HIV/HCV Peer Support Worker

Position Title: HIV/HCV Peer Support Worker.
HIV & HCV Programs

 

The Opportunity

Are you someone with lived or living experience who believes that support is most powerful when it comes from a place of understanding, connection, and shared experience?

The Gilbert Centre is looking for a Peer Support Worker to join our HIV and HCV Programs team. In this role, you will use your lived or living experience, alongside peer support principles, to build meaningful relationships with people living with, affected by, or at risk of HIV and hepatitis C. Through compassionate, non-judgmental engagement, you will help individuals navigate services, access care, reduce barriers, and strengthen connections to community.

This role has a particular responsibility to support people living with HIV, people newly diagnosed with HIV, people affected by HIV and HCV, and people experiencing challenges related to stigma, social isolation, substance use, housing instability, poverty, or other social determinants of health. Drawing on your own experiences in a thoughtful and boundaried way, you will help create safer, more welcoming pathways to care and support.

Working as part of a multidisciplinary team grounded in harm reduction, health equity, and client-centred practice, you will provide one-to-one peer support, facilitate community connections, assist with service navigation, promote testing and treatment pathways, and contribute to community education and engagement initiatives. You will also support peer engagement activities, community events, pop-up clinics, and collaborative initiatives that help reduce stigma and improve access to services across Simcoe Muskoka.

This is a unique opportunity to transform lived experience into meaningful community impact. Through relationship-building, advocacy, education, and peer connection, you will help individuals feel seen, supported, and empowered while contributing to healthier, more inclusive communities for people affected by HIV, HCV, and related health and social challenges.

Why the Gilbert Centre 

  

We are a justice-informed, harm reduction organization that does things differently – and we are proud of that. We walk alongside people rather than leading them. We believe in the dignity and autonomy of everyone who comes through our doors. And we are building something meaningful. 

  

• Comprehensive benefits through Canada Life, including health, dental, vision, and drug coverage. 

• Generous paid time off: 3 weeks’ vacation, 3 weeks’ sick leave, and 1 week of float time to start. 

• The security and protections of a unionized workplace (CUPE Local 1813.14). 

• A workplace culture rooted in autonomy, hope, courage, and compassion – not just for clients, but for staff. 

• The chance to practice relational, community-based, client-centred social work in an integrated HIV/HCV/STBBI program. 

• Opportunities for professional development within a collaborative multidisciplinary team.   

 

About Us 

 

The Gilbert Centre for Social and Support Services is a registered, not-for-profit charitable organization incorporated in 1995 in response to the HIV epidemic in Simcoe County and Muskoka Region. Our mandate extends to supporting people at risk of, living with, and affected by HIV and other sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections (STBBIs), as well as supporting and celebrating the lives of the 2S-LGBTQ+ communities in our regions. 

We take a broad, social-determinants-of-health approach to our work, grounded in social justice, health equity, and human rights. We seek to engage individuals, families, organizations, institutions, and communities as partners and collaborators. We operate from a value system of harm reduction, sex positivity, queer and trans inclusion, and work towards greater anti-oppressive practices. We hope to see a future that does not criminalize sex work or narcotics use. 

 

Scope of the Position:

The HIV/HCV Peer Support Worker provides low-threshold, peer-based support, education, community connection, and care engagement to individuals living with, affected by, or at risk of acquiring HIV and/or Hepatitis C. Working as part of a multidisciplinary team, this role uses lived/living experience, GIPA/MEPA principles, harm reduction, and trauma-informed approaches to build trust, reduce stigma, and support access to testing, care, treatment, and community resources. The position may participate in community-based outreach activities in collaboration with the Gilbert Centre's existing outreach programs and community partners but does not hold primary responsibility for outreach service delivery.

The role also supports meaningful peer engagement by helping to identify, orient, support, and coordinate honorarium-based peers, volunteers, Ambassadors, and other peer contributors with lived/living experience, as appropriate and in accordance with organizational policies, program needs, the Collective Agreement, and available resources.

Responsibilities and Related Tasks 

Peer Support, Community Engagement, and Education

• Provide peer-based support and community connection in low-barrier settings, including at Gilbert Centre sites, partner agencies, pop-up clinics, community events, and other settings where people living with, affected by, or at risk of HIV and/or HCV may access services.

• Participate in outreach or community-based engagement activities in collaboration with the Gilbert Centre's existing outreach programs, internal community programs, and external community partners, recognizing that this position supports but does not own outreach service delivery.

• Build rapport with community members through peer-based, non-judgmental relationships that promote safer practices, harm reduction, stigma reduction, and awareness of available services.

• Deliver basic group and one-on-one peer education on HIV/HCV prevention, testing, treatment, stigma reduction, harm reduction, and living well with or being affected by HIV and/or HCV.

• Respond to inquiries and provide information about services and support. 

• Identify community needs, barriers to access, peer engagement opportunities, and potential relationship-building opportunities, and share these observations with the team.

• Maintain awareness of current information related to HIV/HCV prevention, care, and treatment.  

• Promote and support clear pathways to HIV, HCV, HBV, and other STBBI testing, including referrals to internal clinical services, community testing opportunities, pop-up clinics, point-of-care testing pathways where available, and follow-up supports after testing.

• Support warm referrals from peer, community, outreach, and partner settings into clinical care, linkage to care, social work support, harm reduction services, and other internal or external services as appropriate.

 

Peer Support and Client Assistance 

• Provide one-to-one peer support in a respectful, non-judgmental, and trauma-informed manner.  

• Use lived/living experience, where appropriate and within healthy professional boundaries, to build trust, reduce HIV/HCV-related stigma, support engagement, and help clients navigate services.

• Support clients in accessing services, including referrals to testing, treatment, HIV/HCV care, harm reduction, psychosocial supports, and community resources.

• Assist clients with basic system navigation (e.g., booking appointments, completing forms, obtaining identification).  

• Accompany clients to appointments, as appropriate, to provide support.  

• Encourage and support clients in developing skills related to health management and appointment follow-up.  

• Promote the availability, value, and meaningful integration of peer support services within the Health Programs team.

• Assist with identifying, orienting, supporting, and coordinating honorarium-based peers, volunteers, Ambassadors, and other peer contributors, as directed by the Health Program Manager and in alignment with organizational policies, program needs, the Collective Agreement, and available resources.

• Help ensure peer contributors have access to role clarity, appropriate orientation, harm reduction information, GIPA/MEPA principles, boundaries guidance, and debriefing/support when engaged in program activities.

 

Program and Team Support 

• Assist with peer engagement planning and day-to-day program activities.

• Support the implementation of peer support, peer engagement, and community connection initiatives.

• Contribute to team discussions by sharing observations about community needs and emerging issues.  

• Assist in peer-supported outreach or community engagement activities involving peer contributors, volunteers, Ambassadors, or outreach staff, as directed.

• Promote the organization and its services within the community.  

• Participate in planning and debriefing related to peer engagement, pop-up clinics, testing events, World Hepatitis Day, World AIDS Day, Red Scarf Campaign activities, and other HIV/HCV/STBBI-related community initiatives, as appropriate.

 

Administration and Reporting 

• Collect and record service data in accordance with organizational policies and confidentiality requirements  

• Assist with compiling information for program reporting and evaluation  

• Support the preparation and use of educational materials and resources  

• Adhere to all organizational policies, procedures, and documentation standards  

• Track peer support contacts, peer engagement activities, testing referrals/pathways, education activities, warm referrals, and service navigation supports in accordance with relevant reporting tools and program expectations, including OCHART/OCASE/TREAT or other funder/organizational systems as applicable.

 

Collaboration and Professional Practice 

• Participate in team meetings, program planning, and case discussions as required.  

• Work collaboratively with internal staff and external community partners.  

• Maintain awareness of local health and social services and refer clients appropriately.  

• Participate in training and professional development opportunities.  

• Work flexible hours, including occasional evenings and weekends, as required.  

• Perform other related duties as assigned.  

• Maintain healthy boundaries and participate in debriefing, supervision, and support related to grief, loss, trauma, stigma, and the emotional impact of peer-based and community-facing work.

 

Qualifications 

• Experience working, volunteering, or participating in peer support, community engagement, harm reduction, HIV/HCV, health promotion, or social service settings.

• Knowledge of HIV, Hepatitis C, harm reduction principles, and/or willingness to learn.  

• Understanding of issues affecting underserved communities and social determinants of health.  

• Strong interpersonal and communication skills.  

• Ability to work both independently and as part of a team.  

• Basic organizational and time management skills.  

• Comfort working in a variety of clinic, community, partner-agency, and low-barrier service settings.

• Basic computer skills (e.g. Microsoft Office or similar).  

• Lived/living experience relevant to the communities and issues connected to this work is required. This may include, but is not limited to, lived/living experience with HIV, HCV, substance use, harm reduction services, street involvement, homelessness or under-housing, sex work, incarceration or correctional systems, supporting/caregiving for someone living with HIV or HCV, or navigating related health and social service systems. Particular consideration will be given to applicants living with, affected by, or closely connected to HIV and/or HCV.

• Ability to draw on lived/living experience in a boundaried, respectful, and client-centred way that supports trust-building, reduces stigma, and promotes access to care. 

 

Assets 

• Experience in peer support, peer engagement, community engagement, or community-based health promotion.

• Familiarity with local health and social services.  

• Experience working with diverse communities.  

• Fluency in a second language.  

• Experience coordinating peer workers, volunteers, Ambassadors, casual workers, or honorarium-based community contributors is an asset.

• Experience supporting testing events, pop-up clinics, peer engagement activities, or community-based health promotion initiatives is an asset.

 

Compensation and Benefits

Hourly Rate: $25.03/hour  

Hours: 1.0 FTE  

Benefits: Canada Life – Health, Dental, Vision, and Drug coverage 

Paid Time Off: 3 weeks’ vacation, 3 weeks’ sick leave, and 1 week float (starting entitlements) 

Schedule: Flexible scheduling to support work-life balance 

Bargaining Unit: CUPE Local 1813.14 

 

Working Conditions 

• May involve walking or standing for periods of time during community-based activities, events, partner-agency visits, or collaborative outreach activities. 

• Lift up to 20 lbs.  

• May involve standing for extended periods during events, clinics, or community-based activities. 

• May occasionally require carrying program materials, harm reduction supplies, or educational resources, with appropriate support and equipment. 

• Frequent computer use. 
• Some evening and weekend work may be required in accordance with the Collective Bargaining Agreement. 
• The position may involve travel across Simcoe Muskoka and work in clinic, community-based, and partner-agency settings, including shelters, drop-ins, correctional settings, community events, pop-up clinics, and outreach sites, as appropriate and in collaboration with existing outreach programs and partners.

 

How to Apply 

  

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and we encourage early submissions. 

  

As an equal opportunity employer, we value diversity and welcome applicants from all backgrounds. We encourage applications from people with all lived or living experiences. Accommodation is available on request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process. 

  

We recognize that the “perfect candidate” doesn’t exist. If this role excites you and you meet most of the qualifications, we encourage you to apply. We are committed to building a team that reflects the communities we serve. 

 

Disclosure: This position is currently being reviewed by the CUPE bargaining unit. The terms and conditions of this position may change based on this review.