ADDICTION COUNSELLOR

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Are you interested in making a difference in the lives of others? If so, consider this position with the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services at the Central North Correctional Centre as an Addictions Counsellor.

Working with a diverse client population, you will enjoy relating to other professionals and teams within a structured correctional environment.

The Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services offers a comprehensive and competitive compensation package including:
• A defined benefit pension plan
• Maternity and parental leave top-up benefits
• A comprehensive health and dental plan
• Life and disability insurance
• A progressive work environment that promotes work/life balance
• Flexible learning and developmental opportunities including online, training and mentorship programs
• Opportunities for career advancement and specialization

The Ontario Public Service has been chosen as one of:
• Canada's Top 100 Employers
• Greater Toronto's Top 90 Employers
• Canada's Best Diversity Employers
• Canada's Greenest Employers
• Top Employers for Canadians Under 40

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About the job

In this role, you will:
• Assist in the development of addiction counselling programs with Manager, Social Work and Rehabilitative Services
• Provide rehabilitative addiction counselling services by working with individual or groups of offenders
• Participate in case conferences, treatment planning meetings, discharge planning conferences, and contacting family members, to assist in the coordination of treatment of offenders within the institution
• Participate as a member of the Methadone Treatment Program of the institution
• Liaise with community agencies and self-help organizations, citizen's groups, business, industries, colleges and universities.

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What you bring to the team

Counselling and Addiction Knowledge:

You have:
• knowledge of current addiction counselling theories, practices and counselling techniques, substance abuse indicators, group/individual counselling strategies and referral network in the community
• ability to acquire knowledge of accepted correctional rehabilitative and discharge planning theories, practices and techniques
• the ability to engage in discharge planning process to effectively combine discharge planning with addiction counselling initiatives
• the ability to recommend new/changes to programs, when offenders no longer demonstrate commitment to program and to recommend termination

Policy and Legislation Knowledge:

You have:
• the ability to acquire knowledge of institutional operating policies and procedures, related manuals pertaining to the addiction programs, practices and procedures
• the ability to ensure programs do not negatively affect the security and correctional goals and objectives of the institution
• knowledge of community agencies and resources to identify/arrange the appropriate support and discharge resources

Interpersonal and Communication Skills:

You have:
• the ability to convey facts and information clearly to the offenders and public, indicating the security requirements of the facility, promoting and understanding of the institution's role and philosophy
• the ability to prepare brochures for distribution to the offenders and to prepare correspondence and reports
• knowledge of public relations and marketing to prepare materials and speaking notes in order to address community groups, students and volunteers
• the ability to deal with requests or program complaints, to interpret and/or clarify information, and to encourage compliance and co-operation from program participants

Analytical and Technical Skills:

You have:
• the ability to assess and compare new and/or existing programs and recommend appropriate changes, evaluate and counsel volunteer
• the ability to use analytical and evaluative skills to determine offenders/ program needs based on input from institutional staff and offenders
• the ability to resolve issues or matters pertaining to offender participation or program usage taking into consideration institutional policies and procedures relating to security and offender needs
• knowledge of computers, computerized offender records system and related software packages to input/retrieve offender data, prepare presentation materials, prepare and maintain reports and statistics

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Additional information:

Note:

• In accordance with the Ontario Public Service Employment Screening Checks Policy, the top candidate(s) may be required to undergo a security screening check. Please refer to the Additional Information / Address section above to determine the screening checks that are required for this position.
  
  You will be responsible for obtaining the criminal record check at your own expense and provide it, along with your written consent, to the Transition and Security Office (TSO), HR Service Delivery Division to evaluate the results. If applicable, the TSO, with your written consent, will request and obtain any additional screening checks as indicated in the Additional Information / Address section above that were not obtained directly by you. (Note: If a Vulnerable Sector Screening/Check is required, it must also be obtained in person at your local police service.)
  
  A record under the Criminal Code and/or other federal offence record(s) does not automatically mean you will be ineligible for the position. The screening check(s) will only be reviewed and evaluated by the TSO for the purpose of making a security clearance decision. The details of an individual's screening check(s) will be considered in specific relation to the duties and responsibilities of the position being filled. Screening check records will be maintained by the TSO and kept strictly confidential.
• N-CL-112555/17(2)

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Language requirements and assessment:
All external Ontario Public Service (OPS) job ads are posted in English and French. Check the "position(s) language" section at the top of each job ad for the language requirements. For all roles, candidates are assessed in English, the business language of the OPS. If the position is bilingual (English/French), you'll also need to pass a French-language proficiency test.

Exigences en matière de langue et évaluation:
Toutes les offres d'emploi externes de la fonction publique de l'Ontario (FPO) sont affichées en français et en anglais. Consultez la section « Langue du ou des postes » en haut de chaque offre d'emploi pour connaître les exigences linguistiques. Pour tous les postes, les candidats sont évalués en anglais, la langue d'affaires de la FPO. Si le poste est bilingue (anglais/français), vous devrez également passer un test de compétences linguistiques en français.