed, collecting data, analyzing results, and presents/reports findings to leadership and other stakeholders.
• Participates in onboarding new employees to ensure they are familiar with the City’s culture and values related to First Nations and Partnerships.
• Prepares and evaluates tenders, quotations, proposal calls and reports, awarding or recommending awards in accordance with the City’s Purchasing Policy.
• Follows established safety procedures and standards to ensure a safe working environment.
• Other duties as assigned.

Working Conditions:

Majority of the work is performed under normal office conditions.
The subject matter may provide challenges on an emotional level given that some of the topics discussed in relation to First Nations and Partnerships can be quite sensitive in nature.

Required Knowledge, Skill and Abilities:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in Indigenous Governance, Indigenous Studies, Public Administration, or a related field.
• 7 years of relevant experience focused on the development and the implementation of First Nations and Partnerships initiatives within a unionized work environment and 6 months on-the-job experience.
• Demonstrated experience in building and maintaining successful relationships with Indigenous partners and communities, preferably in the Yukon.
• Knowledge and deep understanding of Yukon First Nation’s history, cultures, and protocols.
• Personable, professional, tactful and diplomatic; can be trusted to positively represent the City and its reputation in every interaction.
• Approachable, customer-centric team player who works well in a group and independently.
• Strong organization skills, including multi-tasking and time management.
• Ability to apply superior judgment and diplomacy to communicate key messages and collaborate with a variety of internal and external stakeholders.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, to support internal and external relationship building and driving First Nations and Partnership initiatives.
• Conflict resolution skills with the ability to mediate and resolve conflicts effectively.
• Leads by example by adhering to all City Policies, Administrative Directives, and Bylaws.

An equivalent combination of education, training, lived experience and traditional knowledge may be considered.

Examples of Equipment to Operate:

General office equipment including computer skills to operate software programs related to intranets, spreadsheets, word processing, electronic mail, etc.

Accommodation Requests:

Shortlisted candidates who require accommodation or have accessibility needs during the selection process are encouraged to reach out to the Recruiter and make requests to ensure their full participation. The City of Whitehorse is committed to reviewing requests and making arrangements for reasonable accommodation and accessibility requests.

Other Details:

Job seekers are required to create an online profile and submit their application electronically through the City's online Applicant system via www.whitehorse.ca/careers. Instructions on applications are provided at https://www.whitehorse.ca/our-government/employment/how-to-apply/. If you have any further questions regarding this posting, please contact the recruiter at Miltra.Kochuveettil@whitehorse.ca.

To apply for this position, you are required to submit your resume.

Various tests and/or exams may be administered as part of the recruiting process.

At the time this posting closes, candidates must have valid and current licenses/certifications/education that match the position requirements. Candidates who are selected to continue with the recruiting process will be required to provide proof of qualifications during their interview.