Clinical Nurse Leader/Educator- Full Time

AVI Health & Community Services (AVI) is a multi-disciplinary community-based organization, providing HIV, hepatitis C, and harm reduction services out of 5 locations across Vancouver Island. AVI provides services to people living with HIV, Hepatitis C, and harm reduction clients. We work within a social justice and health promotion framework – ensuring equity and access to services for all – and from a harm reduction perspective, understanding that clients are the best sources of knowledge regarding the services and supports they need. AVI provides comprehensive, accessible, and effective education, prevention, care, treatment, and support services to residents of Vancouver Island with offices in Victoria, Nanaimo, the Comox Valley, and Campbell River. For more info see: www.avi.org.

The AVI Nanaimo Community Health Centre (CHC) hosts a variety of program options for community members and service users to access. AVI nurses work across different programs, providing care and support to clients/participants across a range and a continuum of health and wellness.

The CHC provides primary care, HIV/HCV, substance use, OAT, STBBI, PrEP/PEP medical services, as well as outreach, supports, and social programming. It provides streamlined access to addiction medicine and substance use services while offering a host of complementary supports under one roof including the Enhanced Harm Reduction Service (EHR) Program.

The EHR is a flexible, community‐based, nursing led, harm reduction program that provides pharmaceutical alternatives to the toxic street drug supply along with wrap around supports. The EHR program aims to help individuals reduce their risk of dying from a drug poisoning event and our service users may not have sobriety or abstinence as their goals of care.

AVI Nanaimo Community Health Centre also provides educational services for the communities we support and a place for a variety of students and professionals to explore and learn about this important work.

Our services are delivered across the traditional territories of the Snuneymuxw, Stz’uminus, and Snaw'naw'as People.

Join our supportive, dedicated and client-centered team in promoting the health, dignity and well-being of all people affected by HIV, HCV and substance use by delivering sex-positive and harm reduction-based education, prevention, and/or health care services.

JOB SUMMARY:

The Clinical Nurse Leader/Nurse Educator (CNLE) is responsible for collaborating with the Nurse Manager, the Nanaimo Program Managers and Leadership team to develop, support, and deliver nursing care throughout the AVI Nanaimo Community Health Centre. This is an advanced dual functioning nursing role. The CNLE will act as a clinical leader who provides direct care, coordinates care and clinical outcomes while also serving as an educator; bridging the gap between novice and experienced nurse, providing on site education, as well as in-clinic mentoring/teaching, and direct clinical nursing care.

The CNLE utilizes evidence and learning theory to develop, facilitate, and evaluate educational programs using research-backed, evidence-based practices. They will support nursing staff orientation, training, and continuing education initiatives.

The CNLE provides supervision, leadership, and functions as a role model and coach to all AVI Nanaimo nursing staff. They will act as an accessible, visible clinical resource and mentor for the nurses;’ providing hands-on clinical nursing care or high-level intervention when the staff or leadership team requires it. The CNLE works in partnership with the Nurse Manager and leadership team to ensure support for the AVI Nanaimo multidisciplinary teams and to continuously develop and ensure quality program nursing practice and protocols.

This position provides person-centered healthcare including assessment, screening, and education to support the clients of AVI. They will use a trauma and violence informed, client-centred approach and demonstrated clinical skills and experience to independently assess individuals with complex primary care health needs, STBBI’s and active poly-substance use.

This position requires a professional who is experienced with harm reduction and is committed to collaborating with multiple stakeholders including people with lived/living experience of criminalized drug use. Experience and proficiency with Primary Care needs and their management is integral to supporting both participants and staff at AVI Nanaimo.

The CNLE believes in and demonstrates advocacy for health equity; supporting client self-determination, informed consent, and individual choices regarding reproductive and sexual health. The CNLE supports client diverse gender identities, expressions, and bodily autonomy. This includes efforts to reduce clinical and social barriers to accessible reproductive and gender-diverse services including gender affirming care, fertility care, menstrual health, miscarriage, pregnancy and maternity care, and menopause care.

This position will collaborate innately with the AVI Clinical Director on a broad organizational level while executing daily operational priorities in close step with the Nurse Manager or their designee.

KEY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Clinical Expertise:

• Stays up to date on current research and best practices in treatment harm reduction prescribing, treatment of substance use disorder, HIV, HCV, and other primary care and specialty care areas of relevance.
• Determines educational opportunities of nursing staff and develops learning plans in collaboration with the Nurse Manager to ensure nursing team is working to a standard of best practice.
• Deliver certification courses in topics such as phlebotomy, harm reduction fundamentals, basic counseling skills, wound care, assessment skills, etc. to staff by means of preparing written materials, facilitating workshops, and overseeing clinical practice sessions.
• Participates in the development of policy and protocol as pertains to clinical practices.
• Use on-site, real life clinical examples to create new and novel initiatives, policies, and protocols. Identify and design site-specific workflows to support clinical practise.
• Orients new nursing staff members to organizational practices, standards of care, and policy and procedure.
• Able to cultivate an open, judgement-free environment where both novice and experienced nurses feel completely safe asking questions, testing skills, or seeking feedback.

Clinical Practice:

• Provision of direct participant care as a clinic nurse.
• Supports reproductive health counseling. Ensures that the nursing team provides non-judgmental education, counseling, and non-directive options regarding contraception, pregnancy, and abortion care.
• Ensures that nursing staff aim to offer a full spectrum of health services to meet the needs of the communities and self-identified GBQ men and gender diverse people in BC.
• Ensures that the nursing team provides gender-affirming practices by delivering respectful, competent, and evidence-based gender-affirming nursing care
• Regularly reviews and supports development and implementation of clinical protocols in collaboration with the leadership team and community partners.
• Ability to serve as a reliable, calming presence in the clinic, ensuring nursing staff always know what to expect from leadership, even on high-intensity days.

Team Leadership

• Provides person-centred, trauma-informed, and relational supervision and coaching to all nursing staff to ensure quality clinical care is delivered and attends to principles of social justice, trauma-informed care, and cultural humility.
• Collaborates with the Leadership team to ensure open communication and coordination across the multidisciplinary AVI Nanaimo services.
• Works with site leadership to identify and respond to nursing staff support needs, participant concerns, and issues related to clinical practice.
• Ability to dive directly into complex, fast-moving clinical situations alongside the team, modeling a calm and trauma-informed presence under pressure.
• Supports the Nurse Manager in addressing practice improvement with nursing team members. Acts as the Nurse Manager designate for occasional community meetings; representing AVI Nanaimo.
• Monitors and supports nursing staff needs, the work environment, and relevant risks, ensuring appropriate resources are in place.
• Evaluates equipment, products, and supplies in coordination with the leadership team to ensure efficient and effective inventory and purchasing processes, as well as the identification and follow-up of maintenance issues.
• Promotes and facilitates a safe and therapeutic environment for the provision of care including addressing and documenting and following up on any risk management, critical incidents, and emergency-related issues.
• Will be required to assist the Nurse Manager with the scheduling of work assignments, the monitoring and resolving of sick/absent calls and requests (during and after work hours).
• Assists with payroll responsibilities should the Nurse Manager be away.
• Demonstrates intentional self-regulation, ensuring the ability to remain grounded and emotionally available while managing the complexities of a fast-paced community health space.
• Able to model healthy professional boundaries and self-care, balancing deep empathy for clients with the structure required to keep the team emotionally safe.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Graduation from an approved school of nursing with a baccalaureate in Nursing with current practicing registration as an RN with the British Columbia College of Nurses and Midwives (BCCNM).
• Certification in reproductive health with BCCNM required.
• The BCCNM certified Practice for Opioid Use Disorder (CP-OUD) designation is an asset to this application. If the successful candidate does not have this certification at the time of hire, it would be an expectation that it would be completed (along with the preceptorship component) with the first six (6) months of hire.
• Minimum 3-5 years recent full scope nursing experience working with people with elevated levels of poly-substance use, mental health challenges, screening, assessment, and treatment services to clients at risk and/or living with HIV/AIDS including providing STBBI/HIV testing.
• Understanding of and the ability to utilize decision support tools and clinical guideline as outlined in the BCCNM, BCCDC and BCCSU to guide autonomous practice.
• Experience working with trans, queer, gender non-conforming, bi, questioning, and GBMSM identified communities.
• Experience working with structurally vulnerable clients and communities, independently seeking out, and integrating feedback from multidisciplinary teams and people with lived experience to continuously evolve nursing practices.
• Minimum one year of recent experience in healthcare education, adult education, or program development.
• Leadership experience within a BCNU or other union work site an asset.
• Previous experience in responding to medical emergencies such as overdose (naloxone administration, airway management, etc.).
• Strong knowledge of substance use disorder and opiate agonist treatment options.
• Experience with phlebotomy, vaccine management and immunizations, all forms of STBBI testing and treatment, specimen collection, HIV point of care testing.
• Commitment to harm reduction and social justice principles and experience working with individuals who experience intersecting systemic oppression. Commitment to bringing harm reduction and social justice principle to leadership practice as well as clinical practice.
• Understanding of the impact on individual health and well-being, as well as the considerations for service delivery, related to systemic barriers associated with poverty, mental health, substance use, trauma, racism, colonialism, heterosexism, and gender discrimination.
• Able to respectfully engage and support Indigenous relationships, with a trauma informed and decolonial lens
• Demonstrated understanding of public health and equity-oriented models of social support and health care.
• Relevant or applicable training/experience in anti-racism and a demonstrated commitment to anti-colonial learning/unlearning.
• Strong analysis of colonialism and the ways in which historical and ongoing colonial violence impacts Indigenous People intergenerationally.
• Knowledge of local Indigenous and non-Indigenous social services including housing, income and food security supports that may benefit persons served.
• Demonstrated commitment to person-centered healthcare service provision.
• Works well under pressure and in stressful situations.
• Capable, independent practitioner and committed team member.
• Excellent communication, conflict resolution, and crisis management skills.
• Current Valid BC Drivers’ License with use of a personal vehicle, and Transportation of Dangerous Goods certificate an asset.
• Valid and current CPR/BLS for Healthcare Providers certification.

SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• Demonstrated skills, experience, and knowledge in the areas of primary care, substance use, harm reduction, HIV, HCV, sexual health, mental health, health promotion, and impact of systemic poverty.
• Demonstrated commitment to the policy and practice of harm reduction, cultural safety, and trauma and violence informed practices.
• Ability to establish and maintain respectful rapport with participants.
• Demonstrated capacity to work under pressure, manage crisis situations, and recognize subtle changes in participants, including responding effectively to aggressive or suicidal behavior.
• Proven ability to work independently and collaboratively, make sound clinical decisions, take initiative, prioritize workload, and adapt to changing or unexpected situation in a dynamic work environment.
• Ability to notice clinical knowledge gaps within the nursing team and build targeted, evidence-based educational opportunities before an issue happens.
• Demonstrates strong advocacy skills for both participants and nursing team members.
• Ability to communicate effectively, both verbal and written.
• Ability to organize and prioritize workload, demonstrate a seamless balance of time between higher-level program development and hands-on clinical interventions without needing daily scheduling direction or guidance.
• Practiced conflict resolution and non-violent crisis intervention skills.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a multidisciplinary team.
• Proficient in the use of computer systems, electronic medical records, medical equipment, and related technologies for documentation, data reporting, and treatment delivery.
• Physical ability to carry out the duties of the position and operate related equipment.
• May be asked to alter occasional workday time to accommodate late afternoon, early evening or weekend community presentations, meetings, or clinic events.

POSITION DETAILS:

• Pay: per BCNU grid, Level 4 $49.20/hour to $63.47/hour
• Hours and Schedule: 37.5 hours per week, Monday through Friday 9:30am – 5:30pm. Hours and days of the week may change as per program needs.
• Term: This position is ongoing, subject to funding.
• Location: AVI Nanaimo office and in the community as needed
• Start date: August 17, 2026
• Union: AVI is a union environment under the Collective Agreement: HEABC & Nurses’ Bargaining Association 2022-2025 and this role is an Included Position.
• Benefits: This position will be eligible for extended health, life, and AD&D coverage in compliance with the BCNU Collective Agreement. AVI pays for the entire cost of the plan on behalf of its staff.
• Pension: This position will be enrolled in the Municipal Pension Plan (MPP) after your first 3 months with AVI. At this time, AVI contributes an additional 9.31% towards your pension account.
• Other Perks: This position gets 7.69% vacation (equivalent of 20 days), receives 13 paid stat holidays throughout the year, and accrues a Sick Bank of 6.92%. Sick and Vacation Days are both available to be used after your first 3 months at AVI.
• Hours of Work, Days Off and Work Area may be subject to change.

TO APPLY:

To apply, please click on ‘ To apply’ and submit your resume and cover letter. Your cover letter is your opportunity to demonstrate your unique alignment with our values and your genuine interest in this advanced role. We view the cover letter as a direct reflection of your engagement with our mission and your motivation for joining our team. This posting will be open until filled.

AVI is committed to equity and diversity and we strongly encourage applications from, but not limited to, folks who identify as Indigenous Persons, persons of colour, racialized, persons living with a disability, persons who use/d drugs, persons with experience of sex work, persons who live with HIV and/or hepatitis C, and persons representing diverse genders and sexualities.

Accommodations are available on request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process.

As AVI is a union environment, internal staff will be prioritized in the hiring process.

We would like to thank all those that apply but only those selected for an interview will be contacted.