Social Worker

This competition is open to all applicants however; internal candidates and applicants who were former employees of the University of Alberta will be given priority consideration before external candidates. Please log in to verify your internal candidate status.

Location - This role is in-person. Work primarily takes place at North Campus, Edmonton.

Working for the Student Success Experience, First Peoples’ House

Is a place thoughtfully created with intention and care, and lead with sâkihitowin (love) ekwa 
tapâtêyimisôwin (humility). First Peoples’ House (FPH) is a “home away from home” on North Campus for UA First Nations, Métis, and Inuit students; a space where learning is not only pursued, but lived, shared, and carried forward.

Here, knowledge is held in many forms: in quiet study and in spoken word, in the guidance of tutors and the wisdom of Elders, and with a warm heart of nourishment of community meals and the spirit of ceremony around every corner. This is a place to gather, to be supported, and to remember that education is a journey walked together. Within these walls, First Nations, Métis, and Inuit (FNMI) students are supported in every part of the FNMI student journey:

• Cultural Grounding: Elders who offer wisdom, connection to tradition, and teachings rooted in respect.
• Community and Nourishment: Access to snacks and shared meals that bring students together, supporting both physical well-being and belonging.
• Cultural Connection: Programming that honours, celebrates, and strengthens the FNMI community and ways of being.
• Personal Support: Dedicated staff who walk alongside a student’s path, offering care, advocacy, and encouragement.
• Learning and Voice: Guidance in writing and academics, where stories, knowledge, and ideas are nurtured and empowered to be heard.
• Academic Services and Support: Access to tutoring, academic learning workshops, writing mentors, librarians, and the FPH Kîsikwan (calendar).
• Graduate Support: Guided inspiration into graduate programs that outline services and supports.
• FPH Housing: Diverse, on-campus housing that provides secure, welcoming spaces for UA FNMI students.
• Financial Support: Dedicated First Nations, Métis, and Inuit awards.
• Transition Year Program: The First Peoples’ House (FPH) Transition Year Program (TYP) is an optional full-time program designed for First Nations, Métis, and Inuit individuals seeking to enroll in their first year of university and to connect with the First Nations, Métis, and Inuit community on campus. For more information, visit uab.ca/fph.

Postion Summary

Reporting to First Peoples’ House onîkânîw, the FNMI Social Worker is dedicated to supporting First Nations, Métis, and Inuit (FPH) students at the University of Alberta through culturally grounded, trauma-informed, and relationship-based social work practice. This role exists to strengthen the mental health, wellness, academic success, community connection, and holistic wellbeing of FPH students by centering our ways of knowing, cultural safety, and self-determination in all aspects of care.

Working in close partnership with the UA Social Work Team, kise yôtin, FPH campus and community partners. The FPH Social Worker provides individualized short-term support to FNMI students navigating mental health concerns, academic stress, housing insecurity, financial barriers, family and community challenges, identity-related concerns, systemic inequities, and transitions into or through university life. First Peoples’ House recognizes the ongoing impacts of colonization, intergenerational trauma, racism, and barriers to accessing care, and this role will respond through strengths-based, culturally responsive, and student-centred support.

FPH Social Worker supports students through assessment, crisis intervention, care coordination, systems navigation, advocacy, referrals, and collaborative wellness planning. Services are guided by First Peoples’ House ways of being and knowing, and by perspectives on wellness that honour balance among emotional, spiritual, physical, and mental well-being. The role also helps students strengthen their connection to culture, community, ceremony, Elders, Knowledge Keepers, and other support networks both on and off campus.

As part of an interdisciplinary care team, the FPH Social Worker collaborates with physicians, psychologists, psychiatrists, occupational therapists, academic supports, Residence Services, the Social Work Team, and community agencies to ensure that FPH students receive timely, coordinated, and culturally safe care. The position also contributes to broader campus education, advocacy, and awareness regarding FNMI student wellness, reconciliation, and equitable access to mental health supports at the University of Alberta.

The FPH Social Worker operates within a complex, interdisciplinary mental health and wellness environment at the University of Alberta, with a primary focus on supporting First Nations, Métis, and Inuit (FNMI) students across diverse academic, personal, and social contexts within First Peoples’ House.

The FPH Social Worker provides culturally grounded, trauma-informed, and strengths-based social work services to First Nations, Métis, and Inuit (FNMI) students within a post-secondary interdisciplinary mental health and wellness framework. The role operates within ACSW Standards of Practice, University of Alberta policies, and FNMI cultural safety principles, with a focus on holistic student wellbeing, self-determination, and connection to culture, community, and support.

FNMI Student Mental Health, Wellness, and FNMI Student Short-Term Counselling and Case Management Support

• Provide culturally grounded social work support for FNMI students experiencing mental health, wellness, academic, social, financial, or personal challenges.
• Integrate First Peoples’ House (FPH) knowledge systems, cultural teachings, and traditional wellness practices into individualized care planning and student support.
• Provide direct service to FNMI students across all faculties and year levels, including undergraduate, graduate, mature, and student-parent populations, each with varying levels of mental health, academic, financial, and social complexity.
• Conduct holistic assessments, crisis intervention, suicide risk assessments, and short-term stabilization support using trauma-informed and culturally responsive approaches.
• Support FNMI students in navigating university systems, healthcare services, community resources, and social services to address immediate and ongoing needs.
• Support students navigating complex systems impacted by intergenerational trauma, colonization, socioeconomic barriers, disability-related needs, and cultural identity factors.

FPH Centred Care Planning and Collaboration with FPH Staff, Elders and Traditional Knowledge Keepers

• Collaborate closely with First Peoples’ House (FPH) Staff, Elders, and Knowledge Keepers to strengthen culturally grounded wellness initiatives and continuity of care.
• Maintain daily communication with First Peoples’ House (FPH), Elders, Knowledge Keepers, FNMI student supports, and other culturally grounded campus services to ensure culturally safe and holistic care.
• Incorporate First Peoples’ House teachings and groundings, cultural practices, ceremony, and teachings into holistic care planning where appropriate and student-led.
• Support continuity of care through culturally safe coordination between campus and community supports.
• Strengthen student connection to community as part of wellness and healing processes.

Advocacy and Equity in Systems Navigation

• Advocate for culturally safe and equitable services for FNMI students across campus and within external systems.
• Support FNMI students in navigating institutional, healthcare, academic, and community systems to reduce barriers to care.
• Engage with external community partners, including FNMI health services, Alberta Health Services, social service agencies, child and family services, housing supports, and financial assistance programs, to coordinate wraparound care.
• Identify and address systemic gaps that impact FNMI students’ access to services and supports.
• Promote equitable access to resources through advocacy and culturally informed systems navigation.
• Contribute to student well-being, retention, academic success, crisis prevention, and equitable access to services for FNMI students across the university system.

Relationship Building and Collaborative Partnerships

• Maintain meaningful and ongoing relationships with FNMI organizations, Elders, Knowledge Keepers, Social Work Team members, and a diverse on and off community of supports that strengthen referral pathways and wraparound care for students.
• Acts as key lead with Health and Wellness Services (HWS) and works closely with the Manager of the Social Work Team, contributing to an interdisciplinary care model that includes psychologists, physicians, psychiatrists, occupational therapists, nurses, and social workers.
• Develop and maintain strong partnerships with on and off-campus units, community agencies, and health providers.
• Facilitate coordinated, wraparound service delivery through interdisciplinary collaboration.
• Strengthen referral pathways that are culturally safe, accessible, and responsive to the needs of FNMI students.
• Contribute to campus-wide FNMI wellness initiatives, education, and reconciliation efforts that impact institutional practices and student support frameworks.

Student Empowerment, Autonomy, and Strength-Based Support

• Promote FNMI student autonomy, resilience, self-advocacy, and connection to community.
• Support FNMI students in identifying their own goals, strengths, and wellness pathways.
• Encourage informed decision-making and self-determined engagement with support and services.
• Foster resilience and empowerment through culturally grounded, strengths-based FNMI Wise social work practices.

Documentation, Ethics, and Regulatory Compliance

• Operate within strict confidentiality and legislative frameworks, including the ACSW Standards of Practice, university policy, the Protection of Privacy Act (POPA), and the Health Information Act (HIA).
• Maintain confidential student documentation in accordance with ACSW standards, university policies, POPA, and HIA legislation.
• Ensure accurate, timely, and secure documentation of assessments, interventions, referrals, and care plans.
• Maintain compliance with ethical standards, privacy legislation, and institutional requirements.
• Ensure responsible handling of personal and health information in alignment with professional obligations.
• Manage a dynamic caseload of FNMI students requiring short-term counselling, crisis intervention, systems navigation, advocacy, and coordinated care planning.
• Contribute to the FPH monthly, quarterly and annual quantitative and qualitative reports.

FNMI Wellness Education, Outreach, and Campus Engagement

• Contribute to FNMI wellness education, outreach, presentations, and campus-wide initiatives related to reconciliation and student wellbeing.
• Participate in training, workshops, and educational initiatives that promote FNMI student wellness and cultural safety.
• Provide outreach and consultation to campus partners regarding supporting FNMI students in distress.
• Support broader institutional understanding of FNMI mental health, reconciliation, and wellness frameworks.
• Collaborate with internal university departments, including Residence Services, Student Success and Experience units, accessibility resources, academic faculties, student conduct and support services.

• Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) required; Master of Social Work (MSW) considered an asset.
• Is First Nations, Metis or Inuit with a strong understanding of cultural protocols and ceremonial practices.
• Preference will be given to individuals fluent in their tribal language (Stoney, Dogrib, Cree, Chipewyan, Dene, Inuit, Blackfoot, Ojibwe, Mechif).
• Holds community connections with Elders, Traditional Knowledge Keepers (TKK) or cultural ambassadors.
• Holds a high level of understanding of FNMI students, families and community members as it pertains to living within a First Nation community, a Métis Settlement or an Inuit community (fly-in communities, rural and urban experiences, 60s scoop, IRS survivor or first-generation survivor ways of knowing).
• Membership in good standing with the Alberta College of Social Workers (ACSW), or openness to register with ACSW within 1 month of hiring date. Please note: If upfront registration and insurance fees present a financial barrier, the organization is committed to providing financial accommodation or reimbursement options.
• Training and demonstrated competence in FNMI cultural safety, trauma-informed practice, and anti-oppressive social work approaches.

Application Instructions

Click "Apply Now" to submit your resume and cover letter.

This role requires confirmation of First Nation, Métis or Inuit membership or citizenship. Selected applicants will be asked for documentation prior to attending an interview.

This position is subject to all applicable terms and conditions of the collective agreement between the Governors of the University of Alberta and the Non-Academic Staff Association (NASA).

This position offers a comprehensive benefits package.