Peer Health Educator- Summer Student Postions

Who we are:

AIDS Bow Valley is a small non-profit organization located in beautiful Banff, Alberta. We have one full-time staff member and hire two Peer Health Educator’s (PHE’s) every summer to help us out during the ‘busy’ season. AIDS Bow Valley is overseen by a volunteer Board of Directors made up from members of the local community. We receive the bulk of our funding through the Alberta Community HIV Fund and work in the communities of Lake Louise, Banff, Canmore, Kananaskis, Exshaw and Morley.

The mandate of AIDS Bow Valley is to provide information, education and support for people who are infected with or at risk of infection from HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections.

Much of the work we do at AIDS Bow Valley is with the large young adult population we have here in the Bow Valley. Approximately 52% of the population in Banff is between the ages of 18 and 35- and that’s where our Peer Health Educators come in. Who better help educate young adults than young adults?

 

Who we need:

The number one quality that we look for in our PHE’s is that they are Outgoing! Our PHE’s need to be fearless when it comes to approaching people and talking to them about safer sex, condom use, STI’s and HIV/AIDS. Think you could hand out condoms and lube at a packed bar on a busy Sunday night in Banff? Think you could give a condom demo with ‘Titan’ our wooden penis with out breaking a sweat? Then read on!

We also need our PHE’s to be Self-Starting Go-getters. Since PHE’s are only with us for 16 weeks we need people who can hit the ground running and make the positions their own right away. PHE’s are also responsible for creating their own activities, so we need people who are assertive and ambitious.

We need people who are creative too.  And we don’t just mean people we can draw. We need people who can come up with brilliant ideas for engaging young adults and creative ways of fundraising and hosting events on a ‘non-profit budget’. We need PHE’s who are able to think way outside the box and come up with unconventional solutions to the challenges adults in the Bow Valley face.

We are also looking for people who are energetic and flexible. A standard week at ABV is 35 hours, but that doesn’t mean sitting at your desk for that time. PHE’s will spend a lot of time working out in our community, sometimes during the day and often late at night. We need people who are able to switch it up maintain their enthusiasm right round the clock.

What would a job description be without a mention of teamplayers and good communicators? As well as being able to work (in close proximity) with your fellow PHE and Angela (your fearless leader for the summer), you will need to be able to work well with our volunteers, community partners and business that we collaborate with during the summer.

And finally, a must have quality for our PHE’s is that they are open-minded. During the summer PHE’s will have an amazing opportunity to meet people from different countries, backgrounds, cultures, sexual orientations etc. We only want to hear from candidates who are wiling to work within the inclusive all-encompassing culture of AIDS Bow Valley.

What you do:

PHE’s are hired expressly to work with the many Young Adults that descend on Banff and the Bow Valley every summer.

Specific duties of the PHE’s include recruitment, training and supervision of volunteers, presentations at staff health and safety fairs and orientations and Henna safer body art workshops at the artsPeak and Canada Day festivals. Students are also required to run the Bar Blitz Program- distributing condoms and lube to young adults at local night clubs and bars.

Special projects that PHE’s have worked on in the past include a cervical cancer screening initiative (which included a poster and radio campaign), ‘Ladies Nights’ staff events at the Chateau Lake Louise and Delta Lodge Kananaskis,  ‘Arousal’ sex toy party and silent auction and the ‘Love Glove Olympics’.

The vitals statistics for 2008:

Pay: $14.50/hour (that includes vacation pay). We will also pay mileage for work related travel.

Hours: We expect you to put in 35 hours a week for 16 weeks from May 5th to August 22nd. We can be a little flexible with start/end dates to accommodate university schedules.

Qualifications: We want people from different backgrounds/degree specialties, so we don’t specify that our PHE’s come from a specific degree program. Just let us know what kind of transferable skills you have that make you a stand out candidate. We also love people who have volunteered or have previous work experience, have had experience organizing events or fundraisers or have worked lots with other people. As usual, candidates should be proficient in the use of email, internet and word programs.

We don’t expect you to be an expert already- this internship is all about developing your skills. All we ask is that you come with an open mind, ready to learn.

Staff Accommodation: Due to our size and financial limitations, AIDS Bow Valley is not able to offer any staff accommodation. While our Staff and Board of Directors try to help as much as they can with the search for accommodation, summer is an extremely difficult time to find somewhere to live and rent is often much higher than other places in Canada. Candidates should be aware of this when lodging an application for the PHE position.

Other: French or Japanese speaking abilities are considered an asset as is access to your own vehicle and a valid driver’s license. Students are required to have their own cell phone- ABV will reimburse calls made for work purposes.

ABV is an equal opportunity employer.

Interviews: While we prefer to do our interviews in person, we understand that just isn't possible for many students. This year we hope to interview via webcam, but will also interview on the phone if you do not have access to the technology. We hope to have interviews finished by early April.

The Fine Print:

We receive Summer Career Placement Program Grants to help us fund our Summer Student Positions. Stipulations on the grant mean that you must meet the following criteria to be considered for our positions:

Be post secondary students (have attended school full-time in 07/08 and plan to return to school full-time in 08/09)

Be between the ages of 18 and 25

Be Canadian Citizens or Permanent Residents that are legally entitled to work in Canada.

Unfortunately we cannot consider applications from candidates who do not meet this criteria.

Please send cover letter, resume and references by March 14 to:

Angela Smith, Executive Program Director

ATN: PHE Hiring

programs@aidsbowvalley.com