Director of Community Wellness

Director of Community Wellness

Department: Core Services

Reports To: Vice President of Core Services

Supervises: Manager of Housing and Justice, Manager of Health (future position), Clinical Counsellor

Location: 70 Brookfield Road, St. John’s

Salary Range: Starting at $85,000 annually

Summary

First Light is a leading Indigenous organization based in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. We are committed to serving the urban Indigenous and broader community through programs and initiatives rooted in Indigenous knowledge, culture, and traditions. Our work spans the areas of health, housing, justice, language revitalization, education, and cultural connection. Through a commitment to community-led approaches, First Light offers wraparound supports that honour the inherent strength, wisdom, and leadership within Indigenous communities.

Our vision is one of cultural continuity, collective wellness, and social justice. We believe in walking alongside community members as they access culturally safe supports, reclaim language and ceremony, and connect to the teachings that sustain them. At First Light, we understand wellness.

The Director of Community Wellness provides strategic leadership across a braided portfolio of health, housing, and justice. This includes oversight of wellness counselling, Indigenous Patient Navigators, medical transportation, and the development of a new Indigenous Health Clinic. The Director also supports housing and justice programs such as transitional and affordable housing, housing outreach, and culturally grounded justice initiatives rooted in prevention, intervention, and reintegration.

This is a senior leadership role reporting to the VP of Core Services. The Director of Community Wellness carries a deeply relational and vital leadership role within First Light. As part of the Core Services team, this Director helps guide the organization’s braided approach to community wellness — walking alongside others to ensure that health, housing, and justice supports are grounded in Indigenous knowledge, culture, and connection.

The Director leads a team composed of the Manager of Health, Manager of Housing & Justice, and Clinical Counsellor, ensuring services remain aligned with First Light’s Strategy Wheel and responsive to the needs, strengths, and leadership of the urban Indigenous community. This role is well-suited for someone who leads with emotional intelligence, cultural humility, and has experience working within Indigenous models of wellness and care.

A full narrative description of this role can be found at the end of this job description.

Core Skill Set

Relational & Reflective Leadership: 

  • Leads with humility, clarity, and self-direction
  • Builds trust through grounded presence, empathy, and deep and active listening
  • Cultivates reflective, caring, and accountable team environments that reflect Indigenous leadership teachings

Cultural & Conflict Navigation: 

  • Navigates conflict through circle processes, restorative justice, and teachings from the land 
  • Applies Indigenous knowledge and trauma-informed practice to hold space and restore relationships

Community-Centered Systems Thinking: 

  • Recognizes wellness as a sacred relational, collective, and interconnected system.
  • Ensures housing, health, justice, and clinical services are braided together with community representation and cultural values.
  • Anchors complex decision-making in ceremony, story, and lived wisdom of the community.

 Strategic Stewardship & Collaboration: 

  • Balances big-picture vision with implementation, always grounded in community care.
  • Works in respectful relationship with Elders, Knowledge Keepers, First Light team members and community partners.

Responsibilities

Leadership & Strategy

  • Provide visionary leadership across health, housing, and justice portfolios, rooted in Indigenous knowledge, values, and relational governance.
  • Guide the planning and launch of an Indigenous Health Clinic that integrates traditional healing, culturally rooted wellness counselling, and Western medical practices.
  • Provide strategic oversight of community health services in partnership with the Manager of Health — including medical transportation, patient navigation, and wellness counselling.
  • Provide strategic oversight of housing & justice services in partnership with the Manager of Housing & Justice – including affordable and transitional housing programs, housing outreach, and community justice initiatives.
  • Champion Indigenous approaches to wellness and healing — including circle processes, collective decision-making, and community-led engagement.

Program Oversight

  • Support the Manager of Health in delivering holistic, culturally safe services, including:
    • Medical transportation for clients accessing care Indigenous patient navigation supporting cultural safety & access to systemsJordan’s Principle coordination to ensure access to culturally appropriate supports.
  • Supportthe Clinical Counsellor in delivering counselling services rooted in Indigenous knowledge, intergenerational healing, and trauma-informed approaches.
  • Guide the Manager of Housing & Justice in providing:
    • Transitional and affordable housing programsHousing outreach and navigation grounded in respect and dignityJustice and reintegration program supports.
  • Ensure all programs across the wellness portfolio are trauma-informed, harm-reduction-oriented, and culturally grounded approaches, guided by the principles of community self-determination.

Team Leadership & Culture

  • Supervise, mentor, and walk alongside staff through circle-based supervision, meaningful connection, cultural teachings, and ongoing development opportunities.
  • Provide strategic and operational guidance to the Manager of Health, Manager of Housing & Justice, and Clinical Counsellor, that are informed by First Light’s Strategy Wheel.
  • Foster a team culture rooted in emotional intelligence, circle-based conflict resolution, lateral kindness, and relational accountability.

Community Engagement

  • Engage Elders, Knowledge Keepers, community members, and people with lived/living experience in shaping all services within the wellness portfolio.
  • Build and maintain authentic, reciprocal relationships with partners across the health, housing, and justice sectors.
  • Promote cultural safety, community voice, and self-determination in all programs and decision-making processes.

Operations & Reporting

  • Collaborate with the VP of Core Services on operational planning, budgeting, and reporting across the wellness portfolio.
  • Contribute to funding proposals, evaluation frameworks, and long-term sustainability planning that uplift Indigenous-led wellness models.
  • Ensure accountability to funders while remaining grounded in community priorities, Indigenous values, and trauma-informed practice.

Qualifications

  • Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Indigenous Studies, Social Work, Public Health, Community Development, or a related field — an equivalent combination of lived and professional experience will be considered.
  • Minimum of 5 years of leadership experience in Indigenous health, housing, or community wellness programming, including staff supervision.
  • Experience planning, launching, and managing community-based health services, wellness programs, or clinics.
  • Knowledge of and/or experience with medical transportation, patient navigation, and wraparound supports for Indigenous clients accessing care in and outside of their home communities.
  • Certification with a licensing body of the Newfoundland and Labrador Health Authority – ability to supervise clinical counselling staff.

Narrative Position Description

The Director of Community Wellness carries a deeply relational and vital leadership role within First Light. As part of the Core Services team, this Director helps guide the organization’s braided approach to community wellness — walking alongside others to ensure that health, housing, and justice supports are grounded in Indigenous knowledge, culture, and connection, and guided by relational accountability and trauma-informed practice. This role is rooted in responsibility to the community — not just in overseeing services, but in holding space, building trust, and shaping systems that honour the strength and wisdom of urban Indigenous peoples. Guided by the teachings of First Light’s Strategy Wheel, the Director brings these responsibilities to life by supporting teams, shaping programs, and nurturing relationships that reflect shared values.

The Director provides strategic and relational leadership across a portfolio that includes health, housing, and justice. While day-to-day delivery is led by the Manager of Health, Manager of Housing & Justice, and Clinical Counsellor, the Director ensures alignment — keeping all programs connected to First Light’s broader vision and values. Their leadership helps braid these supports into holistic, community-led, and culturally safe systems of care.

In leading teams, the Director walks alongside – not ahead of – their team. They nurture humility and care — cultivating a culture of reflection, mutual support, lateral kindness, and accountability. They bring strong emotional intelligence, a deep respect for lived experience, and the ability to hold hard conversations with care, using circle processes, restorative dialogue, and Indigenous approaches to navigating conflict and restoring relationships.

This is a role for someone who understands that leadership is about care, who sees wellness as a ceremony. Someone who walks with others, leads with heart, and helps braid systems that honour community voice, cultural knowledge, and Indigenous ways of being. As First Light continues to grow and transform, the Director of Community Wellness carries that vision forward — building stronger systems and healthier futures for Indigenous individuals, families, and communities.

How to Apply

Interested applicants should submit a CV (resume) and a cover letter outlining their interest in and qualifications for the position. Applications can be sent to [email protected] with the subject line: Director of Community Wellness

Deadline to Apply: June 3rd, 2025

First Light celebrates diversity and is committed to creating an inclusive and supportive environment for all members of our team. We welcome applications from all qualified candidates regardless of Indigenous identity or status, lived experience, national or other origin, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, religion, age, or other characteristics. We strongly encourage applications from individuals who carry lived experience expertise, acknowledging the value and alignment with First Light’s organizational goals. We’re committed to supporting candidates throughout the application process by accommodating any disability-related requests.