The Port Alberni Community Action Team (PA CAT) is taking applications for our Community Action Team (CAT) Coordinator position. Applications must be received by June 30, 2022. Applications can be sent to ron.merk@telus.net or to ptalbcat@gmail.com
CAT coordinator position Job description:
General Description:
The successful candidate will have strong skills using Microsoft Office, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. The creation of minutes, agendas, and presentations are major functions of the position.
Human relationship soft skills, including the ability to engage and network with diverse cross-sections of the community, are crucial to the position. This includes the ability to work with in-community street peers and health professionals. The successful applicant will be able to leverage the CAT members throughout the community. Building personal and organizational relationships is a major role of the position. This includes positively driving the four key pillars of harm reduction, reducing stigma, networking between individuals and organizations, and influencing social supports that impact the overdose crisis in our community.
The successful candidate will report directly to and work closely with the co-chairs of the Community Action Team. The Coordinator/Facilitator is considered a member of the leadership team for the organization.
The role demands a self-starter, capable of identifying major priorities and managing their time within contracted hours to meet the requirements of the position and goals of the organization.
Detailed Job Functions:
The CAT coordinator position is a paid ‘private contractor’ role of 8 to 12 hours a week.
The coordinator ensures that the CAT table is meeting regularly and pushing an agenda for action in the community. The Port Alberni CAT has accepted the goal suggested by BC-Yukon Peer Drug Wars Survivors; to decrease the number of drug poisonings and overdoses in the Alberni Valley.
The CAT follows the Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions (MMHA) – Overdose Emergency Response Services (OERC) mandate for CAT’s., what they refer to as the comprehensive package of interventions. Evidenced-based areas to focus the CAT’s attention in the community when responding to the overdose crisis.
- Social Stabilization
- Peer Empowerment & Engagement
- Cultural Humility & Safety
- Addressing stigma, discrimination & Human Rights
Please see this link for the Port Alberni CAT work plan 2021-22, which details how we address all four interventions.
The CAT coordinator works with a Co-Chair model, reports to and follows the leadership of the chairs, the Port Alberni CAT Terms of Reference (TOR), and the OERC mandate.
- Coordinating and convening the table:
One of the main priorities of the CAT Coordinator position is to coordinate and convene the table. The coordinator provides focus to the Team, by maintaining at every meeting and engagement the understanding and purpose for action in decreasing the overdose crisis. The coordinator balances the number of emails sent to the Team distribution as a best practice as many of those on the distribution list have busy offices and responsibilities. With saying that, the Team feels it is crucial to keep the distribution list engaged and informed. The majority of the correspondence is done in a monthly email. Also, it is important to recognize that the CAT engages regularly with sub-working groups that push the majority of action items in the community. The working groups and affiliated groups the coordinator are involved with and not confined to, include:
The Port Alberni CAT meetings occur every second Thursday of the month. The role and responsibility of the CAT coordinator are to ensure that the meeting invitation goes out to the CAT distribution no later than 2 weeks before the upcoming meeting. As part of the invitation email, there is a scheduled Zoom link, previous meeting minutes, and the upcoming meeting agenda.
In the email, it is common practice to include a reminder of working group action items and give recognition to working group accomplishments. The CAT will receive many emails requesting community groups and health authorities to forward information, surveys, postings, and so forth. The coordinator will use discretion to include these email requests as they see the best fit and embedded in the monthly emails if the timing or request is not marked urgent.
Recently the monthly email has included links to the CAT Facebook page and CAT website that is building an impressive compilation of learning moments and resources, as part of the CAT Families helping Families initiative.
Website: https://ptalbcat.blogspot.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CATportalberni
- Monthly email:
Save the date – Zoom link, meeting agenda, and meeting minutes.
The Port Alberni CAT meets every second Thursday of the month – 1 PM to 3 PM.
The coordinator will manage a CAT Zoom account and invoice for the CAT for the services. It is important to familiarize yourself with Zoom before hosting a meeting. During certain meetings, we have special guests and presentations where the coordinator will need to know functions such as share screen
- Meeting Agenda:
- The meeting agenda is sent out to the distribution list 2-3 days before the upcoming CAT meeting.
- Please reference this link for an example of our meeting agenda.
- Meeting:
- Zoom meetings.
- The CAT co-Chairs will take turns running the meeting or share meeting responsibilities as they see fit.
- Every meeting starts with Territorial recognition for the Alberni Valley. Unceded traditional lands of the Hupacasath & Tseshaht First Nations, of Nuuchanulth First Nations people. The CAT then opens up the floor to any guests calling in from other unceded territories to pay territorial respects.
- The CAT meetings follow the agenda sent out to the distribution. There are times where amendments to the agenda are made before the meeting due to special guest requests, regrets, and urgent messaging changes (i.e., OERC requests during Covid-19 changes; Dual Public Health Emergency).
- Meeting Minutes:
- The role of the CAT coordinator is to ensure that the meeting minutes are captured.
- It can be involved to manage the Zoom meeting as the host, answer questions from the membership, and take minutes. For that reason, I take minutes in writing and transfer them to the computer later.
- It is best practice to have the meeting minutes draft to the co-Chairs for approval one week after the meeting so that you can finalize them and have them out to the distribution in the meeting invitation email with the upcoming meeting agenda, no later than 2 weeks before the meeting.
- The previous meeting minutes are the first order of business at each meeting to ensure all those who received the minutes and no amendments are required.
- Please refer to the following link for an example of meeting minutes from CAT meeting.
- Presentations and Correspondence
- Present to groups as requested on the topics of harm and stigma reduction and social stabilization
- Respond to correspondence
- Review drafts of correspondence, and edit accordingly
- OERC Budget and Written Reports
- Produce quarterly budget reports working with the City of Port Alberni
- Produce OERC reports and yearly applications
- Project Management and Practicum Student
- Manage grant projects as required including peers, budget, and reporting
- Manage and mentor practicum students as required
- Social Media
- Post information items on social media
- Create memes around the CAT pillars
- Working groups
- Peer Coordinator – peer outreach group; Bridging the Gap
- First Nations Peers
- First Responder working group
- Families Helping Families
- Vancouver Island CAT Coordinators and Peers