Program Manager jobs in St. Catharines, ON

Job Posting: Project Lead (Fixed Term Contract)

Indigenous Mental Wellness Division, Dalton Associates

Summary:

Dalton Associates believes that healthy communities support healthy people, and in turn, healthy people build healthy communities. To achieve this vision of wellness, people need easy access to safe, confidential, and quality mental health support.

Dalton Associates (DA) is a mental health services organization. With a dynamic team of over 85 employees and over 150 clinicians, DA provides specialized and quality assured, psychological, psychotherapy, social work, and behavioural health services that are culturally sensitive, safe, accessible, and timely throughout the province of Ontario.

Over the past several years, Dalton Associates has been honoured to develop strong partnerships with Indigenous communities and regional councils in northern Ontario to support the development of regional and community-based mental health and wellness programs that are tailored to the unique needs of the region/communities. We offer mental health and wellness-related community and program development support, as well as direct services by regulated and experienced Masters-level mental health professionals committed to ensuring a culturally safe approach in their work.

Position Summary

Dalton Associates is hiring several compassionate and experienced Project Leads to oversee the implementation and day-to-day delivery of community-based mental health and wellness programs in First Nation communities in Northern Ontario.

These are fixed-term, full-time employment positions. Fixed-term contract lengths will range from six months to one year depending on the community assignment, with the possibility of extension. The salary is $90,000 annually, prorated for the length of the contract.

Working closely with community leadership, local service providers, and Dalton Associates teams, the Project Lead is accountable for the successful day-to-day implementation of the assigned project. This includes scheduling, coordinating clinicians and contractors, maintaining community relationships, monitoring service delivery and project performance, ensuring reporting and project deliverables are completed, and addressing or escalating risks, concerns, and service gaps. The Project Lead is responsible for coordinating and overseeing the effective delivery of project activities, with support from the Division Manager, clinical and operational leadership, and the administrative team.

The successful candidate will approach the work with humility, flexibility, and a strong commitment to walking alongside the community in support of the mental health and wellness needs of children, youth, adults, and families.

This position requires regular travel to the assigned fly-in community, with a minimum of one in-community visit per month and additional travel where required by the project’s needs or scope.

Key Responsibilities

Project Leadership and Accountability

• Lead the day-to-day operation and coordination of the assigned project
• Ensure services are delivered in accordance with the approved scope, service schedule, budget, community priorities, and contractual or funding deliverables.
• Develop and maintain project workplans, service schedules, deliverable trackers, project records, and follow-up items.
• Monitor project progress and proactively address service gaps, delays, operational barriers, and competing priorities.
• Ensure decisions and action items are assigned, followed through, and brought to resolution.
• Identify and escalate significant risks, service interruptions, contractor concerns, community concerns, and decisions requiring additional leadership direction.

Community Engagement and Service Implementation

• Serve as the primary day-to-day contact between Dalton Associates and the community-based team.
• Build and maintain respectful, collaborative relationships with community leadership, staff, service providers, and other partners.
• Work alongside the community-based team to understand evolving priorities and coordinate the implementation and ongoing delivery of community-informed programs and services.
• Ensure community questions, feedback, concerns, and decisions are communicated to the appropriate Dalton Associates team members and addressed in a timely manner.
• Complete a minimum of one in-community visit each month to support relationship-building, oversee service implementation, meet with the community-based team, and address service-delivery barriers.

Clinician and Contractor Coordination

• Coordinate service delivery schedules and ensure appropriate clinician and contractor coverage.
• Work with operational and administrative team members to schedule and support clinicians and contractors travelling to the community.
• Ensure clinicians and contractors understand the project scope, service schedule, community-specific expectations, assigned responsibilities, and required deliverables.
• Maintain regular communication with clinicians and contractors before, during, and following community visits.
• Monitor contractor attendance, trip completion, service activity, documentation, and required follow-up.
• Coordinate community-specific orientation and ensure clinicians and contractors have the information and resources needed to provide effective services.
• Address day-to-day contractor or service-delivery concerns and escalate clinical, contractual, performance, or human resources matters as appropriate.

Referral and Case Coordination

• Ensure referral, consent, intake, triage, service-assignment, and follow-up processes are implemented consistently.
• Coordinate access to psychological, behavioural, speech-language, mental health, and other specialized services included within the project scope.
• Facilitate team-based case coordination and communication to support continuity of care and reduce service gaps.
• Ensure referrals and cases requiring action are assigned, monitored, and followed through.
• Escalate clinical risk, safeguarding, consent, privacy, and complex case concerns to the appropriate regulated clinician or clinical lead.

Monitoring Reporting and Deliverables

• Track key performance indicators, referrals, service volumes, contractor attendance, community visits, outstanding documentation, and project deliverables.
• Ensure clinicians and contractors submit complete and timely activity reports, documentation, and other required project information.
• Compile, review, and provide accurate project information by established deadlines to support monthly, quarterly, annual, and funder reporting.
• Work with administrative and finance team members to monitor service utilization, travel activity, and spending against the approved project budget.
• Identify missing, incomplete, or inconsistent information and follow up until it is resolved.
• Maintain organized and current project records, trackers, meeting notes, decisions, risks, and action items.

Quality Improvement and Cultural Responsiveness

• Ensure services remain aligned with the approved scope, community direction, professional standards, and Dalton Associates policies and processes.
• Identify service-delivery gaps, trends, risks, and opportunities for improvement.
• Recommend practical improvements and coordinate the implementation of approved changes.
• Support clinicians and contractors in providing culturally responsive, trauma-informed, harm-reduction-oriented, and equity-informed services.
• Support the team in understanding and respecting community-specific protocols, priorities, strengths, and service expectations.
• Refer clinical practice and quality-of-care concerns to the appropriate clinical lead or regulated professional.
• Engage in reflective and culturally responsive practice grounded in humility, respect, and an understanding of the community’s knowledge, priorities, belief systems, and ways of knowing.

Key Characteristics

• Accountable and Proactive: Takes ownership of project responsibilities, anticipates needs, follows through on commitments, and ensures work is completed.
• Experienced Project and Service Leader: Demonstrates leadership in project coordination and mental health or human service delivery, particularly in northern, remote, or First Nations community settings.
• Organized and Diligent: Effectively manages competing priorities while maintaining accurate documentation, strong attention to detail, and reliable follow-through.
• Culturally Humble and Relationship-Focused: Builds trust through consistency, openness, respect, and a commitment to culturally safe and reflective practice.
• Collaborative Team Leader: Guides multidisciplinary teams toward shared goals and promotes coordinated, community-informed service delivery.
• Flexible and Solutions-Focused: Responds effectively to changing priorities, service-delivery barriers, and the realities of working in remote communities.
• Strong Communicator: Communicates clearly, professionally, and respectfully with community partners, clinicians, contractors, leadership, and other stakeholders.
• Strategic and Reflective: Considers community priorities, operational realities, risks, and potential outcomes when making decisions and addressing complex challenges.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in social work, education, health, human services, or a related field, or an acceptable combination of education and relevant experience.
• Experience in project management, community engagement, and program implementation, preferably within First Nations or remote communities.
• Experience leading or coordinating multidisciplinary, clinical, or frontline service-delivery teams.
• Demonstrated ability to oversee project activities, reporting requirements, timelines, and deliverables.
• Strong organizational, interpersonal, communication, leadership, and problem-solving skills.
• Demonstrated experience working in culturally responsive and trauma-informed ways.
• Ability and willingness to travel to remote fly-in communities at least once per month and more frequently when required.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and electronic documentation or clinical information systems.

The following will be considered assets:

• Personal or professional experience working with First Nations communities.
• Knowledge of First Nations cultures, traditions, and wholistic approaches to wellness.
• Experience delivering or coordinating services in remote or northern communities.
• Fluency in Cree, Ojibway, or Oji-Cree.

Candidates from First Nations communities are strongly encouraged to apply.

Pay: From $90,000.00 per year

Application question(s):

• Do you have knowledge of First Nations cultures, traditions, and wholistic approaches to wellness?

• Do you have personal or professional experience working with First Nations communities?

Education:

• Master's Degree (required)

Work Location: On the road