The Okanagan Nation Alliance (ONA) is the Tribal Council for the Syilx Okanagan Nation. The ONA’s mandate is to advance, assert, support and preserve Syilx Okanagan Nation title and rights. Further, the ONA is charged with providing members with a forum to discuss and form positions on areas of common concern.
The Okanagan Nation Alliance is seeking a syilx Support Liaison to support learners participating in the syilx Health Career Access Program (HCAP) Mental Health and Substance Use pathway. This contract role focuses on providing relational, emotional, spiritual, and practical support to learners as they navigate a full‑time post‑secondary education cohort, a paid practicum, and their transition into Return of Service employment.
The syilx Support Liaison provides grounded, trauma‑informed, and syilx‑connected support to learners, helping them stay well, supported, and connected throughout the pathway.
Program Context
The syilx Health Career Access Program Mental Health and Substance Use is a fully funded education and employment pathway delivered in partnership with Selkirk College and Interior Health and coordinated by the Okanagan Nation Alliance.
The pathway includes:
- a full‑time academic portion leading to a Mental Health and Substance Use certificate
- a paid practicum following the education phase
- a twelve‑month Return of Service in a Mental Health and Substance Use related role
Learners are hired as employees during the education and practicum phases and receive wages while completing their training. The pathway was developed with guidance from community leadership and is intended to build long‑term mental health and substance use capacity that supports syilx people and communities.
Job Purpose
Accountable to the Health Administrator and working closely with ONA staff, Selkirk College program teams, and Interior Health partners as needed, this position is responsible to help learners stay connected, supported, and be successful throughout the HCAP Mental Health and Substance Use pathway. This includes helping learners navigate academic expectations, personal challenges, moving into practicum placements, and their transition into Return of Service employment.
Learner and Support Navigation
- Provide regular check‑ins with learners, one‑on‑one or in small groups, based on learner needs.
- Offer syilx‑grounded emotional and spiritual support using a trauma‑informed and strengths‑based approach that reflects syilx values, lived experience, and community ways of supporting wellness.
- Create space for learners to talk through workload, personal challenges, stress, and life transitions while participating in a full‑time program.
- Support learners before the program begins, during the education phase, through practicum, and into the transition to Return of Service.
Academic and Program Navigation
- Support learners in navigating program expectations and communication with Selkirk instructors and staff
- Help learners access Selkirks virtual; supports, including counselling, academic advising, and other student services as needed.
- Build and maintain working relationships with Selkirk instructors and program staff to support learner success and early support if concerns arise.
- Join program team meetings, learner check-ins, or meetings with instructors when appropriate and helpful.
Practicum and Transition Support
- Participate in practicum related check-ins with learners
- Support learner to prepare for practicum expectations and transitions
- Remain available throughout the practicum period to support with navigation, reflection and support.
- Continue supporting learner’s post-practicum as they transition into employment and begin their Return of Service Roles
Technical and Administrative Capacity
- Comfortable using Microsoft Teams and Zoom for virtual meetings, learner check‑ins, and coordination.
- Ability to work flexibly, including some evening availability, based on learner needs and program rhythms.
Qualifications and Competencies
The position will require the following qualifications, values and competencies.
Essential
- Possess lived experience and strong syilx knowledge, including familiarity with syilx values, community realities, and ways of supporting wellness.
- Strong relational skills and the ability to support learners in a respectful, grounded, and strength-based way.
- Experience supporting people through learning, transition, wellness, or support roles.
- Ability to provide syilx‑grounded emotional and spiritual support using a trauma‑informed approach.
- Understanding of confidentiality and appropriate professional boundaries.
- Comfortable working in a primarily virtual environment.
- Flexible, reliable, and responsive.
Assets (formal OR informal experience welcome)
- Experience in peer support, mental health and substance use work, wellness roles, student support, or navigation roles (formal OR informal experience welcome)
- Experience helping learners or community members navigate education systems or access supports.
- Familiarity with post‑secondary or cohort‑based learning environments.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
- Knowledge of syilx values, wellness approaches, and community contexts.
- Understanding of trauma‑informed practice and the impacts of intergenerational experiences on learning and wellbeing.
- General knowledge of mental health and substance use support environments.
- Strong relationship‑building and trust‑based skills
- Strong written, and verbal communication skills
- Ability to listen, support, and respond to learners in a calm and respectful manner.
- Ability to help learners navigate systems and access appropriate supports.
- Organizational skills to manage learner check‑ins, follow‑ups, and coordination.
- Ability to provide emotionally and spiritually grounded support in a learning environment.
- Ability to maintain confidentiality and professional boundaries.
- Ability to work independently and collaboratively with ONA staff, Selkirk College, and partners.
- Ability to adapt to changing learner needs across different phases of the program.
Hours of work:
- Full‑time contract position, 40 hours per week
- Contract term from August 2026 to June 2027
- Start date: August 2026
- Main office located in Westbank, with flexibility to work from anywhere within syilx territory
- Primarily virtual, with in‑person connection welcomed when feasible and appropriate
- Flexibility in work hours, including some evening availability, may be required based on learner needs and program rhythms
Hours of Work: 40 hours per week.
Rate of Pay: $31.51 – $42.63 hourly