Seeking Counsellors - Join the Employee Assistance Services Team!

Important messages

*****NEW MESSAGE***** Candidates who have submitted an application for process 20-NHW-SPECIALIZED-NCR-PM04-000008, please DO NOT re-submit your application. We will be proceeding with the evaluation of candidates of both processes (20-NHW-SPECIALIZED-NCR-PM04-000008 and 20-NHW-SPECIALIZED-NCR-PM04-000008a) at the same time.

Please note the following change to the education requirement:
EDUCATION
To have obtained or to be in the process of obtaining, by December 31, 2021
• Master's degree from a recognized university in counselling, social work, psychology, sociology or another discipline relevant to work of the position.

Duties

What will you be doing?

• Responding to telephone calls and/or chats, and analyse the nature of calls/chat, assess the degree of urgency, eligibility and respond to the immediate concern of the caller.
• If warranted, offering immediate counselling and intervention, and follow up when a client is in crisis or suicidal.
• Evaluating client needs and conducting risk assessment in order to provide a referral to a network of counsellors.
• Providing information and expert advice on programs to assist client in making informed decision and choices.
• Act as the first point of contact in the event of a major incident such as natural disasters or others.
• Intervenes in a variety of type of situations, such as: Employee Assistance Program, Intervention following a critical incident in the workplace, and others.
• Providing effective case management and follow-up to ensure progress towards client goals.

Are you interested in finding more about this opportunity, or maybe you know someone who could fulfill this role, share and/or click on the apply online!

Work environment

Who are we?

Health Canada is the federal department responsible for helping Canadians maintain and improve their health. Our goal is for Canada to be among the countries with the healthiest people in the world. For more information, please visit: https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada.html .

Health Canada’s Employee Assistance Services (EAS) is the largest national Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provider to Canada's federal public service. EAS has over 25 years of experience as an EAP provider offering the highest standards of excellence in the industry. We provide a voluntary and confidential service to assist employees and their family members with personal and work related problems that can affect their physical and emotional wellbeing as well as their work performance.

The positions are located in Ottawa, Ontario in the National Capital Region. The City has various recreational pathways for walking and bicycling, in addition to the Rideau Canal, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Ottawa hosts multiples annual and seasonal activities and festivals. The national museums and the National Arts Centre are also great attractions. The City houses a culinary community that’s earning wide acclaim, as well as, unique boutiques and shopping districts. For more information, please visit: ottawatourism.ca .

Intent of the process

Health Canada is looking to staff at least three (3) bilingual Counsellors within the National Capital Region. The intent of this process is to create a pool of qualified candidates to draw from when vacancies arise and for current and future needs within Health Canada.

Positions to be filled: 3

Information you must provide

Your résumé.

A covering letter in 2,000 words (maximum) "Please provide a cover letter that explains how you meet the required (must-have) education and experience. If you have the nice-to-have experience/training, do not forget to tell us."

In order to be considered, your application must clearly explain how you meet the following (essential qualifications)

---You are interested in making a difference through excellence, send us your resume by clicking “apply online”. Along with your resume, provide us with a few paragraphs that explain how you meet the education and experience required to join our organization. You need to tell us how, when and where you obtained the education and experience. If you do not tell us, we cannot guess (and we will not ask) and you may be eliminated from further consideration.---

EDUCATION
To have obtained or to be in the process of obtaining, by December 31, 2021
• Master's degree from a recognized university in counselling, social work, psychology, sociology or another discipline relevant to work of the position.

Degree equivalency

EXPERIENCE
• Experience in psycho-social assessment, counselling and crisis intervention.
• Experience in client case management.
• Experience in building and maintaining effective working relationship with clients, Mental Health and other Professional counsellors.
• Experience working with a diverse clientele.

ABILITIES
• Ability to handle stress while making important decisions with short timelines.
• Ability to employ crisis assessment and crisis intervention techniques in defusing volatile situations.
• Ability to employ and manage Critical Incident Stress Management and trauma debriefing techniques.
• Ability to communicate effectively orally and in writing, including through telephone and chats.
• Ability to work independently and in a team environment.
• Strong risk assessment skills.

PERSONAL SUITABILITIES:
• Judgement
• Thoroughness
• Dependability
• Respectful of diversity
• Strong empathy and listening skills

If you possess any of the following, your application must also clearly explain how you meet it (other qualifications)

OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS
• Willingness and ability to work overtime occasionally.

The following will be applied / assessed at a later date (essential for the job)

Bilingual - Imperative
Level CBC (Advanced), Level CCC (Advanced) or Level BBB (Intermediate).
For more information, please visit: https://www.canada.ca/en/public-service-commission/services/second-language-testing-public-service.html

Information on language requirements

The following may be applied / assessed at a later date (may be needed for the job)

---The following are asset qualifications, “the good to have”, but not necessarily essential for the job. A hiring manager may decide to apply these criteria at any time during the process, as deemed required. As such, provide us with a few paragraphs that explain how you meet the education and experience. You need to tell us how, when and where you obtained the education and experience. If you do not tell us, we cannot guess (and we will not ask) and you may be eliminated from further consideration.---

EXPERIENCE
• Experience in working within an Employee Assistance Program model.
• Experience in telephone and chat counselling.

TRAINING:
• Training in Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST).

Conditions of employment

• Secret Security Clearance
• Willingness and ability to obtain a membership from of a professional association of counsellors, psychologists or social workers.
• Willingness and ability to work any of the rotational day shifts: 7:30-15:30, 8:00-16:00, 8:30-16:30, 9:00-17:00, 10:00-18:00, 11:00-19:00, 12:00-20:00.

Other information

The Public Service of Canada is committed to building a skilled and diverse workforce that reflects the Canadians we serve. We promote employment equity and encourage you to indicate if you belong to one of the designated groups when you apply.

Information on employment equity

Preference

Preference will be given to veterans and to Canadian citizens, in that order, with the exception of a job located in Nunavut, where Nunavut Inuit will be appointed first.

Information on the preference to veterans

We thank all those who apply. Only those selected for further consideration will be contacted.