Perinatal Health & Wellness Worker

About Kindred

At Kindred, we’re convinced the key to living well is healthy relationships with self, family, and others. But relationships are complicated and sometimes we find ourselves in vulnerable places, disconnected from those who matter most.

Kindred’s purpose is to realize the power of human connection, and it shapes everything we do. Whether nuclear or chosen, family is the most important relationship in a person’s life. So, we invest in the special bond between children and those that care for them. We provide road maps toward healing when essential relationships are ruptured. And we understand that accessing timely mental health support can inspire confidence in self and others. Healthy human connection is possible, and together we can realize it.

The Position

Job Title: Perinatal Health & Wellness Worker

Job Type: 0.8 FTE, Permanent Position

Work Arrangement: Hybrid role, a combination of work from home and in-office

Position Overview

Reporting to the Manager, Community Services, the Perinatal Health & Wellness Worker (0.8 FTE) supports the health and well-being of pregnant people and parents/caregivers with children ages 0 to 12 months by providing community-based education and resourcing across Kindred’s parenting programs. The Perinatal Health & Wellness Worker promotes healthy pregnancies, positive birth outcomes, breast/chestfeeding, early childhood development, and family wellness, with a focus on families experiencing challenges to meeting basic needs, social isolation, and other systemic barriers. This role works closely with teams across Kindred and other community organizations to reduce barriers to public health services, increase health literacy, and support culturally relevant, family-centered care.

This position does not provide medical care or clinical services, but plays a key role in health promotion, navigation, and early intervention for families during the perinatal period. The successful candidate will have experience and knowledge in perinatal health, which could include perinatal nutrition, lactation and infant feeding, birth preparation and education, pregnancy and postpartum physical health, infant care and newborn development, postpartum recovery, sleep and settling, or perinatal mental health.

Accountabilities

Client Serving

• Provide one-on-one and group-based education on topics such as: prenatal health; preparation for birth; postpartum wellness; infant care, sleep, and development; breastfeeding and infant feeding practices; nutrition for parents and young children with attention to food insecurity; access to culturally relevant and healthy foods; and affordable meal planning
• Health navigation and supporting families in understanding and accessing public health services, including immunizations, dietitians, perinatal mental health supports, breastfeeding clinics, and parenting groups; advocate alongside families experiencing health inequalities due to language, cultural, economic, or systemic barriers.
• Enhance family wellness and family resilience by supporting parent confidence and self-advocacy and offering trauma-informed and strengths-based supports to families experiencing stress, isolation, or other barriers.
• Demonstrate a high standard of service for prospective and current Kindred clients presenting with various concerns through various methods of contact (email, phone, in-person).
• Assess the unique needs of clients to connect them to appropriate resources both internal and external to Kindred.
• Crisis de-escalation and suicide prevention, safety plan development, engagement in supportive listening to assist individuals dealing with various concerns.
• Reduce, where possible, geographic, financial, and language barriers for clients, and place an emphasis on warm, genuine, trauma-informed interaction in accordance with the guiding principle of offering something of value to everyone who contacts Kindred.
• Contribute to a warm, supportive, and non-judgmental atmosphere for clients, students, interns, and staff, including providing consultation and some training opportunities.

Administrative

• Complete accurate and timely data collection and data entry in client database, maintaining complete client records of engagement.
• Utilize applicable measurement tools for monitoring service impact and reporting outcomes
• Maintain working knowledge of current community resources that work to support the diverse population served

Collaboration

• Create and maintain strong working relationships with community partners and other agencies within the sector, including health providers, doulas, Indigenous health partners, and others, to enhance integrated care for pregnant and parenting families
• Contribute to program planning, evaluation, knowledge-sharing and capacity building activities within the perinatal sector
• Work collaboratively with peers and supervisor to ensure service delivery is aligned and consistent with best practice, including participation in team meetings, live observations, agency meetings, training and supervision.
• Maintain critical communication with supervisor regarding any risk, program challenges, or program updates as needed.
• Positively represent Kindred with sector partners, donors, volunteers and other stakeholders, including on partner sites, at networking meetings, and community events

Other Duties

• Participation in Agency initiatives, committees and events, and maintenance of organizational culture.
• Work with supervisor to coordinate time off to best suit the program's needs.
• May perform other duties as assigned

Qualifications

Skills and Education

• Minimum of Bachelor's Degree in Social Work or related Human Services field (Community/Public Health, Nursing, Health Promotion, Psychology, or other related discipline)
• Eligibility and in good standing with professional governing body, if applicable.
• Minimum 3 years of experience working with pregnant and parenting families, ideally in community-based or outreach settings
• Knowledge of prenatal and postpartum health, breastfeeding, infant development, and family wellness
• Experience working with families navigating barriers such as poverty, systemic inequality, and trauma
• Familiarity with Calgary’s public health and early years systems (e.g., Alberta Health Services, community health centers) and community resources
• Ability to work independently, multi-task and prioritize in a dynamic and fast-paced environment
• Experience in strength-based and trauma-informed approaches, with a capacity to serve a wide range of clients presenting with a multiplicity of concerns
• Able to take a posture of cultural humility in working with diverse populations
• Well-developed sense of professional ethics and strong understanding of the importance of client confidentiality
• Intermediate to advanced skills in Microsoft Applications (Outlook, Word, Excel, Teams)
• Training in perinatal mental health, breastfeeding, or community-based doula care, as well as familiarity with parenting programs such as Circle of Security, Nurturing Parent or NCAST are considered assets.

Qualities and Characteristics

• Embodies Kindred’s purpose (connection!) as demonstrated by prioritizing, embracing, and thriving in the work through strong relationships internally and externally
• Strong personal alignment with the Kindred values: Compassion, Courage, Family, Excellence, and Humility

How to Apply:

Interested candidates are invited to apply on the Kindred career site with a Cover letter and Resume. The application will remain open until a suitable candidate is found. We thank all applicants for your interest in this position. Please note, only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.

Successful applicants for this Position must complete Police Information Check and Alberta Intervention Record Check.

Kindred offers a competitive benefits package, which includes health, dental, paid sick/personal days, generous vacation time, life insurance, AD&D, supplemental unemployment benefits plan, long-term disability, and group RRSP with employer matched contributions. We also offer on-going learning and development opportunities, and we hold employee appreciation and social events throughout the year.

The need for human connection is universal. At Kindred, we believe that everyone deserves to experience belonging regardless of where you come from, who you love, how much money you have or how you choose to pray. By embracing diversity of culture, race, religion, ability, sexual orientation, gender identity, and thought, Kindred is committed to ensuring there is space for you. Kindred approaches its diversity, equity, and inclusion journey with curiosity and humility. We commit to creating a safe and inclusive environment for our staff, clients and anyone we have the privilege of being in connection with.