Justice for Children and Youth – Education Navigator
Justice for Children and Youth: Education Navigator
Justice for Children and Youth (JFCY) works to protect and advance the legal rights and dignity of children and youth. We are a child rights organization, and a specialty legal clinic with core funding provided by Legal Aid Ontario. We are one of the only organizations in Canada focused exclusively on the legal practice of child and youth rights across a range of legal subjects. We provide legal services to children and young people facing challenges in a variety of legal systems, engage in public legal education, continuing professional development, community development, law reform, and test case litigation.
JFCY is seeking an Education Navigator to support young people at the Toronto Northwest Justice Centre with their educational needs. The person in this role will work with a lawyer to assist young people who are charged criminally and who require expert education systems support. Young people at the intersection of youth criminal justice and education law face a range of complex legal, social and personal issues, which can directly or indirectly impact their schooling and education.
The Education Navigator will provide multidisciplinary and culturally sensitive support and advocacy to students (and adult supporters) in education matters including, but not limited to disciplinary issues, access, administrative, registration issues, and special education issues. The Education Navigator will work with students to identify and respond to self-identified needs, including providing support to respond to school and school board discipline and other requirements, to access appropriate educational programming and placements; offer credit and career counselling; and liaise with school board administrators, lawyers, social workers and teachers to address individual and systemic issues. The successful candidate will work with students to re-engage in educational programming that is reflective of their goals.
Essential Skills & Qualifications:
- Education and employment experience in a relevant subject area (e.g. law, education, social work, social services, community development, etc.)
- Experience working with schools, school boards, school administrators and/or provincial territorial Ministry of Education
- Comprehensive understanding of Ontario’s education system
- Experience working with racialized young people and/or young people facing adversity
- Commitment to social justice and respect for the rights of children and youth, and experience providing trauma informed services
- Strong written and oral communication skills, organizational and administrative skills
Assets:
- Working knowledge of the Education Act and the Youth Criminal Justice Act
- Experience providing students with educational, professional, career and/or vocational counselling services
- Knowledge of occupational pathways, required education, and financial assistance (such as awards and scholarships)
- Experience with youth outside law
- Ability to communicate in a language other than English
- Policy development / law reform experience
This position is made possible by funding provided by the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General. It is a full-time position dependent on this funding, it is a one-year contract with the possibility of extension.
Compensation is in accordance with grant funding, includes a 5.5% employer RRSP contribution and benefits.
Salary Range: $65,000 – $75,000 per year, dependent on level of experience.
JFCY is committed to providing applicants the equal opportunity to succeed on their own merit. We work to hire staff that reflect and support the diverse perspectives, experiences and needs of our clients and our communities. We remain committed to upholding the values of equity, diversity, and inclusion in our work environment. We know that diversity underpins excellence, and that we all share responsibility for creating an equitable, diverse and inclusive organization. Therefore, in pursuit of our values, we seek employees who will work respectfully and constructively with differences and across the organizational hierarchy in actualizing the Clinics’ priorities, goals and principles.
We are strongly committed to diversity and employment equity and we actively encourage applications from members of groups with historical and/or current barriers to equity, including, but not limited to:
- First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples, and all other Indigenous peoples;
- members of groups that commonly experience discrimination due to race, ancestry, colour, religion and/or spiritual beliefs, or place of origin;
- persons with visible and/or invisible (physical and/or mental) disabilities;
- persons who identify as women; and
- persons of marginalized sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions.
Applications, including a cover letter and an up-to-date resume, must be submitted to
Lisa Salenga, Human Resources and Finance Assistant at Justice for Children and Youth by email only at lisa.salenga@jfcy.clcj.ca by 3:00 pm, on Friday June 23, 2023.
No phone calls please, only candidates selected for an interview will be notified.