Senior Specialist - Indigenous Health

Title: Senior Specialist - Indigenous Health

Employee Working Location: Partially Virtual / Hybrid (Canada)

Employment Status: Permanent Full-time

The Canadian Red Cross (Red Cross) – an inspirational not for profit organization, helps people and communities in Canada and around the world in times of need and supports them in strengthening their resilience. As a Canada’s Best Employers 2026, we are committed to having an accessible, diverse, inclusive, and barrier-free work environment.

The Senior Indigenous Health Specialist provides specialized Indigenous health and clinical expertise to support the planning, development and delivery of Health in Emergencies services within the Canadian Red Cross.
Working collaboratively with First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples, Indigenous Nations and communities, Indigenous leadership and organizations, health professionals, emergency management teams and partners, the Senior Specialist brings an Indigenous lens to public health, clinical services and emergency programming. The role supports culturally safe, respectful and responsive services that reflect Indigenous determinants of health, Indigenous knowledges, community priorities and relevant Indigenous rights frameworks.

The Senior Specialist also supports knowledge translation, health communication, relationship building, research and continuous improvement, helping teams apply clinical, public health and Indigenous health knowledge effectively across preparedness, response and recovery activities.

In this role, you will:

• Provide Indigenous health and clinical subject-matter expertise to support the planning, development, implementation and evaluation of Health in Emergencies services.

• Contribute Indigenous health perspectives to preparedness, response, recovery and longer-term health programming, including clinical, public health and emergency management initiatives.

• Build and maintain respectful, reciprocal relationships with First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples, Indigenous Nations and communities, Indigenous leadership, health organizations and other partners.

• Engage with Indigenous communities and leadership to ensure programs and services reflect community-identified priorities, local context, Indigenous knowledges and culturally safe practices.

• Apply clinical and public health knowledge to support health assessments, service planning, continuity of care, health-needs analysis and appropriate referral/navigation pathways during emergencies.

• Develop and support knowledge translation and health communication approaches that make complex clinical, public health and emergency information accessible and relevant to diverse audiences.

• Facilitate reciprocal knowledge exchange between Indigenous communities, health professionals and emergency and humanitarian systems.

• Conduct research, environmental scans, assessments and analysis to inform program design, decision-making, monitoring and evaluation.

• Develop and contribute to learning resources, guidance, tools, briefings and other knowledge products that strengthen culturally safe practice across the Canadian Red Cross.

• Provide expert advice on Indigenous health, cultural safety, Indigenous rights, communication and community context to interdisciplinary teams, operational leaders and health professionals.

• Identify and support mitigation of cultural, communication, relational, clinical and operational risks that may affect program or service delivery.

• Represent Indigenous Health in internal and external working groups, partnerships and knowledge-sharing initiatives, and contribute to continuous improvement across Health in Emergencies.

What we are looking for:

• Post-secondary education in a regulated health profession, health sciences, nursing, public health, medicine, dietetics, midwifery, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, pharmacy, paramedicine or another relevant clinical health profession is considered an asset.

• 6–9 years of relevant experience in Indigenous health, clinical services, public health, community health, health promotion or emergency health programming.

• Clinical experience in a healthcare, community health, public health or emergency health environment, with the ability to apply clinical knowledge to health service planning and delivery.

• Demonstrated experience working with First Nations, Inuit and/or Métis Peoples, Nations, communities, organizations or health systems in Canada.

• Strong understanding of Indigenous approaches to health and wellbeing, including the importance of community, culture, family, land, language and spirituality.

• Understanding of the impacts of colonization, systemic racism and jurisdictional barriers on Indigenous health and access to healthcare.

• Knowledge of cultural safety, cultural humility and Indigenous rights and health frameworks, including the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

• Demonstrated ability to work respectfully across Indigenous and Western health knowledge systems.

• Strong relationship-building, facilitation, communication, clinical reasoning and interdisciplinary collaboration skills.

• Demonstrated ability to translate complex clinical, public health or emergency information for different audiences and contexts.

• Ability to work effectively in complex, rapidly changing and high-pressure environments.

• Proficiency with standard computer applications and the ability to support research, analysis, reporting and knowledge-management activities.

Working Conditions:

• The role includes fieldwork, deployment to emergency operations, and office-based work during non-deployment periods.

• Domestic or international travel to unsafe or high-stress environments; exposure to major adverse conditions requiring personal safety management.

• Work requires the ability to work to multiple, business critical, and conflicting deadlines.

• Work requires interactions in difficult, emotionally charged situations.

• Work requires interactions and support to clients who are experiencing traumatic situations.

• Field deployments may involve working in unstable environments with limited access to basic services, often in emergency and/or epidemic contexts. These settings require strict adherence to security protocols.

• Candidates must be medically cleared for travel in accordance with established Canadian Red Cross medical criteria, where applicable.

• As we work with and support people (managers, colleagues, beneficiaries/customers, volunteers, donors and external partners) and communities in Canada and around the world, applicants whose first language is not English may be required to perform the responsibilities of the role in English.

• Eligibility to work in Canada: At this time, we welcome applications from candidates eligible to work in Canada. If you are not a citizen or permanent resident of Canada, we encourage you to carefully review your visa to find out whether you are eligible to work in the job you are considering applying for. Refer to our FAQ for more information.

• If you are selected for this role, you will be required to complete a successful pre-employment screening process which includes a satisfactory Enhanced Police Information Check (E-PIC).